Wall Street Private Equity Takeover Of Healthcare Now Impacting Patients

The American healthcare system already has an extraordinary number of problems in the present day. Costs for medicine and care have gone through the roof, insurance premiums have become uncontrollable, all while insurance companies have made billions off sick Americans. On top of that, the Obamacare system has made it where patient care is second priority to how many patients you can treat. It has become all about money and nothing about healthcare.

Well, you can put another issue on the long list of struggles. Conservaitive group The Bull Moose Project has released a new report that reveals private equity firms have silently taken over the healthcare system. These private equity groups have quietly bought up clinics around the country, and in their methods have created rising costs and a decline in quality.

Anthony Constantini of the Bull Moose Project says these firms have specifically targeted oncology clinics, buying them up then taking over the entire operation. That has started heavily impacting cancer patients around the country, including here in Texas.

"Especially in low-income areas, these have created a 50-percent increase in radiotherapy spending for cancer patients...this is what they usually focus on, which makes it all the worse...they focus on oncology because there is a lot of money involved," he says.

The practice has been done here in Texas which has resulted in millions of dollars in fines. That has been the case around the country, as the federal government has had to step in to quell the issue. But still, it persists.

As is the case with most of the healthcare system, it boils down to money. Cancer care is an attractive thing financially for an investor. The drugs and procedures are expensive; you can charge virtually whatever you want. Making matters worse, they can hide behind physician-owned clinics with their money and still call the shots, while putting the physician in the line of fire.

"The sinister thing is they basically purchase a skeleton structure, which can then go make decisions even in physician-owned companies," says Constantini. "So, then they can say this is the physician's company...but they are the ones who set the hours, what drugs to push, and who should be hired."

It obviously does not meet the legitimate definition of fraud. After all, it is a free market. But it feels like fraud. It sounds like firms ripping off sick Americans to gain a few dollars. It sounds like a broken system that can benefit a few while hurting the many.

It also sounds like the exact thing Wall Street thrives on doing.

"They can make hours prohibitively ridiculous for working people...then say 'oh, this clinic is not doing well.' Then they can close it, and jack up prices at their remaining clinics," Constantini says.

Oversight is needed on the issue before things spiral to an unrecoverable state. There is some good news, though. Constantini adds states do have the ability and right to fight against this.

Whether or not they will, time will tell. So many politicians probably get kickbacks from the firms that nothing will get accomplished. But a concerned American can hope.