STAT+: State laws may be curbing private equity takeovers of physician group

Deals for practice management firms are on track to tumble by half Adobe Tara covers the business of health care. Her stories focus on hospitals, doctors, and how their business practices affect patients — especially when private equity gets involved. She also writes about health insurance and ideas for improving our broken health system. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70. Over a dozen states now have laws enhancing their oversight of private equity deals in health care. A new report says that’s putting a crimp in dealmaking. Physician practice management is on track to see about half the number of deals this year as it did in 2025. Investments in the businesses, which run clinics’ billing and operations, have plummeted from a high of 851 deals in 2021 to just 105 in the first half of 2026, according to new data from PitchBook. “It’s certainly been a big decrease,” said Paul Pitts, a partner with Reed Smith who works with health care providers. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts. Already have an account? Log in View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe Hospitals and Insurance Reporter Tara covers the business of health care. Her stories focus on hospitals, doctors, and how their business practices affect patients — especially when private equity gets involved. She also writes about health insurance and ideas for improving our broken health system. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70.