An Arm and a Leg
Some more things that didn’t suck in 2025
"New state laws tackle the burden of medical debt and the corporate take-over of medicine."
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Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research
Erin Fuse Brown JD, MPH
Health Law Lab Lead, Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice
Biography
Erin Fuse Brown is a Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. She was previously the Catherine C. Henson professor of law and director of the Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University.
Professor Fuse Brown’s areas of research and expertise include health law and policy, health care finance, health care consolidation and prices, the Affordable Care Act, single-payer and public option health reforms, ERISA preemption of state health laws, consumer financial protections for patients against surprise medical bills and medical debt. She also serves as a consultant to the National Academy for State Health Policy to provide legal and policy resources and draft model laws for its Center for Health System Costs, funded by Arnold Ventures. Professor Fuse Brown’s work has influenced health policy at the state and national levels.
Recent News
The article explains how growing consolidation among insurers, hospitals, and physician groups is driving higher prices and fewer choices for patients, while current antitrust tools struggle to keep up with these increasingly complex mergers.
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Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon lawmakers vote to block rising corporate ownership of medical clinics
On Wednesday, the state House passed Senate Bill 951, the latest effort to expand Oregon’s prohibitions on corporate ownership in local care providers.
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Brown University
Market Power
Professors Erin Fuse Brown and Yashaswini Singh warn that private equity’s focus on short-term returns is reshaping healthcare at the expense of patients and providers. From overburdened hospitals to ethical dilemmas in mental health care, their insights expose how profit-driven ownership can undermine clinical priorities and public trust.
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The New Yorker
The Gilded Age of Medicine Is Here
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.
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Health Affairs Forefront
California’s Failed Bid To Regulate Private Equity Investment In Health Care
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.
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