The report also details regulatory complications at Wilson Medical Center in North Carolina, where Duke LifePoint Healthcare bought a controlling stake in 2014.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) investigated the facility following two patient deaths, while the North Carolina Department of Justice raised legal concerns over emergency care.
“The matters referenced in your inquiry relate to issues that were addressed years ago, and Wilson Medical Center has been in full compliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements since 2024,” said Kimberley Sirk, director of marketing and communications for Wilson Medical Center.
She added that the hospital has undertaken “extensive efforts to strengthen process, accountability and oversight,” and cited the dedication of staff to improving care.
Some health economics experts argue that focusing entirely on private equity overlooks broader systemic issues like overall provider consolidation and rising medical prices.
“The so-called nonprofit sector doesn’t in any way behave differently than the for-profit sector – so there’s mountains of evidence not finding any behavioral difference,” said Anthony T Lo Sasso, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
“What we’re talking about here is investment capital that the provider can turn around and invest in patient care, invest in operations, invest in more and better staffing – all of this is something that becomes more feasible with more money coming into the operation,” said Lo Sasso.
>>> Michigan’s $55 America 250 License Plate: Only $5 Goes to the Plate
Industry executives view these partnerships as vital, with Ardent Health chief financial officer Alfred Lumsdaine noting via Fierce Healthcare that roughly 40% of hospitals are losing money.
