AIC & GoHealth Urgent Care Highlight Private Equity’s Role in Improving Patient Care and Driving Innovation
Washington D.C. – Yesterday, POLITICO hosted their “Heath Care Summit: Checking the Pulse of America’s Health Care System” convening members of Congress, U.S. department heads, White House officials, and industry leaders to discuss how tech and innovation are transforming health care. Cally Baute, Executive Vice President of Politico, interviewed AIC President and CEO Drew Maloney and Sarah Arora, Chief Growth Officer of GoHealth Urgent Care to discuss how private equity improves virtual and digital care. GoHealth Urgent Care is a portfolio company backed by private equity firm TPG, and it provides care virtually and in-person at more than 200 care centers nationwide.
Private equity invested more than $108 billion in U.S. health care throughout 2022 – representing 11.1 percent of private equity investment. Private equity helps improve virtual and digital care, fund research and more effective treatments, expand and renovate facilities, modernize medical records and health care data, and make other needed investments to improve patient care across America.
Supporting Quality, Affordable Health Care
Drew Maloney, President & CEO of the American Investment Council discussed how private equity plays a critical role in supporting quality, affordable health care in the U.S., “Private equity and private credit have a positive and important role to play in health care. You see it today, whether we’re funding research, advancing cures, medical technologies, and all with the idea of improving patient care.”
Private Equity Helped GoHealth Urgent Care Expand
Drew was joined by Sarah Arora, Chief Growth Officer of GoHealth Urgent Care, who shared how private equity investments helped GoHealth Urgent Care experience significant growth and hire quality providers and staff. “We had not a single center to speak of in 2014. And we took private equity investment at that point. And, you know, from my perspective, it’s allowed us to do really two things. One is exactly what you mentioned, which is you get to invest in the technology and the talent … [two] is we’ve been able to just dramatically increase access to care by delivering care where people live their lives … that’s been a boon for us to be able to scale the organization, really without compromising quality,” said Sarah.
Allowing Doctors to Focus on Practicing Medicine
Drew Maloney also discussed a recent conversation he had with a Washington D.C.-based physician whose practice had partnered with private equity. The physician shared that private equity investments have allowed him to focus on treating his patients, helped his practice expand to multiple locations, and continues to improve patient experience at his office.
Private Equity Supports Health Care in Rural and Underserved Areas
Sarah Arora also discussed how private equity investments have enabled GoHealth to increase access to life saving care for Americans living in rural and underserved areas. “My perspective is that private equity is critical for rural and underserved areas because more than urban environments, rural and underserved areas need more efficient models of care,” said Sarah. “A lot of innovation is coming from private equity-backed organizations.”
Private Credit Lends to Urgent Care Clinics and Innovative Life Sciences Companies
The American Investment Council represents 75 percent of private credit lenders. Drew Maloney concluded the discussion by pointing out how private credit provides critical capital to clinics like GoHealth Urgent Care and life sciences companies that develop innovative and lifesaving treatments. Private credit can take a chance and help bring these businesses to the next level. “We’ve funded 1,800 medical device and life sciences businesses, businesses that are trying to find solutions, like in Boston, for blood clots solutions. So, I think you need private capital because private capital is going to take that risk,” stated Drew.
Click here to view the full interview.
Click here to learn more about how private equity investments in quality, affordable health care.
