Inside STAT: Private equity is increasingly investing in health care. What does it mean? 

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS IN RECENT YEARS HAVE AGGRESSIVELY SOUGHT TO PURCHASE PHYSICIAN PRACTICES. (ADOBE)

As private equity firms clamor to buy physician practices — such firms spent more than $86 billion acquiring doctors' offices in 2018 alone — the big question is whether these acquisitions can ensure quality care. After all, equity firms usually expect at least 20% in returns, and the increased pressure to deliver may mean that medical practices may perform more procedures to meet their new investors' demands. In a new story, STAT's Lev Facher looks into what this recent trend of acquisitions means for health care quality, including why equity firms are interested in medical offices at all, and why physicians would agree to have their practices bought out in this way. STAT Plus subscribers can read more here.