Speak out against greed in health care

The insidious influence of private equity firms is weakening our health care system.

Fortunately, the federal government is considering new regulations that would protect people who get care from providers that are owned by private equity.

But private equity firms have a lot of resources and a vested interest in opposing regulations — so we need to show the government that there’s overwhelming public support for more transparency, better quality, and stronger crackdowns on fraud in health care.

Send a message to the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Trade Commission right away.

Tell them to oppose greed and consolidation in the health care industry:

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Message to the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Health and Human Services

FTC-2024-0022-0001

Department of Justice,...

I’m concerned that private equity firms are buying up health care providers and reducing the quality of care patients can expect. I’m worried that private equity is reducing the choices I have when seeking care and creating more dangerous conditions in the health care setting. Please investigate, regulate, and prosecute fraud by private equity firms:

The Department of Health and Human Services should increase transparency by requiring states to collect information on ownership and managing control by private equity companies and real estate investment trusts from Medicaid nursing facilities. HHS should also present ownership data by Medicare providers in a way that’s easy for the general public to understand. Together, these efforts will make it harder for private equity companies to hide their involvement in health care.

The Federal Trade Commission should use its authority to investigate the impact of private equity on health care, including billing practices, collection actions against patients, and the declining quality of care. It should also issue rules to prevent anti-competitive practices by private equity firms, like acquisitions that consolidate the industry.

The Department of Justice should prosecute health care fraud by pursuing cases against private equity-owned providers that give substandard care and inflate bills, as well as encourage whistleblowers to come forward. The DOJ should also forbid private equity-owned companies from providing health care and other services to people in federal prison and should provide incentives for state prison systems to eliminate private equity from their health systems as well.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide this comment and urge you to ensure that patients take precedence over profits by taking strong action to address the many problems caused by private equity’s greed in our health system.

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