After hospitals were acquired by private equity firms, patient death rates in the emergency departments rose by 13% compared with similar hospitals, according to research published this week in Annals of Internal Medicine .

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The research, which compared outcomes at hospitals over a 10-year period, adds fresh evidence to previous studies showing harmful patient outcomes and higher costs among health care entities owned by profit-oriented financiers.

The increased deaths in emergency departments at private equity-owned hospitals are most likely the result of reduced staffing levels after the acquisitions, which the study also measured, said Dr. Zirui Song, a co-author and associate professor of health care policy

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