Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit that promotes industry transparency and regulation, released new research to help consumers, legislators, and regulators identify private-equity firms' dominance in health care, housing, jobs, and pensions.
Arizona and Georgia are high for housing risks connected to heavy private-equity rental house acquisitions, while New Mexico and West Virginia are high for financier-dominated health care operations.
The index highlights “the private equity threats in our own backyard and gives state leaders the tools to protect the people they serve,” said Private Equity Stakeholder Project policy director Chris Noble. By providing transparent statistics on private equity investment risks, we empower communities, working families, and lawmakers to push for reform and defend their states from unchecked private equity firms.”
Private-equity ownership of nursing homes, hospitals, and physician practices harms patients, according to independent academic research. Private equity-controlled nursing facilities had 10% higher death rates, while hospitals operated by the firms had more adverse events, including more falls and infections.
The new state risk score shows that private equity controls 3.2% of Pennsylvania hospitals, compared to 25% in New Mexico. The risk score states Pennsylvania hospitals have a 5% higher readmission rate after discharge than the national norm.
From 2010 until 2021, Leonard Green & Partners backed Prospect, which operates 16 safety net hospitals in four states that serve low-income Medicaid patients. Several employees informed NBC News that Crozer had neglected to pay contractors and closed services due to its high debt burden.
Medium, big, and mega-investors bought 17% of Georgia properties, up 62% since 2018, according to the PESP state risk index. Arizona and Nevada attract private equity and corporate landlords.
The PESP state index estimates that private equity employs 9% of the private sector workforce in Massachusetts. This is over 20% higher than 2018. Massachusetts has 91 private-equity-controlled employee deaths or hospitalizations between 2018 and 2022, a share of the total private sector employment.
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