Private Equity Firms Quietly Buying Up Neighborhood Medical Practices

Concerns grow over how PE ownership may impact patient care and costs

Mar. 17, 2026 at 3:13pm

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Private equity firms have been quietly purchasing medical practices across the U.S., including in specialties like dermatology, dentistry, and gastroenterology. While these deals can provide much-needed funding for struggling practices, they also raise concerns that the profit-driven motives of PE firms could lead to higher prices, more unnecessary procedures, and less personalized care for patients.

Why it matters

The rise of private equity ownership in the healthcare sector is reshaping the landscape of neighborhood medical practices. There are worries that PE-backed practices may prioritize profits over patient well-being, leading to higher costs, more procedures, and less continuity of care for local communities.

The details

Private equity firms have rapidly expanded their presence in the medical field, growing from 816 physician practices owned in 2012 to 5,779 by 2021. These firms often target specialties like dermatology, dentistry, and gastroenterology that rely on high-volume, high-reimbursement procedures. Studies have found that PE-owned practices tend to raise prices, schedule more appointments, order more tests and procedures, and focus more on lucrative treatments over preventative care. There are also concerns that PE ownership leads to higher turnover of doctors and staff, disrupting the patient-provider relationship.

  • In 2012, there were about 816 PE-owned physician practices in the U.S.
  • By 2021, the number of PE-owned physician practices had grown to 5,779.
  • Last year alone, PE firms purchased at least 149 dental offices and 148 outpatient medical practices.

The players

Leonard Green & Partners

A Los Angeles-based private equity firm with $75 billion in assets, which has purchased hospital systems and retail chains, sometimes with controversial results.

Jane M. Zhu

A primary care physician and researcher at Oregon Health and Science University who has studied private equity ownership of outpatient practices.

Jim Baker

The executive director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

Robert Aprill

A partner at Physician Growth Partners, a firm that connects doctors with investors.

Nate Williams

A Phoenix-based accountant who specializes in dental practices and co-hosts the podcast "Just Say No to the DSO".

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What they’re saying

“That's one of the risks for consumers. The private-equity-owned provider, just because of the nature of private equity, may be incentivized to take actions that generate substantial pay for a private equity firm but might not be necessary for consumers.”

— Jim Baker, Executive Director, Private Equity Stakeholder Project

“For physician practices, private equity is a form of private capital, and you need capital injections into a practice in order to compete often with these larger health systems. In some ways, practices might be facing a Hobson's choice, where they are damned if they do and they are damned if they don't.”

— Jane M. Zhu, Primary Care Physician and Researcher, Oregon Health and Science University

“Increasingly, DSOs are offering less cash and more equity in the DSO itself. A typical offer might be 20 percent cash, 80 percent shares. The problem with that is, you have no clue what that equity is actually worth.”

— Nate Williams, Accountant Specializing in Dental Practices

What’s next

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The takeaway

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