Recent Research in the Media
- Texans Warned of Health Insurance Premium Rise in 2026
In a Newsweek article, Jasmine Laws, discusses how health insurance premiums are expected to increase across the country, with the possibility of certain states experiences much higher increases. While the enhanced tax credits were originally implemented by former President Joe Biden for those using ACA marketplaces are set to expire at the end of 2025 are impacting the increase in premium costs, there are also a number of other factors affecting these costs including inflation, labor costs, and high-priced drugs. Richard Scheffler, tells Newsweek, that “rises in premium costs are routine.”
Read the full article here.
- The United States Government Accountability Office Discusses Reducing Spending and Enhancing Value in the U.S. Health Care System
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) convened a diverse panel of 30 health care experts to focus on the challenges of health care spending. Richard Scheffler was a member of the panel and was involved in conversations to help identify issues associated with increased health care spending in the United States. The panel was comprised of federal government officials, academics, researchers, clinicians, and industry experts who represented a range of expertise and experiences.
To read the full highlights from the forum, please view this link. - UnitedHealthcare Is Struggling To Recover From Luigi Mangione
In an Newsweek article, Jasimine Laws, discusses how the alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, became secondary to the public’s outrage at UnitedHealthcare itself, with social media mocking the company over high healthcare costs and denied care. The backlash has led to stock losses and legal threats. Richard Scheffler told Newsweek, “The oversize profits at a time where health care is becoming even more unaffordable is a key factor in the negative view of company.”
Read the full article here. - Invited Commentary: Unanswered Questions on Private Equity in Gastroenterology
Jane M. Zhu, MD, MPP, Division of General Internal Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, comments on this issue of JAMA Health Forum, Arnold et al. Zhu discusses that the inclusion of a number of quality metrics in the analysis is significant to the conversation.
To view Zhu’s full commentary, please see the PDF below.
- Does Private Equity Harm Competition in the Hospital Industry?
In an article published in ProMarket on May 16, 2025, Brent Fulton discusses the role of lenders in acquisitions of hospitals by private equity firms.
During the past two decades, the number of U.S. companies owned by private equity firms has increased almost sixfold–from 1,900 to 11,200–including private equity firms owning almost 500 hospitals in the U.S. today. While private equity firms have been able to extract their capital prior to some hospital-system bankruptcies, the lenders have been overlooked in these bankruptcies. The capital extraction occurred because the lenders allowed the debt to be paid as a dividend, likely because debt covenants were relaxed by lenders chasing relatively few private equity deals and because hospital market conditions changed for the worse (with lenders pricing loans assuming some default risk). Hence, lenders bore the brunt of the losses.
However, patients bear the brunt of hospital service disruptions. Moreover, taxpayers sometimes bail out these hospitals. Fulton concludes by stating whether private equity-owned hospitals are a competitive model has yet to be determined–the impact of private equity on hospital quality is mixed–but regardless of the ownership model, regulation is needed to ensure transparent financing, along with price and quality transparency, because of the social contract that hospitals have with their communities.ProMarket is a publication of the Stigler Center at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is publishing a series of articles on the impact of private equity in health care. Here’s some information about ProMarket from its website. ProMarket is an academic forum focused on topics of special-interest capture, antitrust, political economy, and the future of capitalism. The vast majority of economists believe that competition is the essential ingredient that makes a market economy work. While a competitive market system ends up benefiting everyone, nobody benefits enough to spend resources to lobby for it. Business has very powerful lobbies; competitive markets do not. This is why we are ProMarket, rather than ProBusiness.
Recent Publications
- Growth of hospital affiliations in California: impact on hospitalcharges and quality
By Arjun Teotia, Brent D. Fulton, Dan R. Arnold, Richard M. Scheffler | Published July 2025 in Journal of Hospital Management and Health Policy| Link to article
“The increasing trend of hospital affiliations raises significant questions about the factors
that drive these decisions and their implications for hospital performance, particularly in terms of pricing
and quality. This study contributes important insights into how affiliations—a less formal consolidation than full mergers—affect hospital performance. This study aims to assess the effects of hospital affiliations on the discharge charges and quality of care provided by affiliated hospital.” - Private Equity Acquisition of Gastroenterology Practices and Colonoscopy Price and Quality
By Daniel R. Arnold, Brent D. Fulton, Ola A. Abdelhadi, et al | Published June 20, 2025 in JAMA Health Forum | Link to Full Article
“Physician practices in the US are rapidly being acquired by private equity (PE) firms. A recent study found a 6-fold increase in the number of PE acquisitions of physician practices between 2012 and 2021. These acquisitions are occurring in many specialties, with the highest share of physicians working in practices owned by PE firms occurring in gastroenterology (13.1%). This acquisition activity has also been reported in studies published in gastroenterology specialty journals. While the influx of capital from PE has the potential to create technological and operational efficiencies, many have feared that PE’s short-term financial incentives may negatively impact health care prices, quality, or access.”
Petris Director Joins the Better Healthcare Policy Group
