Private equity investment and nursing home care: is it a big deal?

Abstract

Private equity investors have recently targeted nursing home chains as investment opportunities. Media attention has raised quality-of-care concerns, but little has been published in the research literature on the topic. Using a multivariate framework, we assessed how private equity purchases of nursing homes affected a range of outcomes. Although some transactions are quite recent, we found little evidence to suggest that nursing home quality worsens significantly following purchase by private equity companies. Nonetheless, recent nursing home ownership trends raise important questions about oversight and accountability, whose answers extend beyond private equity ownership.