Stricter state oversight slows private equity activity in healthcare, report finds

New state oversight laws are slowing private equity’s push into healthcare, according to new data (Source: “As states tighten oversight, private equity’s healthcare deals decline,” Stateline, Aug. 25).
 
The number of private equity-involved healthcare deals has declined since last year, and the value of those deals in the first half of 2026 is lower than it was for the same time in 2025, according to a new report from Pitchbook, a company that tracks private capital markets and investment data.
 
At least 25 states have proposed or passed laws increasing oversight of healthcare transactions in recent years, restricting the power of companies that are not run by physicians to control medical practices, or limiting how private equity and other companies can operate.
 
New state laws and regulations have made the purchase of healthcare companies and other similar financial transactions take longer and cost more, PitchBook analysts found. And rolling up smaller companies into larger conglomerates — a consolidation strategy that private equity has relied on in myriad industries, including healthcare — is harder to do under tighter state scrutiny.