This article explores the study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and CAHPR at Brown University, which examines financial disparities between critical access hospitals (CAHs) and larger acute care hospitals from 2016 to 2022. The study highlights significant financial disparities, showing that system-affiliated critical access hospitals (CAHs) achieved higher operating margins than independent ones and highlights the need to balance financial sustainability with the risks of uneven care access and higher prices.

This article dives into the controversial world of private equity in healthcare, where profit-driven strategies lead to higher patient costs and declining care quality. This article examines real examples, from staffing cuts to surprise billing, and explores how these changes threaten physician autonomy and the stability of U.S. healthcare.

The article examines California’s failed attempt to regulate private equity investments in healthcare through AB 3129, which proposed stricter transaction oversight and protections against corporate control of medical practices. It critiques the bill’s limited scope, exemptions, and political challenges while positioning it as a case study for future state-level reforms in addressing healthcare consolidation.

This article highlights a study by Christopher Whaley showing how hospitals have received billions in extra payments by documenting care at higher levels of complexity than expected. This practice, known as "upcoding," raises concerns about the incentives in current payment systems and their impact on rising healthcare costs.

The article written by CAHPR researchers, emphasizes the opportunity for Congress, in its final weeks of the 118th session, to advance healthcare affordability and transparency through the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (LCMT) and the Health Care PRICE Transparency Act 2.0

UnitedHealth Group's insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, pays its own Optum physician practices significantly higher rates than other providers in the same markets, driving up costs for consumers and employers while enriching itself. This practice highlights the conflicts of interest and anti-competitive effects of vertical integration in healthcare, raising calls for regulatory intervention.

Is Medicare Advantage improving healthcare efficiency or creating higher costs that favor insurers? Hayden Rooke-Ley explores its rapid expansion, questions about cost and care quality, and the challenges of implementing effective regulations.

This article outlines six key points about Oregon's regulatory review of the OHSU-Legacy merger. Hayden Rooke-Ley's critique of the OHSU-Legacy merger, emphasizing how OHSU's broad market definition may obscure significant anticompetitive risks, presenting a critical test for Oregon's Health Care Market Oversight program.

This article examines the Oregon Health Authority's comprehensive review of the proposed merger between OHSU and Legacy Health, highlighting key concerns about market concentration, potential cost increases, and the future of health care access and competition in the region.

The article exposes Ralph de la Torre's misuse of private equity-backed Steward Health for personal gain while highlighting the broader issue of private equity's damaging impact on healthcare, with legislative efforts for reform largely stymied by political and lobbying pressures.

This article explores how private equity firms have taken control of many U.S. emergency rooms, prioritizing profit by reducing physician hours, replacing doctors with less qualified staff, and inflating costs, resulting in compromised patient care and increased bills, despite regulatory efforts like the No Surprises Act.

The FTC's nationwide ban on non-compete agreements, originally set to take effect on September 4, 2024, is now entangled in legal battles that challenge the agency's authority. This article explores the ongoing debates, highlighting the loopholes in the current rule, and prescribes potential policy solutions.

Christopher Whaley testified before Congress, highlighting the urgent need of health care price transparency and its role in combating high healthcare costs in the US and enhancing policy decision-making.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, addressed the House Committee on Ways and Means on why the U.S. is seeing a decline in private medical practices and what we can do about it.

Healthcare consolidation is fueled by the need for pricing power and financial stability under value-based care, but experts warn this trend threatens competition and transparency, calling for stronger oversight and legislative action.

The PE firm, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe has been released from the ongoing case against U.S. Anesthesia Partners, for monopolization in Texas. What does this mean for PE firms and antitrust scrutiny?

Is private equity good AND bad? Listen to experts including Dr. Yashaswini Singh talk about private equity with a nuanced approach.

This article featuring Chris Whaley delves into whether the Valley Children's Hospital's actions align with its mission and the nonprofit ethos it claims to uphold.

Erin Fuse Brown weighs in on the potential impact of the FTC's new rules against noncompete agreements, analyzing how this significant shift could empower healthcare workers and reshape the dynamics of the industry.

Amidst a silent surge of corporate takeovers in healthcare, Yashaswini Singh offers crucial insights into how these acquisitions are quietly transforming patient care and escalating costs, often beyond the public eye.

Oregon bill, HB 4130, aims to impose some of the strictest limits on corporate ownership of primary care and specialty clinics, targeting the influence of large companies and private equity firms.

This article looks at how private equity firms are increasingly employing "straw doctors" to circumvent restrictions on corporate ownership of medical practices -- threatening the quality of patient care and the integrity of the medical profession.

Ashish Jha casts a critical eye on the influence of private equity in healthcare, illuminating how these acquisitions not only escalate costs but also fundamentally reshape the quality and accessibility of medical care.

Read this NPR article or listen to the All Things Considered NPR broadcast featuring Dr. David Meyers where he talks about the difficulties a beneficiary can face when enrolled in Medicare Advantage.

Yashaswini Singh and Christopher Whaley comment on the escalating presence of private equity in healthcare, exploring the compelling reasons doctors are selling their practices and the profound ripple effects this trend casts across the health care landscape.

Payer-led consolidation is understudied but a growing trend. Read Dr. Yashaswini Singh's thoughts on the corporization of healthcare.

Dr. Yashaswini Singh comments on the newly released health policy efforts by the Biden Administration on lowering drug prices and improving ownership transparency

Brown and Lifespan aim to strengthen their partnership in 2024. Read here to learn more about this potential partnership.

Dr. Christopher Whaley and Erin Fuse Brown from CAHPR give their thoughts on General Catalyst, a VC firm which unusually plans to buy a health system

Watch the full discussion from our launch event

A unique lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission that alleges a private equity sponsor and the company of creating a monopoly.

Listen to Drs. Ehsan Rahimy, Yashaswini Singh, and Jane Zhu in this podcast exploring the correlation between private equity acquisition of ophthalmology practices and a rise in healthcare expenditures