Geographic Variation in Private Equity Penetration Across Select Office-Based Physician Specialties in the US

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examines geographic variations in private equity firm acquisitions of US physician practices across 6 specialties.

Association of Private Equity Acquisition of Physician Practices With Changes in Health Care Spending and Utilization

“…Evidence of how private equity influences physician practices is limited to industry reports, academic opinion pieces, 2 and largely descriptive studies within single specialties. [13][14][15][16][17][18] A study that examined prices, utilization, and spending from 2013 to 2016 for dermatology services after private equity acquisitions found modest increases in prices and volume but not total spending. 19 Important gaps in knowledge remain on how private equity affects pricing, service or patient composition, and billing practices within physician practices.…”

Geographic Penetration of Private Equity Ownership in Outpatient and Residential Behavioral Health

“…Cumulatively, PE-owned mental health practices constituted 6.2% of all mental health facilities (652 of 10 324) and 7.1% of all SUD facilities (1152 of 16 174) nationally, but PE penetration was heterogeneous across states (Figure 2 Discussion | Our findings show that PE acquisitions of outpatient mental health and SUD treatment facilities have accumulated over the past several years and, as with other specialties, 5 are geographically concentrated with state-level variation in penetration. In select states, PE penetration exceeds 25% of facilities, suggesting an important new form of behavioral health practice ownership with potentially high market shares and implications for health care prices, utilization, and quality.…”

Physician Perspectives on Private Equity Investment in Health Care

“…While this survey had a limited sample size and is not generalizable to non-ACP members, our findings add to the dearth of evidence on PE’s perceived effects on physicians. Our estimates of PE-involved physicians mirror those in the literature and suggest new areas for inquiry around clinical practice and workplace experience.…”