Private equity firms may own your doctor. What does that mean for you?

A new report shows private equity investors are snatching up physician practices and jacking up the costs.

In more than 25% of local markets, one private equity firm owned more than 30% of the practices in each specialty, according to the American Antitrust Institute. In some markets, these firms own more than half.

How does this affect you? When a for-profit investment firm controls a dominant share of the market, researchers say, the cost of care for gastroenterology, dermatology, and obstetrics and gynecology increases.

Private equity firms traditionally buy companies using debt and plan to resell them after a few years. The health care industry has become their recent focus, with firms steadily acquiring and combining doctors’ practices.

Private equity firms offer advantages to physicians, giving them the financial leverage to grow or buy more advanced technology. However, concerns have been raised about patient care and the firms’ profit-oriented approach.

Critics are also sharing concerns about putting profits over patients. Little research has been published on patient care, but some has shown that nursing homes owned by a private equity firm have fewer staff and higher rates of prescriptions for antipsychotic medicines.

Now Congress is considering legislation that would require more reporting when a firm buys a health care company because they are challenging to track. While lawmakers and federal regulators work on potential changes to these deals, researchers want them to pay attention to these acquisitions and how they affect health care consumers.

Have you noticed the costs of your care increasing? Or has your doctor been bought by a private equity firm? Share your story with us.