More than 5,000 physicians are joining forces to oppose private equity’s expanding footprint in health care. OrthoForum, the Association for Independent Medicine, and the Physician Empowered Leadership of Transformational Organizations are among the founders of the new Coalition for Patient-Centered Care that’s hoping to influence policy at both the state and federal level. The coalition’s policy goals include: — Eliminating tax breaks when private equity acquires physician groups — Subjecting private equity to the same requirements and regulations as physician acquisitions — Increasing reporting and transparency requirements for private equity groups that acquire physician practices Why it matters: Private equity firms are buying up physician practices. A report released last year found that private equity acquisitions of doctor practices increased six-fold over the course of a decade, from 75 to 484 deals between 2012 and 2022. The report found private equity-backed groups are associated with higher health care prices, particularly if a group controlled more than 30 percent of the regional market. In addition to higher costs, private equity backing worsens patient care, the coalition argues. The coalition already has allies in Congress, including Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), who criticized the private equity-backed hospital model during a congressional hearing in January, pointing to hospitals in her district that were purchased by private equity and then slated to close. In the Senate, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) launched an investigation last year into private equity ownership of hospitals. Private equity firms dispute the coalition’s assessment of their impact on health care. They cite research that found private equity-backed hospitals have better staff-to-patient ratios and pay than health systems that don’t have private equity owners. What's next? Some coalition members are trying to recruit patient, consumer, and employer groups. Others want to gather more momentum among doctors and eventually get some of the bigger physician groups to participate. The Federal Trade Commission also has eyes on private equity. The FTC is hosting a workshop today examining private equity's impact on health care. Karen Simonton, CEO of the OrthoForum will speak at today's FTC event. In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, the general counsel of the industry-backed American Investment Council, Rebekah Goshorn Jurata, said that “private equity investments consistently support quality, affordable health care for patients.” | 
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