Emergency physicians and consumer advocates across several states are seeking to ban private equity staffing practices, according to a Dec. 27 report from Tennessee Lookout.
The groups are urging for stronger enforcement of statutes in place in 33 states and the District of Columbia prohibiting the ownership of medical practices by corporations not under the ownership of licensed doctors.
According to the report, a quarter of emergency rooms in the U.S. are managed by private equity-backed staffing companies. The two largest of these companies are Envision Healthcare and TeamHealth, both based in Tennessee.
Several court filings are aimed at these two companies for using doctor groups to navigate around corporate practice laws. A California lawsuit against Envision is expected to reach federal courts in January 2024.