“A string of health-care bankruptcies has ignited a wave of public fury at financial dealmakers in the industry, prompting lawmakers in state houses around the country to draft tough new curbs,” Sri Taylor writes over at Bloomberg. “The would-be crackdown is fizzling. California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would have enabled the state to block private equity deals for most health-care facilities. Efforts to bolster oversight of financial firms or outright prohibit certain health-care investments also faltered in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota. In Massachusetts, political condemnation of private equity and real estate firms reached a fever pitch after a May bankruptcy filing by Steward Health Care, one of the state’s largest hospital operators. A bill that would have increased scrutiny of such investors is stuck in legislative limbo with just days to go before the end of the session. The breakdown of these efforts, including in states dominated by Democrats, all but defuses the short-term risk of more rigid rules for financial dealmakers in the health-care industry. With federal action already a long shot, future debate is likely to center around a less radical search for ways to rein in potentially risky practices, including more comprehensive disclosure requirements that might at least give lawmakers more warning when businesses are in trouble. ‘I don’t think eliminating private equity altogether is either practical or doable,’ Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in an interview. ‘I think there is a role for private equity in health care — but the question becomes what is the role? How do you define that role? I think the legislature is right to be looking at what are the guardrails that we need here.'” Sri Taylor, “Crackdown on private equity in healthcare flops in statehouses,” Bloomberg
