As Trump Cuts Healthcare, Private Equity Gains Hold At Doctor’s Office
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The American Medical Association says the share of physicians working in private practices was 42.2 … More percent last year as private equity and hospitals gobble up private practices. getty Just two in five U.S. physicians are in doctor-owned private practice as hospitals and private equity firms gobble up physician groups thanks in part to cuts in insurance payments to medical care providers that are about to get even worse. The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician group, says in a new report that the share of physicians working in private practice was 42.2% last year, which is a sharp decline from more than a decade ago when more than 60% — or three in five doctors – were in private practice, which the AMA defines as a “practice wholly owned by physicians.” The AMA’s analysis blames flat to falling payments from health insurance companies and government health programs like Medicare coverage for the elderly and Medicaid coverage for low-income Americans among the reasons physicians are selling to hospitals, health systems and private equity. In addition, AMA says its data cites “costly resources, and burdensome regulatory and administrative requirements” as “longstanding and important drivers of this change.” “The share of doctors working in practices wholly owned by physicians is unraveling under compounding pressures,” said AMA President Dr. Bruce A. Scott said. “The cumulative impact of burdensome regulations, rising financial strain, and relentless cuts in payment poses a dire threat to the sustainability of private practices,” Scott said. “After adjusting for inflation in practice costs, Medicare physician payment has fallen 33 percent over the past quarter century, which has severely destabilized private practices and jeopardized patients’ access to care. Payment updates are necessary for physicians to continue to practice independently.” But there appears to be little interest by the Republican-controlled…
