PA hospitals are in critical condition – new legislation can stop private equity from pulling the plug

Last year, the health and wellbeing of Delaware County faced a perilous road forward after Prospect Medical Holdings declared bankruptcy, and closed their third and fourth hospitals in Delaware County.

Crozer Healthcare’s demise isn’t just tragic; it’s a warning to other counties – a canary in the coal mine dug by private equity executives to extract profit from our community’s healthcare. 

Every single county in our commonwealth should take note of what happened here because of Prospect Medical Holdings’ greed.

Private Equity Stakeholder Project data shows that Pennsylvania has 287 hospital facilities, 13 of which are currently owned by private equity firms. Nine of the 13 are owned by Jeffrey Epstein-linked Apollo Global Management. The number of hospitals owned by private equity firms would be higher – if those firms would stop looting and closing them. 

Without commonsense guardrails, private equity executives will continue their siege on nonprofit healthcare assets to satiate the interests of shareholders – and endanger the health of our communities. 

However, we have the power to stop them. HB 1460, put forth by state Rep. Lisa Borowski, empowers Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday to block the sale of critical hospital systems to private equity. 

HB 1460 passed the state House in June of 2025 with strong bipartisan support – and despite sitting for a year in the state Senate, it has finally passed out of committee in that chamber with broad bipartisan support.

Of course, the bill has its opponents. Some argue that the bill doesn’t go far enough. While this may be the case, we must start somewhere. Protecting our hospitals, our healthcare and our constituents is a logical first step.

Others posit that private equity is being treated as a scapegoat – that failing hospitals are not private equity’s fault. They argue that escalating healthcare costs, inefficiencies and unequal access to care will exist regardless of whether a private equity fund buys a chain of hospitals.

But when executives like Prospect Medical CEO Sam Lee – who made $90 million after Prospect took out a $1.1 billion loan and used the funds to pay other executives and shareholders a $457 million dividend – oppose commonsense guardrails and legislation like HB 1460, it becomes clear that the arsonist is blaming the building for being flammable. 

Passing HB 1460 won’t save the four closed hospitals in my home county, but it can protect the hospitals in yours. It may not stop companies like Prospect from destroying patient medical records, or from selling the land right out from under the hospitals they own. But it will help keep your county’s healthcare workers employed. It will help keep your county’s patients cared for. Let’s pass HB 1460 and work towards better oversight, better protections and better care for everyone who calls Pennsylvania home.