Is Going to a Private-Equity Owned Hospital Bad for Your Health?
Private equity investment in health care increased more than 20-fold, from $5 billion in 2000 to approximately $120 billion in 2024. At the time, PE firms owned or controlled nearly 7% of all non-government hospitals in the US, raising pressing questions for policymakers and antitrust enforcers alike. Are these deals truly about delivering operational efficiencies—or are they primarily vehicles for financial engineering?
In this talk, CRA Academic Expert Prof. Zack Cooper presented new empirical evidence on how patients fare at PE-owned hospitals and examined the impact of private equity acquisitions on health spending and clinical outcomes. He also discussed the competitive implications, including how PE ownership may have altered incentives around pricing, quality, and investment; how PE acquisitions of hospitals intersected with concerns about common ownership and control; and the implications for traditional efficiency defenses in PE-backed mergers.
Speaker:
Zack Cooper, Academic Affiliate, Charles River Associates
Moderator:
Steven Tenn, Vice President, Charles River Associates
Hosts:
Adriana de la Huerta, Vice President, Charles River Associates
Isabel Tecu, Principal, Charles River Associates
