This last year has been tough on healthcare financial stability. Becker’s Healthcare noted 15 bankruptcies in 2024 in early December, with hospitals, health systems, and healthcare organizations either seeking protection or exiting bankruptcy.

Driving factors included personnel shortages, rising expenses, and declining reimbursement rates. Of the 15, 14 involved Chapter 11 — reorganization under bankruptcy laws for protection from creditors while restructuring for an eventual return to normal business. One case used Chapter 7 to wind down operations. The locations were Pontiac, Michigan; two in Miami and one in Miami Beach, Florida; Bradenton, Florida; Jersey City, New Jersey; Plymouth, North Carolina; Gainesville, Florida; Gardner, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Brockway, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; San Diego, California; Dallas, Texas; and Pearl River, New York. Florida was by far the hotbed of healthcare. Further actions later in December included multiple closure notices.

Numerous states — California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota — have attempted some degree of at least oversight, if not outright prohibition, of private equity healthcare deals, blaming the PE firms for failures.