U.S. Right to Know
When profit kills: How private equity is eroding health care
by Pamela Ferdinand
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Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research
Yashaswini Singh Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice
Biography
Yashaswini Singh is an Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. Trained as a health economist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, her research examines competition, consolidation, and private equity acquisitions in health care—focusing on impacts on prices, quality, and the physician workforce—and has been featured in outlets including Vox, Bloomberg Business, Fortune, Kaiser Health News, and Politico.
Recent News
A new study from researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health highlights a push from private equity investors into autism therapy centers across the nation.
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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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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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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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