Warren and Ocasio-Cortez Introduce Bill to Bar Private Equity and Corporations From Owning Doctors' Practices

Editor's Note: This article has been corrected to clarify the source of a description of ApolloMD's ownership and to include the company's response.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday unveiled the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act, a federal proposal that would prohibit private equity firms, insurers and other for-profit corporations from owning or exercising control over physician practices.

What the Bill Would Do

The legislation seeks to reinforce the longstanding prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine and to close legal structures that lawmakers say allow investor-backed companies to exert operational control over medical practices. Major provisions would:

• Ban management arrangements that let management services organizations (MSOs) or other corporate entities effectively control clinical practices via "friendly" or "captive" physician structures;
• Require physician owners to be meaningfully engaged in providing medical care in the state where the practice operates;
• Prohibit corporate interference with clinical decisions;
• Restrict contractual provisions that can limit physician autonomy or patient transparency, including non-compete, nondisclosure and non-disparagement clauses;
• Establish enforcement tools, including actions by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general and a private right of action for physicians that could allow treble damages and, in some cases, divestment.

Why Sponsors Say It's Needed

Lawmakers and supporters point to rapid consolidation across U.S. healthcare. Research from the Physicians Advocacy Institute and Avalere Health found that by January 2026 more than 82% of physicians were employed by hospitals or corporate entities. That research shows hospitals and corporate entities owned 63.9% of physician practices nationally, with corporate ownership accounting for 33.2%, and that corporate entities acquired more than 52,000 physician practices between 2018 and 2026.

MSOs, Clinical Control, and the Oregon Model

Management services organizations typically provide administrative and back-office support to physician practices. Sponsors of the bill say some investor-backed MSO arrangements have grown so influential that they affect staffing, compensation, scheduling, billing and other decisions that shape clinical practice.

The federal proposal is modeled on Oregon legislation enacted in 2025 that advocates describe as among the strongest state-level limits on corporate practice of medicine. Oregon's law has already been invoked in local disputes: in May, emergency physicians in Eugene successfully contested an effort by PeaceHealth to replace local doctors with a staffing firm that the bill's sponsors described as private equity-backed. PeaceHealth had selected ApolloMD for that contract; in a March letter to Oregon lawmakers, ApolloMD said it is privately held, clinician-owned and has never been under private equity ownership or control.

Supporters, Opposition and Next Steps

Supporters of the federal bill include the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, the American Economic Liberties Project, Families USA and several physician organizations. Backers say the legislation would protect physician autonomy and patient care from profit-driven interference.

The bill now enters the Congressional process, where lawmakers will debate the scope of federal restrictions on corporate ownership and the balance between regulatory oversight and access to capital or administrative efficiencies for medical practices.

Key data: According to PAI research, there were 152,200 fewer independently operating physicians in January 2026 than in 2018, and 253,000 more physicians employed by hospitals or corporate entities during that period.