Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) hopes to protect patients from the private equity investors he says are more interested in profit than quality care. But a coalition of doctors that shares that goal says Markey’s draft bill to crack down on the investors goes too far. How’s that? The Coalition for Patient-Centered Care, which says it represents 7,000 doctors nationwide, objects to a provision in Markey’s Health over Wealth Act that would require for-profit corporations that own health care systems, including physician practices not owned by private equity firms, to report to Congress on their debt, leadership, political spending, assets purchased, real estate, mortgage and lease payments, payments to staffing firms, executive salaries and board membership. “The reporting requirements for these groups, many of which are small practices with limited administrative resources, are onerous and will unnecessarily add to their already mounting operational costs,” the coalition wrote. The group urged Markey to exempt doctor-owned practices from those rules. In a statement to Future Pulse, Markey said he appreciated the coalition engaging with his draft, but did not directly address their concerns about the bill placing an undue burden on doctor-owned practices. Instead, he took a swing at private equity, which he said was "robbing public health to pay for corporate wealth." "Their greed without guardrails is hurting patients and providers," Markey added. Why it matters: Private equity firms are gobbling up doctors’ practices and hospitals at a rapid clip. A report released last year from the American Antitrust Institute and other groups that favor stricter merger enforcement found that private equity acquisitions of doctors’ practices increased sixfold over a decade, from 75 to 484 deals between 2012 and 2021. The report found private equity-backed medical groups are associated with higher health care prices, particularly if they control more than 30 percent of the regional market. In addition to higher costs, private equity backing worsens patient care and working conditions for doctors, the doctors’ coalition argues. Meanwhile, at the FTC: Chair Lina Khan has private equity in her crosshairs this year, but a federal judge in Texas recently threw out her case against one such firm: Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. Khan had accused it of conspiring to drive up Texas prices for anesthesia after it started a practice group, U.S. Anesthesia Partners, then helped build it into a dominant player in Dallas and Houston. Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt ruled earlier this week that antitrust law didn’t cover investors with a minority stake. The court is still considering the case against U.S. Anesthesia Partners. Khan was unbowed in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. The FTC is “alarmed by studies showing that some private equity buyouts have resulted in not just higher prices but also a dramatic falloff in quality — in some cases resulting in higher mortality rates,” she said. | 
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