Veterinary medicine is big business and private equity investors are taking notice. Medical spending on companion animals is up sharply and stands at nearly $40 billion annually. Private equity has poured more than $60 billion into veterinary investments since 2017. Investors are snapping up practices and raising prices. You may think you’re going to the same vet you’ve gone to for years. Then one day the prices are much higher, and you’re pressured to get more services than usual.
Category: Devon Herrick
FTC to Ban Noncompete Agreements. Will Your Doctor be Freed Too?
Nowadays nearly three-quarters of physicians are hospital employees or employed by investor-owned group practices. Many are bound by employment agreements that limit their ability to easily leave a job for a new one.
Communities Eagerly Await Opioid Settlement Funds but Unsure How to Use Them
The Wall Street Journal reported on communities hard hit by the opioid epidemic, hoping settlement funds would mitigate the damage done by drug addiction. The Opioid Master Settlement Agreement was patterned after the tobacco settlements, except federal officials tried to structure the funds in such a way to avoid the money from being siphoned off for purposes unrelated to drug treatment.
Are Senior Homeowners Aging in Place or Stuck or Stuck in Place?
I toured a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC) in Queens, New York a few years ago. It was an Aging in Place initiative, partly funded by the Denver-based Daniels Fund. Fun fact: The fund was established by Bill Daniels before he died. His fortune came from basically inventing cable TV. The purpose of a NORC is to allow people in the community to age in their own homes as long as possible, rather than forced to move into assisted living.