Emergency department deaths tick up following private equity acquisition: study

Dive Brief:

Patients may be more likely to die in private equity-owned hospital emergency departments than similar, non-private equity run facilities, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Tuesday.

Researchers found private equity acquisitions were associated with a 13% increase in mortality on average among Medicare beneficiaries in emergency departments. They attributed the increase to staff cuts after private equity buys, which reduced the ability of facilities to care for high-risk patients.

“Staffing cuts are one of the common strategies used to generate financial returns for the firm and its investors,” said senior author Zirui Song, associate professor of healthcare policy in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School. “Among Medicare p