Marie Follayttar
Director of Communications
Senate President Daughtry Convenes Commission to Protect Hospitals
as Nearly Half Face Closure
Portland, Maine – Maine AllCare applauds Senate President Mattie Daughtry (Brunswick) for establishing the new Commission to Evaluate the Scope of Regulatory Review and Oversight Over Health Care Transactions that Impact the Delivery of Health Care Services in the State under LD 1578. The commission, chaired by Senator Mike Tipping (Orono), will hold its first meeting Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. in Cross Building Room 202 (LAB). The public can attend in person to testify or view livestream of the meeting through: https://legislature.maine.gov/
Maine AllCare worked with Senator Tipping to introduce LD. 985. The commission builds on Maine AllCare’s advocacy and Sen. Tipping’s leadership with LD.985: An Act to Impose a Moratorium on the Ownership or Operation of Hospitals by Private Equity Companies or REITs, which passed as an emergency bill in June. The moratorium enacted June 22, 2025, for one year creates time for the Maine Legislature to act before Maine nonprofit hospitals are lost to predatory acquisitions by private equity.
The commission is charged with evaluating certificate of need laws, the scope of review to disrupt or terminate health care services, review and oversight of health care transactions and the role of private equity companies or real estate investment trusts taking financial or operational control of a hospital in Maine. It will provide a report to the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee no later than Dec. 10, 2025.
This commission comes just in time as an estimated 42% of Maine hospitals are at risk of closing. Genesis Healthcare, the owner of 11 of Maine’s nursing homes, declared bankruptcy this summer. Genesis is owned by private equity and operates with a REIT. Maine has lost 26 nursing homes in the last decade. 11 birthing units have closed in the last decade including 4 in the last year.
“Private equity is a short-term investment where medical decisions are driven by profit, not patient or community needs. Maine AllCare believes hospitals are a public good. We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Tipping and Senate President Daughtry and await the results of the commission,” said Dr. Julie Keller Pease Chair of Maine AllCare, “Meanwhile, the rainy day is here, and it’s a storm. It is time for the state to find the financial resources to protect Mainers’ lives and implement universal health care for Mainers now. Absent action Maine people will die.”
Maine’s healthcare crisis is aggravated further by the ongoing fight between Northern Lights and Anthem where on October 1 all physicians will be out of network for Anthem, and all hospitals will be by the end of the year if a contract is not made between them. Northern Lights runs 9 of Maine’s hospitals. Northern Light Inland hospital in Waterville( the home of Colby College) closed due to financial struggles in May. 30,000 Mainers may soon find their primary care physician out of network. 13 of 16 Maine counties are health professional shortage areas. A recent study of Private equity owned hospital emergency rooms show a rise in patient death rates by 13%.
“Our Maine hospitals exist to care for our people, not to enrich out-of-state profiteers. Maine AllCare is committed to making sure every Mainer has healthcare, and it’s more urgent than ever that our Maine leaders act. Securing our healthcare infrastructure is critical so Mainers can access care now—and so the state can build the universal healthcare system our people deserve.” David Jolly, Vice Chair of Maine AllCare.
Private equity’s management of hospitals examined in several studies has led to an alarming decline in patient care, and a reduction of hospital assets on average of 24% . Private equity-backed companies accounted for 7 of the 8 largest healthcare bankruptcies in 2024. In a 2023 analysis of 366 hospitals with 73 acquired by private equity, global measures of patient care experience revealed stark results as care worsened across the board. A 2024 NIH study compared 51 hospitals acquired by private equity between 2009 and 2019 and compared them with 259 hospitals not owned by private-equity, finding an increase in falls, infections and adverse events of a staggering 25.4% increase. It was also clear and troubling to find that patients who were sicker were more likely to be transferred out of the care of a private-equity owned hospital before dying, thus lowering the reported death rate from the hospital.
In January 2025, a Bipartisan Report of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee released a report highlighting that private equity ownership of hospitals “harm patients, degrade care and drive hospital closures.”
Maine AllCare is grateful for leadership taking action on this portion of the healthcare crisis.
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Maine AllCare is a state chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. Maine AllCare promotes the establishment of publicly funded health care coverage for all Maine residents. This system must be efficient, financially sound, politically sustainable and must provide benefits fairly distributed to all. Maine AllCare advocates that health care, a basic necessity, be treated as a public good, since it is fundamental to our well-being as individuals and as a democratic nation.
Further Resources on Private Equity’s impact upon Healthcare:
Who should own Americans’ Health Care?
Changes in Patient Care Experience After Private Equity Acquisition of US Hospitals
https://jamanetwork.com/
Infections and falls increased in private equity-owned hospitals
Changes in Hospital Adverse Events and Patient Outcomes Associated With Private Equity Acquisition
https://jamanetwork.com/
Private equity-backed companies accounted for 7 of the 8 largest healthcare bankruptcies in 2024 https://cbs4indy.com/business/
Private Equity in Health Care Shown to Harm Patients, Degrade Care, and Drive Hospital Closures