Impact of Private Equity on Healthcare Access

Private equity firms investing in hospitals can generate significant returns for investors. However, this financial strategy often jeopardizes patients, communities, and healthcare providers.

Heather Prendergast, writing for The Hill, highlights the adverse effects of private equity ownership on healthcare facilities. With over 20 years of experience in Chicago’s emergency departments, Prendergast has witnessed firsthand the challenges when hospitals disappear from neighborhoods.

When a local hospital shuts down, emergency services face longer travel distances, resulting in crowded waiting rooms. Patients often arrive in more severe conditions because they lack timely access to care. These closures aren’t always linked to community support issues but are sometimes driven by the higher value of liquidating hospital assets rather than continuing operations.