rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/pass-the-health-over-wealth-act?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-pass-the-health-over-wealth-act' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Americans for Financial Reform https://actionnetwork.org/groups/afr-advocacy-fund-c4 https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/groups/default_facebook_images/000/014/858/original/AFR_Action_Network_Default_(1).png?1738796429 What happens when profit-driven private equity firms become the primary owners of healthcare entities, including hospitals, mental health facilities, and nursing homes? Private equity’s modus operandi is to load facilities up with debt, reduce competition, shutter facilities, and cut staff time, all to make more money -- leaving fewer choices among healthcare providers, especially in rural areas. Without regulation, such reckless profiteering is nearly guaranteed to lead to disruption in access to facilities, higher patient costs, and reduced quality of care. Senator Ed Markey says private equity firms view the healthcare system as little more than a “piggy bank.” When they put “profit over patients,” patients’ standard of care suffers along with the quality of health workers’ workplaces. Needed facilities are closed without adequate transition plans for patients, leaving “communities… to clean up the mess.” Now, Senator Markey and Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced the Health Over Wealth Act. This legislation is necessary to establish permanent guardrails to protect patients, providers, and communities, and to guarantee that corporate wealth will not come before public health. This comprehensive bill addresses issues of transparency; patient, community, and health provider protections; the role of private equity in the healthcare marketplace; and the accessibility, safety, and quality of healthcare services. Transparency: Required reporting will ensure the public is able to know the status of healthcare entities owned by private equity firms with regard to their debt, executive pay, political spending, patient costs, and any reductions in patient services or staff wages and benefits. Continuity of Care Protections: The bill would require private equity firms to establish escrow accounts sufficient to cover five years of operation beyond any financial disruptions or facility closures and fund neighboring providers in case of closure. Public Accountability: The bill would require private equity firms to obtain a license in order to purchase healthcare entities in whole or part. This license could be revoked in the event of understaffing, price-gouging, or reducing patients’ access to care. Community Protections: The bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review, and possibly block, any sales of hospitals or facilities by private equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) if the sale would threaten the facility’s financial status or the public health. The Role of Private Equity: The bill would establish an HHS Task Force to monitor and examine changes in the marketplace and any patterns of private equity ownership that result in excessive consolidation or inequities in access or quality or services. Accessibility, Safety, and Quality: The bill would prevent the stripping of assets from healthcare facilities by private equity firms necessary for assuring the safety and quality of healthcare services and retain staff in any bankruptcy. Send a message to urge Congress to pass the Health Over Wealth Act and provide essential protections from private equity firms for patients and healthcare providers now! https://actionnetwork.org/letters/pass-the-health-over-wealth-act