What is private capital?
Private capital is direct investment into healthcare organizations with growth potential that are not publicly traded. Investment firms work collaboratively with these organizations to improve operations, expand services, modernize infrastructure, and champion innovation. By fostering growth and innovation, investment firms only succeed when the organizations they invest in succeed – through becoming stronger, delivering better patient care, and improving their workforce.
Why is private capital necessary in healthcare?
Private capital provides critical funding to healthcare organizations, enabling them to invest in infrastructure, technology, and workforce development that might otherwise be unattainable. These investments help practices and facilities remain independent, particularly in the face of pressures from vertical integration or consolidation by other organizations or insurers.
Private capital has also expanded access to care by funding telehealth services, opening urgent care centers, and creating specialty clinics focused on mental health, pediatrics, and OB-GYN services. By leveraging economies of scale, private capital helps reduce duplicative costs, making care more accessible and sustainable in underserved areas.
What does private capital investment mean for patients and providers?
Private capital allows providers to focus more on patient care by relieving administrative burdens through back-office support, modernizing medical practices, and investing in innovative technologies. Studies have shown that investment-backed practices are often more efficient and patient-focused compared to other models.
Private capital investment provides much needed funds to advance the discovery and commercialization of new treatments and technologies to improve the health of all Americans.
Private capital investment has created invaluable public-private partnerships with America’s research and land grant universities, helping to finance research and development programs and commercializing cutting-edge treatments and technologies that would not been viable or brought to market otherwise, and reinvest in education.
Does private capital harm the quality of care?
Evidence suggests that private capital can enhance care quality and efficiency. A 2024 study from Avalere Health found that affiliated physician practices provide higher-quality care at a lower cost compared to non-affiliated practices. Similarly, researchers at Indiana University and Georgetown University reported that private capital-backed hospitals experienced operational improvements without compromising patient care.
Part of ARHI’s mission is to fund further research to better understand the impacts of private capital on patient outcomes. ARHI is committed to partnering only with organizations that commit to improving patient care and access.
How does private capital improve the healthcare system?
Private capital modernizes healthcare practices through innovations in supply chain management, payment models, systems development, and workforce support. These efficiencies help address workforce shortages, reduce administrative burdens, and improve access to care.
Private capital also fuels innovation and growth of new technologies. For example, private capital-backed investments in telemedicine have revolutionized care delivery, providing patients in rural and underserved communities access to specialized services that were previously out of reach.
What are the criticisms of private capital in healthcare?
Critics often point to isolated instances where investment-backed organizations prioritized financial returns over patient care. However, this is not what our coalition members want. We support patients first. The providers we back adhere to the highest standards, focusing on enhancing care quality, expanding access, and supporting innovation.
The coalition is committed to addressing concerns by promoting transparency, ethical practices, and investment in patient-centered initiatives.
What is the role of the coalition?
The coalition is committed to addressing concerns about private capital in healthcare by promoting transparency, ethical practices, and investment in patient-centered initiatives.
The coalition also actively highlights success stories and case studies that showcase the positive impact of private capital in healthcare. By educating policymakers, stakeholders, and the public about these achievements, the coalition demonstrates how private investment supports innovation, improves patient outcomes, and expands access to care.
Through this proactive approach, the coalition fosters more accountability in the sector and a balanced and informed understanding of private capital’s role in strengthening the healthcare system.
How does private capital contribute to innovation in healthcare?
Private capital investments drive transformative advancements in healthcare through both development of technology and the delivery of care. Investments in the biotech, medical device, diagnostics, and surgical instrumentation fields help to speed trials and advance new modalities from bench to bedside more quickly. Private capital grants providers the flexibility to try new approaches. These innovations save lives, improve patient outcomes, and make care delivery more efficient and accessible.
What is the coalition's stance on workforce development in healthcare?
The coalition emphasizes creating positive environments for healthcare workers by supporting fair compensation, training, and professional development. Addressing workforce shortages and reducing burnout are essential to maintaining high-quality patient care and a sustainable healthcare system.
How does private capital differ from other ownership models?
Private capital helps healthcare organizations remain independent, avoiding the limitations imposed by vertically integrated health organizations or insurance companies. While some consolidated entities incentivize overutilization, and insurers often restrict access through prior authorizations, ethical investment-backed organizations strike a balance, empowering providers to focus on patient care and innovation.
What would happen if policymakers put an end to private capital investment in healthcare?
Without private capital, healthcare organizations would face significant challenges, including closures and consolidation under larger systems or insurers. This would reduce competition, limit patient choices, and exacerbate disparities in care, particularly in underserved areas.
Efforts to restrict private capital in healthcare would also hinder innovation and disrupt access to life-saving technologies and treatments.
How do the core principles differentiate the coalition from bad actors in private capital?
The coalition’s principles reject exploitative practices and promote long-term value creation, transparency, and patient-centered care. By adhering to these standards, the coalition demonstrates that private capital, when done responsibly, is a vital asset to the healthcare system, benefiting patients, providers, and communities alike.
What is the coalition's long-term goal?
The coalition aims to establish a sustainable framework for private investment in healthcare that prioritizes accountability, promotes innovation, and enhances access to care. By driving responsible practices and engaging in advocacy, the coalition seeks to strengthen the healthcare system for patients, communities, and providers.