Measure Aiming for More Transparency in Health Care Transactions Postponed Until Next Legislative Session
Healthcare Transactions attorney John Saran was quoted in a Law Week Colorado article about a newly postponed bill regulating private equity involvement in the state's healthcare industry. The proposed law would enact transparency requirements for deals involving private equity buyers, and the bill's primary sponsor said what motivated her to act was hearing stories from constituents about dramatic increases in the cost of care following hospital acquisitions. Mr. Saran situated the Colorado bill within a national trend of states proposing or enacting laws that create ownership and transaction reporting obligations, explaining that lawmakers want to be aware of transactions that fall outside traditional review processes, such as those that do not meet the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino Act thresholds. He cautioned that increasing filing requirements and regulations in general could have unforeseen implication, noting that, as with other industries, tales of bad actors may proliferate but are far from the norm.
"I want lawmakers to make the best decision, the most well informed decision, and a lot of times if they just quickly pass something to be reactive to an issue, it can cause unintended consequences for other providers in the state," he said. "...Every industry has actors doing not great things, but then you have actors that do great things, and everything in the middle."