Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research

Yashaswini Singh Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice
yashaswini_singh@brown.edu
Research Profile

Biography

Dr. Singh is Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. Professor Singh came to Brown after completing her Ph.D. in health economics at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her areas of research and expertise include competition, consolidation, and vertical integration in health care markets. Her primary research examines how strategic acquisitions of physician practices by private equity funds change physician practice patterns and the downstream effects on cost, quality, and the clinical workforce, and has been featured in Vox, Bloomberg Business, Fortune Magazine, Kaiser Health News, and Politico.

Recent News

Global Competition Review

FTC study supports scrutiny of physician mergers, economists say

This article reports on a FTC study highlighting how roll-up acquisitions of physician practices—often led by private equity firms—can harm competition, raise prices, and reduce care quality. The study calls for increased scrutiny of serial acquisitions that fall below federal reporting thresholds, and experts say it could lead to stronger antitrust enforcement in healthcare markets.
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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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Brown University

More primary care physicians are affiliated with hospitals, leading to increased patient costs

The article covers a study published in JAMA Health Forum by Yashaswini Singh and colleagues on the increasing affiliation of primary care physicians with hospitals and private equity firms, leading to higher patient costs without clear improvements in care quality or physician compensation.
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Fierce Healthcare

Hospital, PE-affiliated primary care docs charge higher prices than independents, study finds

This article discusses a study led by Dr. Yashaswini Singh and published in JAMA Health Forum on trends in physician practice ownership, showing a significant shift from independent practices to corporate ownership, as well as the associated price increases, with hospital and PE-affiliated practices charging higher fees, and its implications for healthcare costs and quality.
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WBUR

New Harvard study raises concerns about hospital control by private equity

A new Harvard Medical School study found that patient satisfaction declines after PE takeovers due to cost-cutting measures, including staffing reductions. Dr. Yashaswini Singh from CAHPR comments on how patient experiences are crucial to understanding the broader effects of PE in healthcare, a frequently underrated aspect in studies on PE's impact on healthcare.
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