For Immediate Release, Marie Follayttar, Director of Communications for Maine AllCare
“We cannot afford to be reactive when it comes to health care. We must be proactive, especially when the well-being of our citizens is on the line.” – Senator Rick Bennett
Augusta, Maine — May 28, 2025 — On May 22, in a unanimous vote the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services (HCIFS) Committee took a first step to protect Maine hospitals from a private equity takeover, as local hospitals close and as more states across the country seek to address this crisis. The committee voted Ought to Pass on an amended version of LD 985: An Act to Impose a Moratorium on the Ownership or Operation of Hospitals in the State by Private Equity Companies or Real Estate Investment Trusts.
Maine AllCare, a statewide nonprofit think tank and long-term advocate for universal healthcare, has been at the forefront of efforts to protect Maine hospitals from profit-driven buyouts. Dr. Geoff Gratwick, former state senator and former board member of Maine AllCare, founded a work group within Maine AllCare to study ways to avoid private equity takeover of hospitals in Maine. State Senator Mike Tipping partnered with Maine AllCare to introduce the bill created by the working group.
“Hospitals are a public good and a foundation of the health of our state. The Maine Legislature has a chance now to take action before private equity decimates our already precarious hospital system as it has in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and other states. Maine AllCare urges the members of the legislature to vote to pass this critical first step in protecting our hospitals. With Medicaid and Medicare cuts looming, Maine cannot afford to wait.” – Dr. Julie Pease, Maine AllCare board chair.
Originally proposing a five-year moratorium, the bill was shortened to a one-year pause, following testimony from lobbyist Jeffrey Austin, Vice President of Government Affairs and Communications at the Maine Hospital Association, who testified neither for nor against the bill during the public hearing on May 6. The bill is sponsored by Senator Tipping (Penobscot) and cosponsored by Representative Shagoury (D-Hallowell), Senator Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), and Senator Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland).
Whether a single year is sufficient to build robust protections against the documented harms of private equity involvement in healthcare remains to be seen. This concern is underscored by the recent closure of Waterville’s hospital after 80 years of service, leaving a gaping hole in Maine’s healthcare infrastructure and for Colby College students.
Further stress on the system is anticipated following the recent passage of the U.S. House budget, which is projected to remove 38,000 Mainers from MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid) coverage and will burden hospitals with $132 million in uncompensated care costs.
“As hospitals across our state grapple with financial pressures, they may be tempted by outside buyers promising fast relief. But not all lifelines come without strings,” Senator Bennett testified. “Private equity firms and real estate investment trusts — entities with no medical expertise or community accountability — are cutting services, raising costs, and extracting profit. When the returns fall, they walk away. And it’s the people — our people — who are left behind.”
The impact of private equity in Maine’s healthcare system is currently unstudied. According to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, 12% of Maine’s nursing homes are run by private equity. In the past ten years more than 50 nursing homes across the state have closed as Maine’s elderly population grows. Earlier this week, Maine nursing homes again asked the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee for $10 million to bail them out. The funding was in the Governor’s initial budget but was later cut. Genesis Health and Sandy River Company both spoke in support of state appropriation support. Both are tied to private equity or a real estate investment trust; the two entities LD 985 seeks to address oversight of. ProPublica catalogued a list of complaints against Maine nursing homes.
This happens as InterMed launches a partnership with a real estate firm for a significant new center and as Medicaid and Medicare face major cuts in the federal budget overseen by Maine’s Senior Senator Susan Collins who serves as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
With the advancement of LD 985 Maine joins a growing movement across the country of states seeking to address the impact of private equity ownership of hospitals and healthcare infrastructure. 13 state legislatures introduced 26 bills this legislative session.
“We’ve all seen what can go wrong when private equity is allowed to strip mine our local hospitals and health care institutions,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong. “And we’ve seen growing challenges with access and affordability of care due to unprecedented levels of consolidation in health care delivery in Connecticut.”
Just this week Connecticut Governor Lamont joined with his state’s Attorney General in a call for action, “By updating our laws, we can enable the state to have proper oversight of significant health system transactions and ensure that our systems continue to provide quality, accessible, and affordable health care for all,” the governor said.
Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro testified in support of Pennsylvania’s legislative efforts citing Prospect Medical Holdings who closed four hospitals in Delaware County, “their motive is to make a quick profit, nothing more.”
In June 2024, 11 Attorney Generals joined, calling on additional protections and oversight of private equity transactions at the federal level. “Health care consolidation, which is often driven by private equity, can lead to higher prices for health care services while quality of care worsens or remains stagnant,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Attorney General Raoul was joined in sending the comment letter by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington.
Information about the impact of Private Equity on hospitals:
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.
On the federal level, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts submitted S.4503 – 118th Congress (2023-2024): Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress establishing criminal and civil fines upon private equity owned healthcare in an effort to hold them accountable for harm. No other U.S. Senator signed on to Co-Sponsor the effort.
“When private equity gets hold of health care systems, it is literally a matter of life and death, so if you drive a hospital like Steward into bankruptcy, putting patients and communities at risk, you should face real consequences,” said Senator Warren of Massachusetts.
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 introduced LD 985 to protect Maine hospitals and ensure Mainers have access to the medical care they need.
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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.
For additional information on the impact of private equity ownership of hospitals please check out our reference booklet
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