A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enforce certain requirements with respect to for-profit corporations that own health care systems, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · July 23, 2026
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
# Summary of S. 5112, Health Over Wealth Act
This bill creates new federal oversight of for-profit corporations that own or control healthcare systems, with particular focus on private equity ownership. The legislation requires covered healthcare companies to submit detailed financial and operational reports to the Department of Health and Human Services, with information made publicly available. Companies controlled by private equity firms face significantly more extensive reporting requirements than other for-profit healthcare operators, including disclosure of ownership structures, debt levels, fees paid, political spending, workforce data, and staffing ratios across the facilities they operate.
The bill establishes a licensing system for private equity firms investing in healthcare, allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to deny or revoke licenses for violations or practices that harm healthcare access, quality, or safety. It also creates a task force to study private equity's role in healthcare and may impose a temporary moratorium on new private equity acquisitions pending completion of that study. The legislation strengthens protections for hospital services by requiring 90-day advance notice before closure or service discontinuation, prohibiting discontinuation of essential services during notification periods unless patient safety is at risk, and establishing a public comment process for closures.
Additionally, the bill restricts real estate investment trusts' use in healthcare by prohibiting transactions that would weaken hospital finances or endanger public health, prioritizes employee pension claims in bankruptcy proceedings involving healthcare companies, and amends tax law to limit favorable tax treatment of rental income from healthcare properties owned by investment trusts. Violators face civil penalties up to ten thousand dollars per violation, or up to the amount of federal funding received by affected healthcare entities.
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