IMPORTANCE Private equity acquisitions of physician practices in the US have been increasing rapidly; however, the implications for health care delivery and spending are unclear.OBJECTIVE To examine changes in prices and utilization associated with private equity acquisitions of physician practices across multiple specialties. DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTSThis was a difference-in-differences event study of US physician practices specialized in dermatology, gastroenterology, and ophthalmology that were acquired by private equity firms from 2016 to 2020. Within each specialty, each private equity−acquired (PE-acquired) practice was matched with as many as 5 control practices based on the preacquisition number of unique patients, encounters, risk score, share of services billed out-ofnetwork, and spending. The PE-acquired practices were compared with matched controls through year 2 after acquisition, using a difference-in-differences event study. Data analyses were performed from March 2021 to February 2022. EXPOSURES Private equity acquisition of physician practices.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Measures of spending and utilization, including the charge and price (amount paid) per claim, new and unique patients, and total encounters. RESULTSCompared with the 2874 control practices, the 578 PE-acquired physician practices exhibited an average increase of $71 (+20.2%) charged per claim (95% CI, 13.

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This cross-sectional study examines geographic variations in private equity firm acquisitions of US physician practices across 6 specialties.