Private equity firms would be required to disclose more information on their ownership of U.S. nursing homes and other healthcare facilities under legislation set for introduction in Congress.
Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, for a second time seeks to push a bill that would mandate greater transparency on live-in care homes, where complicated corporate structures can mask true ownership.
The Healthcare Ownership Transparency Act, which failed to move out of committee when introduced last year, would compel firms to list investors, debt, fees collected, and performance details. It would also establish a task force to make recommendations “to address the adverse effects of healthcare consolidation and private equity’s involvement in healthcare.”
Jayapal said an increasing number of worrisome reports and data about PE-owned nursing homes prompted the bill’s reintroduction. She is the chair of the House Progressive Caucus, and represents a district in Washington state, where the first nursing-home death in the pandemic was recorded.
“Private equity and consolidation in our healthcare system lead to worse outcomes and higher bills for patients,” she said in an emailed statement to Mergers & Acquisitions. “Healthcare is a human right and the care people receive shouldn’t be determined by an investor’s bottom line.” Read more.
