The number of U.S. hospitals being acquired by private equity firms is on the rise, but is that good news for patients with pulmonary conditions like COPD?
Not according to a study, “Clinical Outcomes for Pulmonary Conditions Worsened After Private Equity Acquisition of U.S. Hospitals: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis,” presented at the American Thoracic Society 2026 International Conference.
According to a press release, the study found that patients with pneumonia are more likely to die during their stay in hospitals that have been acquired by private equity than in other hospitals. In addition, patients with COPD are more likely to revisit the hospital within the first 30 days compared to patients at other hospitals.
“Our findings add to growing concerns around the detrimental effects of private equity in healthcare and highlight a critical need for stronger regulations of these acquisitions to protect our patients,” said first author Stephen Mein, MD, a pulmonologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and researcher at the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Boston.
Previous studies, such as “Changes in Hospital Adverse Events and Patient Outcomes Associated With Private Equity Acquisition,” have shown that when hospitals are acquired by private equity firms, patients report worse experiences with care and have higher rates of hospital-acquired adverse events like falls and bloodstream infections. However, few studies have examined how private equity acquisition impacts specific diseases like COPD and pneumonia.
For this study, researchers analyzed data for more than 146,900 COPD and 194,900 pneumonia encounters at private equity hospitals. They matched those hospitals with a control group of hospitals not owned by private equity firms. Patients with COPD saw a 1% increase in deaths, while those for pneumonia patients saw nearly the same increase.
“While a 1-percentage-point increase may sound small, it represents a substantial change when the typical in-hospital mortality rates for patients with pneumonia [are] only 3% to 4%,” Dr. Mein said.
Dr. Mein noted that private equity firms are incentivized to generate profits over short time periods, a goal that may not always align with delivering high-quality care.
