Physicians Take the PE Money and Run (4sight Health)

A new Health Affairs study highlights a growing problem for healthcare consumers: higher physician turnover rates in private equity (PE)-acquired practices. Analyzing 200 ophthalmology practices bought by PE firms between 2014 and 2021, researchers found that physician turnover jumped from 4.9% before acquisition to 22.2% afterward — a staggering 17.3 percentage point increase. In contrast, similar non-PE-acquired practices saw turnover grow only slightly, from 7.7% to 8.8%.