Study: When Private Equity Buys Hospitals, Medical Errors Soar
A major study found that the rate of serious medical complications increased when hospitals were bought by investors, sometimes at alarming rates. Also in the news: Medicare Advantage plans hitting rural hospitals; a health care data breach affecting over a million people; and more.
The New York Times:
Serious Medical Errors Rose After Private Equity Firms Bought Hospitals
The rate of serious medical complications increased in hospitals after they were purchased by private equity investment firms, according to a major study of the effects of such acquisitions on patient care in recent years. The study, published in JAMA on Tuesday, found that, in the three years after a private equity fund bought a hospital, adverse events including surgical infections and bed sores rose by 25 percent among Medicare patients when compared with similar hospitals that were not bought by such investors. The researchers reported a nearly 38 percent increase in central line infections, a dangerous kind of infection that medical authorities say should never happen, and a 27 percent increase in falls by patients while staying in the hospital. (Abelson and Sanger-Katz, 12/26)
Fierce Healthcare:
Adverse Events Increased After Hospitals Acquired By Private Equity, Study Finds
Specifically, through up to three years after hospital acquisition, the analysis shows a 27% increase in falls, a 38% increase in central line-associated infections and about twice as many surgical site infections compared to control hospitals—though the latter measure was “less statistically precise” due to a smaller sample size, the researchers wrote. Contrasting the rise in adverse events was an almost decrease in hospital deaths among the acquired hospitals. (Muoio, 12/27)
In other health care industry news —
Stat:
Ascension's Ugly Legal Battle Over Care For Poor Patients In Texas
The partnership between one of the nation’s largest Catholic health systems and a local government agency focused on caring for poor patients was supposed to be mutually beneficial for everyone involved. But it didn’t quite turn out that way. (Cohrs, 1/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Why Medicare Advantage Plans Are ‘Crippling’ Rural Hospitals
Delayed Medicare Advantage reimbursement is among the top concerns of rural hospital operators, one of several factors expected to be a drag on rural hospital finances in 2024. Rural hospitals, which tend to run on thinner operating margins than metro-area hospitals, have been hurt by reimbursement cuts, staffing constraints, inflation, the aging population and interest rate hikes. (Kacik, 12/28)
Modern Healthcare:
IRA Grants For Hospital Sustainability Projects Find Few Takers
Eighteen months ago, Congress and President Joe Biden set aside billions of dollars in funding and tax incentives for sustainability and decarbonization efforts. Take-up in the healthcare industry has lagged. ... Hospitals are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which was associated with 72% of evacuations from 2000 to 2017, according to a study from Case Western Reserve University. Yet few health systems have concocted plans to tap the federal dollars. (Hartnett, 12/29)
The Mercury News:
Spending Fights, Supply Chain Delays Slow Mobile Health Boom
The use of mobile health clinics exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the need to reach patients in outdoor, decentralized locations and also by the trillions of dollars in federal aid that Congress poured into the economy. In rural areas, mobile clinics often replace the dwindling preventive care network that helps keep patients healthy and out of the emergency room. Next year, a 2022 law will also authorize the further expansion of mobile clinics. But Congress would have to fund it first. (Clason, 12/29)
Modern Healthcare:
Retail Disruptors Target Seniors For Growth
Competition is heating up among healthcare retailers to provide services for the rapidly swelling senior population. About 1 in 6 people in the U.S. were age 65 or older as of 2020, increasing to roughly 1 in 5 by 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As the population ages, healthcare providers see the potential cost-saving benefits of changing care delivery for seniors who are living longer but managing chronic conditions. (Hudson, 12/28)
Politico:
Mental Hospitals Warehoused The Sick. Congress Wants To Let Them Try Again.
The linked crises of drug addiction and homelessness have Washington on the verge of embracing a health care provider it once repudiated: the mental hospital. Nearly 60 years after Congress barred Medicaid from treating people in what were then derided as insane asylums, lawmakers are on the verge of reversing course. The reasons: Community-based care championed since the 1960s hasn’t stopped record overdoses — and constituents have had it with the brazen drug use and tent encampments in their cities. Some public health advocates agree that times have changed and the magnitude of the crises justifies lifting the rule. (Paun, 1/1)
KFF Health News:
Can Family Doctors Deliver Rural America From Its Maternal Health Crisis?
Zita Magloire carefully adjusted a soft measuring tape across Kenadie Evans’ pregnant belly. Determining a baby’s size during a 28-week obstetrical visit is routine. But Magloire, a family physician trained in obstetrics, knows that finding the mother’s uterus and, thus, checking the baby, can be tricky for inexperienced doctors. “Sometimes it’s, like, off to the side,” Magloire said, showing a visiting medical student how to press down firmly and complete the hands-on exam. She moved her finger slightly to calculate the fetus’s height: “There she is, right here.” Evans smiled and later said Magloire made her “comfortable.” (Tribble, 1/2)
KFF Health News:
In Year 6, KFF Health News-NPR’s ‘Bill Of The Month’ Helps Patients In A Changing System
In 2023, our nationwide reporting team has been hard at work on a holiday gift to you: a packet of advice for navigating the labyrinthine American medical system. In the sixth year of KFF Health News-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” series, readers shared more than 750 tales of medical billing problems, contributing to our ongoing effort to investigate the financial consequences of becoming sick or injured in the United States — and empower patients to advocate for themselves. Reporters analyzed more than $730,000 in charges, including more than $215,000 owed by 12 patients and their families. (12/23)
KFF Health News:
‘An Arm And A Leg’: When Hospitals Sue Patients (Part 2)
Some hospitals sue patients who can’t afford to pay their medical bills. Such lawsuits don’t tend to bring in much money for the hospital but can really harm patients already experiencing financial hardships. In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” Dan Weissmann goes toe-to-toe with Scott Purcell, CEO of ACA International, a trade association for the collection industry, on the effects these lawsuits have on patients. (12/28)
On health technology —
CBS News:
Another Corewell Health Data Breach Impacts More Than 1 Million Patients
For the second time in just a few months, Corewell Health patients in Southeast Michigan may have had their medical information exposed in a data breach. According to Attorney General Dana Nessel, this breach involves HealthEC, LLC., which is a population health management platform that provides services to Corewell Health. HealthEC mailed impacted individuals notice letters on Dec. 22, 2023. (Powers, 12/27)
Stat:
3 Trends To Watch In The Business Of Health Tech In 2024
Is it too early to say that the health tech boom feels like a million years ago? In 2020 and 2021, the jolt of pandemic and favorable economic conditions created an explosion of adoption and investment for companies that hoped to transform some corner of the stodgy health care system with technology. Those roaring days feel like a distant memory. Many of those would-be disrupters are now struggling through a much different environment. (Aguilar, 1/2)
