The American Antitrust Institute, in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley’s Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare, and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, released a significant report on July 10, 2023 titled “Monetizing Medicine: Private Equity and Competition in Physician Practice Markets.” This report delves into the increasing trend of private equity firms acquiring physician practices in the United States.
Professor Richard Scheffler, a distinguished expert in health economics and public policy and the Director of the Petris Center at UCB, is the lead author of the report. The analysis conducted in this study is extensive, examining the penetration of private equity ownership across ten different physician practice specialties in various U.S. markets. It scrutinizes the impact of this trend on market shares and concentration, as well as its effects on healthcare prices and expenditures.
A key finding of the report is the growing influence of profit-driven motives in the healthcare sector due to the rise in private equity ownership of physician practices. Professor Scheffler’s remarks underscore the concern that this trend could fundamentally alter the practice of medicine. He notes that the incentives for prioritizing profits over patient care have intensified with the increase in private equity’s role in the healthcare industry. This shift poses significant implications for the future of healthcare delivery, potentially impacting both the quality and cost of medical services.
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