Dr. Barry B. Perlman, a retired psychiatrist, is past president of the New York State Psychiatric Association and past chair of the New York State Council of Mental Health Services. He also served as a member of the state’s Hospital Review Planning Council. His memoir, Rearview: A Psychiatrist Reflects on Practice and Advocacy In a Time of Healthcare System Change, will be published in 2021. Perlman lives in New York.
Is it a coincidence that private equity, for-profit and private companies are waging an all-out assault on nearly every lucrative area of medical and dental practice? federal fund report Can you see that healthcare costs are rising rapidly and outcomes are declining in America?
A recent headline tells the story: “Owners of nursing homes (in western New York) ran out of cash during the pandemic while residents deteriorated.” “VillageMD Completes $9.8 Billion Acquisition of SummitHealth-City MD” Created one of the largest independent provider groups in the United States from Warburg-Pincus, a private equity firm. “New Medicare rules aim to recoup $4.7 billion from insurers.” See your Medicare Advantage Plan for overcharges.
A for-profit entity may own a clinic directly or through a captive professional corporation (PC), manage it through a medical or dental administrative services organization, or use other means. For-profit involvement spans hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, various primary, specialty and multispecialty practices, mental health, autism, substance use disorders, weight management programs, and more. Not surprisingly, their explosive growth primarily benefits their owners and often harms those seeking and providing care, as revealed by academic researchers and investigative journalists. increase.
Despite having one of the strongest legal prohibitions against corporate medical practice, New York State is not impervious to encroachment. Unfortunately for New Yorkers, a bill intended to halt the establishment and expansion of for-profit hospices in New York has been decimated by Gov. It was recently denied. An overview of the extent of such ownership in New York appears to have been confirmed by dental offices, medical specialties and general clinics, urgent care centers, imaging centers, retail clinics, etc. These are both private and owned by private equity or for-profit companies, including large health insurers. It may have been. It is therefore clear that patients/consumers are unaware/ignorant of the incentives that are driving their decision making regarding their care. Skepticism would be beneficial to them.
It may be too late to halt or reverse the rapidly expanding beachhead established by commercial involvement in health care, but even New York state is tightening its regulatory environment to better ensure patient protection. It’s never too late to do so. State Departments of Health (DOH) accredit hospitals and their various clinical services, nursing homes, and other categories of medical institutions. We ensure that standards of medical practice are met through regular and necessary examinations. Currently, for-profit medical organizations must be registered with her DOH, but are not licensed. This outdated regulatory treatment dichotomy remains from the days when doctors and dentists practiced primarily alone or in small groups. Today, more than 70% of her doctors are employed by corporate bodies. All too often, the alleged barriers between the business and provider sides of corporate healthcare have been shown to be broken.
Licensing by the State Department of Health, coordinated with future oversight by the New York State Attorney General of for-profit organizations that own or control large provider organizations, and their willingness to make huge profits has been unfairly influenced. It would be helpful for New Yorkers to ensure that there are no. Decision making by doctors, dentists, and other health care professionals. Although unlikely, it is reassuring if legal/regulatory scrutiny of such commercial medical arrangements finds no flaws.
New Yorkers and Americans want to be noticed with headlines like: You are less likely to go bankrupt if you are treated for a serious illness. Adopt a doctor’s care plan for an illness seamlessly and fearlessly. Simply put, it’s not about the profits of healthcare companies, but of indicators designed to show how our healthcare system is increasingly working for patients, doctors, and other healthcare professionals. I would love to read about the improvements.
Also by this writer: American Medicine Is Not Aligned With Patients (Guest Opinion by Dr. Barry B. Perlman)
