Private equity underwriters (PEU) bet on making big money in healthcare, primarily funded by Uncle Sam's wallet. A May press release stated:
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare and technology industries, announced today that Dr. Adaeze Enekwechi will join the firm in June as an Operating Partner.
Dr. Enekwechi is a well-known expert on health policy. She has served at the highest level of government and as a leader in the private sector. Most notably, Dr. Enekwechi headed health programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Obama. In that role, she provided policy, management, and regulatory oversight for more than $1.6 trillion in federal government health spending, including Medicare and Medicaid. She had primary responsibility for all operating divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.
WCAS has former Medicare Chief Tom Scully as General Partner.
"I have been friends with Adaeze for many years, so I couldn't be happier for her to join WCAS. We've made a significant investment at WCAS in understanding and engaging healthcare policy makers, and I look forward to partnering with Adaeze on this," said Tom Scully, a General Partner at WCAS and a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).Dr. Enekwchi will keep her board positions and academic position as professional lecturer.
She also will keep her academic position with the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.
Michael Milken is the founding father of leveraged buyouts. President Trump removed Milken's conviction for unbridled greed during his reign as Junk Bond King. Milken was allowed to keep most of his ill gotten gains which enabled him to return to the world of politically connected wealth.
President Biden's cabinet is chock full of PEUs. Everything about private equity is unbalanced. Employees bear the brunt of PEU ownership via job cuts, stagnant wages and deteriorating health benefits. Company chiefs get a stake and often make a huge payday. Employees do not benefit when the company is sold and resold. That was my experience, having worked for more than one WCAS affiliate.
Politicians Red and Blue love PEU, as do healthcare policy makers. Citizens will be worse off for this tangled web of greed. Healthcare will not get cheaper with widespread PEU infection.
Update 8-28-23: Scully's legacy is obscene pharmaceutical price increases.
