Burns: Health Department should approve hospital sales
Conemaugh Health example shows need for additional firewall
Rep. Frank Burns April 17, 2025 | 10:04 AM
EBENSBURG, April 17 – Seeking an additional firewall to block private equity firms from acquiring community hospitals then financially bleeding them dry, state Rep. Frank Burns is backing legislation to require state Department of Health approval before hospitals or hospital systems can be purchased.
Burns, D-Cambria, is sponsoring an upcoming bill to address hospital acquisition and price transparency, saying the Duke/Lifepoint Health System purchase of Conemaugh Health System in 2014 is a prime example of why additional oversight is needed.
“Based on Conemaugh Hospital’s experience, this sale to a for-profit entity was portrayed to the public like it was going to be a good thing – but it wasn’t,” Burns said. “There needs to be greater oversight, to make sure these corporations and Wall Street brokers aren’t swooping in to take advantage of our small community hospitals.”
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“There needs to be greater oversight, to make sure these corporations and Wall Street brokers aren’t swooping in to take advantage of our small community hospitals.” – State Rep. Frank Burns
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Burns said one area that warrants closer scrutiny is a post-sale corporate practice that played out in Cambria County, where the actual hospital operation and management are now under the umbrella of Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm – but all real estate and buildings including the hospital are now owned by Medical Properties Trust, which leases the properties back to Apollo in a lucrative arrangement.
“They bleed the hospitals dry through the high rent, to the point where the hospital can barely survive,” Burns said of his research of this practice. “We need further measures to keep these corporations from rejiggering our health care systems just to boost profits.”
Burns said the legislation he is supporting would require the Department of Health to review applications, hold public hearings and prepare impact statements on the effect of the buying and selling of health care services that the hospital or hospital system is providing. It also would require price transparency from hospital or hospital systems so that patients have full access to the costs of items and services provided.