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thewayneWe all know that the American health care system is a shambles. There are too many middlemen adding costs with no benefit, and that increases prices. What else increases prices?
Consolidation. Private equity funds have been buying not only physician practices, but entire hospital chains. And where they go, prices always go up, never down.
Here's two paragraphs from the article that should justifiably infuriate you:
In the U.S., many doctors used to work for physician-owned businesses. These days, about three-quarters work for a hospital or a corporate owner. As for your hospital, a private-equity firm or a larger medical system probably owns it.
There are massive incentives to consolidate. At nearly $5 trillion, U.S. healthcare’s gross domestic product would rank it third in the world if it were a country. And there is a reason smaller practices want to sell: Regulations have become increasingly cumbersome, and dealing with insurers as a small entity isn’t a rewarding experience.
The solution is a robust single-payer system run by the government that still allows you to purchase private health care if you so desire and can afford it, but it will never happen. There are too many congresscritters captured by the industry to let such legislation pass.
Original article, may be paywalled:
https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/you-can-thank-private-equity-for-that-enormous-doctors-bill-3a2fc90b
Mirror of article:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thank-private-equity-enormous-doctor-093000388.html
https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/05/31/1557207/you-can-thank-private-equity-for-that-enormous-doctors-bill
Consolidation. Private equity funds have been buying not only physician practices, but entire hospital chains. And where they go, prices always go up, never down.
Here's two paragraphs from the article that should justifiably infuriate you:
In the U.S., many doctors used to work for physician-owned businesses. These days, about three-quarters work for a hospital or a corporate owner. As for your hospital, a private-equity firm or a larger medical system probably owns it.
There are massive incentives to consolidate. At nearly $5 trillion, U.S. healthcare’s gross domestic product would rank it third in the world if it were a country. And there is a reason smaller practices want to sell: Regulations have become increasingly cumbersome, and dealing with insurers as a small entity isn’t a rewarding experience.
The solution is a robust single-payer system run by the government that still allows you to purchase private health care if you so desire and can afford it, but it will never happen. There are too many congresscritters captured by the industry to let such legislation pass.
Original article, may be paywalled:
https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/you-can-thank-private-equity-for-that-enormous-doctors-bill-3a2fc90b
Mirror of article:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thank-private-equity-enormous-doctor-093000388.html
https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/05/31/1557207/you-can-thank-private-equity-for-that-enormous-doctors-bill
