“The Fifth Circuit has once again sided with Wall Street and its private-equity billionaires to block reasonable protections for both the public interest and workers saving for retirement,” said Andrew Park, a senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform, which advocates for tighter controls in the financial sector. “The Supreme Court needs to reverse this outrageous decision.”
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.
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.
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.
Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) wrote a letter to the House Financial Services Committee expressing our strong opposition to legislation that the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) is scheduled to consider this week that would amend the federal securities laws in ways that could be profoundly damaging to American workers and “mom and pop” investors.
With over half a trillion dollars ($553 billion) in assets under management, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) has emerged as a major financier in the energy sector, yet the firm is not required to disclose the full scope of its investments or its impact due to regulatory loopholes. A new report by Private Equity Climate Risks consortium members Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund and Global Energy Monitor, 93 Million: The Carbon Emissions KKR Didn’t Disclose, finds that KKR holds investments in 188 fossil fuel assets in 21 countries, spread among the firm’s ownership of 17 portfolio companies.
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.
AFR joins a sign-on letter urging the Biden Administration to end billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and financial institutions. These wasteful overpayments are causing significant challenges for Medicare’s financial sustainability. The fixes that CMS can and should undertake will help level the playing field between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage, promote health equity and bring down Part B premiums for everyone with Medicare.
The private equity push into the life insurance business demands a robust state and federal policy response to curb the emerging risks created when a notoriously predatory industry seeks control of the vast quantities of money generated by premium-paying policyholders, according to a new report from Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund.
In September, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies (CMS) issued a rule that would require a minimum staff to patient ratio in nursing homes. This is a historic action by the Biden Administration. However, the ratio must be stronger to protect residents and workers.