On January 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, issued a report on competition issues in the healthcare space. The report investigates the impacts of corporate ownership in healthcare and seeks to inform potential actions the referenced agencies can take to improve healthcare competition.
The Coalition for Patient-Centered Care submitted comments to the Request for Information on Consolidation in Health Care Markets in June. The recently released HHS report quotes the submission of the Coalition for Patient-Centered Care, found in footnote 108 of the document. The text is as follows:
“Still, other commentors describe the MSO model, where an MSO owned by a PE firm contracts with physician-owned practices as ‘one of the most common ways to circumvent the corporate practice of medicine bans.’ A large independent orthopedic practice in Georgia evaluated PE partnerships for over two years before deciding to remain fully independent. A physician there said: ‘It was clear as day that this was a takeover attempt where near complete control would need to be ceded to the PE entity by way of the MSO…It was also clear that there would be no input from us when the PE entity would sell the MSO and that it would be sold to whomever would pay the highest sales price. In addition, the deal would have gutted our operating agreements.’”
