Student warns private equity acquisitions can harm care quality, urges CPOM and transaction review in H.71

Jonathan Brooks, a Middlebury College student, told the Vermont House Health Care Committee on May 14 that growing private equity investment in health care nationally and in Vermont raises risks for quality, price and financial practices, and that lawmakers should incorporate corporate practice of medicine protections and stronger transaction review into Vermont’s H.71 bill.

Brooks summarized peer‑reviewed studies and interviews his group conducted and cited data showing increased adverse events and price increases after private equity acquisitions in some cases. He said some studies reported a 20–25.4% rise in hospital‑acquired conditions, a roughly 27.3% increase in patient falls and around a 37.7% rise in central line‑associated bloodstream infections in hospitals acquired by private equity. For nursing homes, he said some…