Tag Archives: healthcare

News Release: Removal of Medical Debt From Credit Reports Will Curb Abuses

The proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to eliminate medical debt on credit reports would, if fully implemented, curb harmful practices such as distorted credit reports and abusive debt collection. As part of a broader initiative to improve the credit reporting system, the CFPB has proposed a new rule  that would stop credit reporting agencies from including medical debts and collection information on consumer credit reports, and prohibit the information from being  considered in underwriting decisions. The CFPB is now seeking public comment on this consumer protection proposal. 

News Release: Groups Call on Federal Agencies to Fight Private Equity Abuses in Health Care

Today over 90 organizations and individuals, representing patients, workers, communities; public interest advocates, and health care researchers, called on federal authorities, as part of their review of competition in health care, to take action to curb the abuses of private equity and safeguard the ability of doctors to deliver quality care to all patients and achieve equitable health outcomes.

Letters to the Regulators: Group response to Request for Information on Consolidation in Healthcare Markets

AFREF and 96 organizations and individuals concerned about the harmful impacts of transactions that affect consolidation in health care submitted comments responding to a Request For Information from the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and Department of Health & Human Services, calling for action to curb the abuses of private equity and safeguard the ability of doctors to deliver quality care to all patients and achieve equitable health outcomes.

Letters to the Regulators: AFREF response to Request for Information on Consolidation in Healthcare Markets

AFREF submitted its own comment in response to a Request For Information from the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and Department of Health & Human Services. The comment focuses on transactions by private equity (PE) funds which, by treating health care facilities and companies as financial instruments, have inflicted damage on health care businesses, communities, and individuals.

News Release: New Staffing Standards for Nursing Homes Will Protect Healthcare Workers and Patients

New rules on minimum staffing in nursing homes will safeguard patients and health care workers by improving access to consistent and quality care, according to Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is setting a new comprehensive staffing requirement in its final rule on Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting.

Letters to Regulators: Letter to CMS on Proposed Rule on Ownership of Nursing Facilities

AFREF submitted a comment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on their proposed rule to require the disclosure of important information regarding the ownership and control of nursing facilities, including when an owning or managing entity is a private equity (PE) company or a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

Private equity and healthcare are incompatible and AFREF states in the letter that the current lack of transparency in ownership of facilities exacerbates the problem and shields owners and investors from accountability for the performance of the businesses they own and welcomes the disclosure rule.

Blog: Private Equity and The Care Economy

Having a rapacious business like private equity watching over particularly vulnerable people has never been a good idea. Still the evidence is mounting that Wall Street has pushed the envelope in recent years. Nursing homes, youth facilities, and homes for disabled adults have all fallen under the ownership of an industry with a track record of prioritizing wealth extraction over running companies well, to say nothing of caring for people in need.