Private-equity hospital acquisitions have been linked to a 13% increase in emergency department deaths among Medicare patients, equating to seven additional deaths per 10,000 visits. Post-acquisition, salary expenditures dropped significantly in emergency departments and ICUs, alongside a reduction in full-time employees. Although ICU mortality remained unchanged, ICU length of stay decreased. The retrospective study analyzed over 1 million ED visits and 121,000 ICU hospitalizations from 49 private equity hospitals compared to 293 control hospitals from 2009 to 2019. Concerns exist regarding staffing cuts potentially compromising patient safety in critical care settings, as highlighted by Dr. Sneha Kannan from the University of Pittsburgh.

Source: Annals of Internal Medicine