Turning patients into profit: How Steward embodies the risk of private equity’s push in American health care (The Boston Globe)

Steward Health Care’s dramatic rise and fall mirrors the surge of private equity investments in U.S. healthcare after the 2010 Affordable Care Act. By 2019, private equity health deals had tripled in value to $120 billion, enabling firms to acquire about 460 U.S. hospitals—8% of private hospitals and 22% of for-profit facilities.

Once a promising chain with over 30 hospitals, Steward now faces bankruptcy with $9 billion in debt and federal investigations into alleged financial mismanagement. Massachusetts taxpayers may foot a $700 million bill to rescue several of its facilities.

What went wrong? Steward’s story highlights the risks of prioritizing profits over patient care—transforming a public necessity into a financial venture that left hospitals stripped of resources while executives profited.