There has been a surge in recent years of private equity groups buying hospitals throughout the U.S., and emerging evidence suggests this may have unintended consequences. Following a hospital’s purchase by a private equity group, deaths in the emergency room increase significantly, according to new research. This data is adding to a slew of other health- and business-related complaints as more hospitals are being snapped up by private equity.   

How much are deaths increasing?
After a private equity firm acquires a hospital, its emergency room death rate increases by 13.4%, or about seven additional deaths per 10,000 patients, according to research in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. This data was based on “1,007,529 emergency department visits and 121,080 ICU hospitalizations across 49 private equity hospitals” from 2009 to 2019. 

This is not the first study to find a link between private equity hospitals and ER deaths, but it “adds fresh evidence to previous studies showing harmful patient outcomes and higher costs,” said NBC News. And this new research “differed from previous studies on private equity’s impact, which focused on patients who were admitted to the hospital” and not emergency rooms. 

Why is this happening?
The culprit is likely “decreases in overall staffing and salary expenditures,” said The Boston Globe. Private equity hospitals reduced ER salaries by 18.2% and ICU salaries by 15.9%, likely due to a “combination of reducing staff and filling roles with less expensive — often meaning less experienced — labor.” In turn, deaths “went up even as private equity acquired hospitals sent more of their sickest patients to other hospitals.”

This study “shows that those financial strategies may lead to potentially dangerous, even deadly consequences,” said study author Dr. Zirui Song to Newsweek. This is especially true among Medicare patients who are often “older and more vulnerable.”

But even with increased death rates, private equity hospitals aren’t going away. As of April 2025, approximately “488 U.S. hospitals are owned by private equity firms,” per the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. This includes 8.5% of all private hospitals and 22.6% of all for-profit hospitals. Many of these are the only option for health care in their communities, as “27.7% of private equity-owned hospitals serve rural populations.”

In another sign that the economy may be faltering, average credit scores across the country have taken a nosedive in 2025, according to a report released last week. And Gen Z is one demographic that’s particularly feeling the pain.

Much lower than the national average
While the average score across all demographics is 715, the situation is much more dire for Gen Z, a group defined by FICO as people ages 18 to 29. Gen Z Americans have an “average score of 676 — 39 points lower than the national average,” said FICO. This represents a three-point drop from Gen Z credit scores from the same time last year.

Several factors weigh down Gen Z scores. One is student loan reporting. About “34% of Gen Z have open student loans — double the 17% of the total population that has an open student loan,” said FICO. And because they are younger, Gen Zers have “had less time to build savings and are less likely to benefit from stock market gains and home price appreciation.”

The most important factor
While dealing with lower credit scores, Gen Zers are also working around another obstacle: They are “contending with the most difficult job market in years for new college graduates,” said CNN. “My credit score took a drastic hit because I had to compromise and take a job where I’m severely underpaid,” Dimitri Tsolakis, a 22-year-old who graduated from American University with a degree in international relations, said to CNN. Tsolakis “owes $35,000 in student debt but has had to pause repayments to focus on making his car payments and paying for other living expenses.”

But there are ways to improve the situation, according to experts. The “one most important factor in the FICO score calculation is whether you make your payments on time,” Tommy Lee, a senior director at FICO, said to The Associated Press. A person’s credit score is “dynamic.” It changes based on “how you make your payments.“ So if you “want to maintain it or improve it, you can do so by exhibiting good credit behavior.”

A group of Palestinians look out at the rubble of a bombed building in Gaza. This 2023 photograph, by Mahmoud Abu Hamda, is part of the new London exhibition “Against Erasure — Photographs from Gaza.”
Mahmoud Abu Hamda

Upset about the state of the world? Sit back, dissociate and maybe even laugh a little at one of these fall comedy shows. Whether you are losing yourself in the weirdo world of curly-haired comic Chris Fleming or grooving to one of Adam Sandler’s signature silly songs, you deserve to take a load off.

Alok
This comic is many other things: a poet, an actor and a trans rights activist. On their current tour, the gender-nonconforming Alok “finds themselves tangled in all kinds of hairy situations,” according to the official tour description, including “being mistaken for a mega-famous Brazilian DJ, botching TikTok makeup tutorials and, perhaps most terrifying of all, signing up for an appointment at the European Wax Center.” (“Hairy Situation,” now through November)

Chris Fleming
When it comes to the performance style of this lanky goofball, his nonthreatening appearance is as integral to his comedy as the jokes themselves. Fleming’s “look and presence are a bit like if Gumby wore a British barrister’s wig and loved to maintain awkward eye contact,” said Kathryn VanArendonk at Vulture. (“Chris Fleming Live,” now through November)

Adam Sandler
Few comedians can combine high and low like this “Saturday Night Live” vet (pictured above). The actor has starred in both prestigious projects for which his talents were duly praised (“Punch-Drunk Love,” “Uncut Gems”) and dozens of B, C and D movies. But the comic’s talent and charm are undeniable, especially when he sings his silly songs. Lucky for any potential audience members, musical stylings are apparently a big part of this tour. (“You’re My Best Friend,” now through November)