Private Equity and the Corporatization of Health Care with Erin C. Fuse Brown [Video]

Private equity investment in physician services has become a driving force in the financialization of health care. While private equity investors seek quick revenue generation from health services organizations, they challenge the professional and ethical norms that distinguish medical providers from profit-seeking businesses. Their practices threaten to increase costs, lower health care quality and contribute to physician burnout and moral distress. An example of how private equity investors exploit market dysfunctions or regulatory loopholes is the practice known as “surprise medical billing.” This occurs when a patient receives care at an in-network facility from an unexpectedly out-of-network provider. The resulting medical bills force insurers to pay more and expose innocent patients to sometimes crippling financial debt. The federal No Surprises Act outlawed some forms of this phenomenon but did not completely eliminate the problem.

Erin Fuse Brown’s lecture will discuss the trend of private equity investment in physician services and the legal tools available under federal and state law to address the threats presented by health care financialization. She will also analyze how loopholes and market distortions should be addressed through new legislative and regulatory interventions.