Cracks down on private equity firms in healthcare, holding them accountable for patient harm and financial misconduct.
This bill would create new federal criminal and civil penalties for private equity firms and others whose actions in healthcare lead to patient death or injury. It would also allow the government to take back ('claw back') certain profits from these firms and require many healthcare businesses to report detailed ownership and financial information. This aims to protect patients and employees by increasing accountability and transparency in the healthcare industry.
Today, there are no specific federal criminal or civil penalties for private equity firms whose actions in healthcare lead to patient death or injury, nor are there mandatory clawbacks of "unjust enrichment" in such cases. This bill would create these penalties, including imprisonment for 1 to 6 years and civil penalties up to 5 times the clawback amount, allowing the government to take back profits from firms up to 10 years before or after a harmful event. Currently, healthcare entities are not excluded from federal health care programs solely for transacting with real estate investment trusts (REITs), and detailed ownership information is not federally mandated. This bill would prohibit federal health care payments to entities that sell or newly pledge assets to REITs, and it would require many healthcare entities to submit annual reports on their ownership and finances, with penalties up to $5,000,000 for non-compliance.
HR 7537 · 119th Congress · February 12, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 1/10
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3 filings mentioned this bill
Amounts reflect total quarterly lobbying spend reported to the Senate, not bill-specific spending. Source: Senate LDA filings.