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How Investment Ownership of Medical Practices Affects Patients — Especially Those With ADHD

by
Harold Robert Meyer -The ADD Resource Center
www.addrc.org
Reviewed: May 27, 2026​  Published: May 31, 2026

Listen to understand, not just to respond

When investment firms purchase medical practices, the experience of being a patient often changes long before anyone explains why. Prices rise, visits feel rushed, staff turnover increases, and administrative systems become more complex. For many people, these shifts are frustrating. For people with ADHD—who already navigate executive‑function challenges, communication barriers, and inconsistent access to care—these changes can be destabilizing. Understanding what’s happening behind the scenes helps you protect your continuity of care and advocate for what you need.

Higher costs, shorter visits, more administrative friction, and reduced continuity of care. These changes affect all patients, but they disproportionately harm people with ADHD, who rely on predictable systems, clear communication, and stable relationships with clinicians. When practices shift toward profit‑driven models, the resulting complexity and reduced personal connection can directly undermine treatment adherence, medication access, and long‑term health outcomes.

Why This Matters

If you’re a person with ADHD, you already manage challenges with organization, follow‑through, emotional regulation, and navigating bureaucracy. When a medical practice becomes more corporate, every step—from scheduling to refills to billing—requires more executive function. Missed appointments, delayed prescriptions, and communication breakdowns become more likely, not because you’re “disorganized,” but because the system has become harder to use. As Harold Meyer of the ADD Resource Center notes, “Systems that work for the non ADHD patients often break down for people with ADHD unless they are intentionally designed with clarity and consistency.” Understanding these systemic shifts helps you anticipate obstacles and stay engaged in your care.

Key Findings

  • Prices rise significantly after private‑equity acquisitions, increasing out‑of‑pocket costs and surprise billing.
  • Shorter, high‑volume visits reduce time for questions, clarification, and emotional support—critical needs for ADHD patients.
  • Administrative complexity increases, including portals, forms, and automated systems that create drop‑off points for ADHD patients.
  • Staff turnover and practice consolidation disrupt continuity, trust, and communication.
  • Medication management becomes harder, with more refill rules, prior authorizations, and pharmacy changes.

🩺 What Patients Experience in General

Higher Costs

Research shows that after private‑equity acquisition, visit prices rise 4%–16%, and procedure prices increase even more in specialties like dermatology, gastroenterology, and OB‑GYN. Patients feel this through:

  • Higher copays
  • More out‑of‑network bills
  • Facility fees and “add‑on” charges
  • Surprise billing

For families already managing ADHD‑related financial strain, these increases can push care out of reach.

Shorter Visits & Higher Volume

Investment‑owned practices often emphasize:

  • Higher patient volume
  • More billable procedures
  • Tighter scheduling

This results in:

  • Less time with clinicians
  • Rushed conversations
  • Fewer opportunities to clarify instructions

Shorter visits disproportionately harm ADHD patients, who often need more time to explain symptoms, ask questions, and process information.

More Staff Turnover

Ownership changes frequently lead to turnover among:

  • Office managers
  • Front‑desk staff
  • Nurses
  • Clinicians

Patients experience:

  • Lost relationships
  • Repeating their history
  • Confusion about who handles what

For ADHD patients, losing familiar staff can disrupt trust and increase avoidance of care.

Reduced Continuity of Care

Investment firms may:

  • Merge practices
  • Close locations
  • Switch electronic health records
  • Drop insurance plans

Patients face:

  • Difficulty obtaining records
  • Needing to find new clinicians
  • Interrupted treatment plans

Continuity is essential for ADHD management; disruptions can lead to medication lapses and destabilization.

More Administrative Barriers

Corporate ownership often introduces:

  • New portals
  • More forms
  • Automated phone systems
  • Reduced human support

For many patients, this is annoying. For ADHD patients, it can be derailing.

🔶 How This Specifically Affects People With ADHD

More Complex Systems = More Drop‑Off

ADHD brains struggle with:

  • Multi‑step processes
  • Long wait times
  • Repetitive paperwork
  • Confusing portals

When practices add new billing systems, scheduling apps, or refill procedures, ADHD patients are more likely to:

  • Miss appointments
  • Forget labs
  • Lose access to medication
  • Drop out of care

Shorter Visits Hurt ADHD Patients More

ADHD patients often need:

  • More time to explain symptoms
  • Clarification of instructions
  • Emotional reassurance
  • Space to ask questions

Rushed visits lead to:

  • Miscommunication
  • Missed diagnoses
  • Poorer treatment adherence
  • Feeling dismissed or misunderstood

Medication Management Becomes Harder

Investment‑owned practices may:

  • Tighten refill policies
  • Require more frequent visits
  • Add prior‑authorization steps
  • Change pharmacy relationships

For ADHD patients, this can cause:

  • Interrupted medication access
  • Increased anxiety
  • Crisis‑level executive dysfunction
  • Avoidance of care

Less Personal Connection = Less Trust

ADHD patients rely on:

  • Familiar staff
  • Predictable routines
  • Clinicians who understand their communication style

High turnover and corporate operations can make patients feel unseen or judged, reducing disclosure and engagement.

Higher Costs Hit ADHD Patients Harder

ADHD is associated with:

  • Financial instability
  • Difficulty budgeting
  • Avoidance of bills

Higher medical costs increase:

  • Stress
  • Avoidance of care
  • Delayed treatment
  • Medication lapses

🔵 The Emotional Impact

ADHD patients often internalize systemic problems as personal failures:

  • “I’m disorganized.”
  • “I can’t keep up.”
  • “I’m the problem.”

But the truth is simple: The system changed—not the patient.

As Harold Meyer emphasizes, “When healthcare becomes harder to navigate, people with ADHD are often blamed for struggling with systems that were never designed for them.”

🔷 What ADHD Patients Can Do (General, Non‑Medical Strategies)

These are organizational strategies—not medical advice:

  • Use one calendar for all appointments
  • Set two reminders for every medical task
  • Ask for written instructions
  • Request portal messages instead of phone calls
  • Keep one folder (digital or physical) for medical paperwork
  • Bring a support person to complex visits
  • Ask the office to confirm refill policies in writing

Bibliography

Meyer, H. (2026). ADHD Strategies for Success. ADD Resource Center. Additional research on private‑equity ownership of medical practices was retrieved from peer‑reviewed health‑economics studies.

Next

Visit https://www.addrc.org for tools, strategies, and guidance to help you navigate healthcare systems with confidence.

About The Author

Harold Meyer founded The ADD Resource Center in 1993 and has spent more than 30 years translating the lived experience of ADHD into practical guidance for individuals and the professionals who support them. He co-founded CHADD of New York and led the Institute for the Advancement of ADHD Coaching. An author and international speaker, he has presented at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, CHADD national and local conferences, NYU Langone, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Weill Cornell Medical College. Reach him at haroldmeyer@addrc.org.

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