In Defense of Private Equity in Health Care, Mostly
Private equity's role in health care has drawn fierce criticism, yet the evidence of harm remains mixed and far from conclusive.
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Rhoads, J. "In Defense of Private Equity in Health Care, Mostly" Medical Economics. September 2025.
Private equity (PE) firms have greatly expanded their footprint in U.S. health care over the past 20 years. Once a minimal presence, they now own hundreds of hospitals, thousands of medical practices and a growing number of nursing homes nationwide. Their orientation toward profit has drawn fire from critics. From opinion pieces describing PE firms as "vampires" to scholarly articles labeling PE a "scourge," and from law review articles casting PE firms as "barbarians" to legislative proposals seeking to regulate or ban various types of PE activity, a popular narrative has taken root: that private equity is ruining health care.
This frenzy is at least premature, and possibly very misguided.
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