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2h ago

Private Equity Hospital Buyouts Linked to Higher ER Deaths, Staffing Cuts

Using national Medicare claims with cost reports, researchers tie post‑buyout staffing reductions to higher transfers and deaths.

Doctors and patients rushing patient to ER in hospital.

Overview

  • A peer‑reviewed study in Annals of Internal Medicine finds emergency department mortality rose 13.4% after acquisitions compared with matched non‑acquired hospitals.
  • The increase equates to about seven additional deaths per 10,000 emergency visits from a baseline of 52 per 10,000.
  • Salary expenditures fell by 18.2% in emergency departments and 15.9% in intensive care units, with reductions in average full‑time staff at acquired hospitals as controls increased staffing.
  • Patient transfers to other acute care hospitals rose 4.2% from baseline in emergency departments and 10.2% in intensive care units, while ICU length of stay declined by 4.7%.
  • Researchers used difference‑in‑differences analyses of RAND‑collated cost reports (2007–2019) and 100% Medicare Fee‑for‑Service claims (2009–2019) for hospitals acquired between 2010 and 2017, with funding from NIH and AHRQ.