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Private equity gets a bad rap in health care. But some doctors see that kind of cash and consolidation as the only way for their practices to survive — and now, they’re taking that message to Washington.

Lower pay, difficult negotiations with insurance companies, regulatory requirements from both government and commercial payers, expensive and inefficient IT systems, and the challenge of competing against hospital systems have created a “cascade of problems that seem like they are almost insurmountable” for independent practices, said Paul Berggreen, a gastroenterologist at Arizona Digestive Health.

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Berggreen is joining with other doctors to start a lobbying group for private practices, the brand-new American Independent Medical Practice Association, or AIMPA, to fight against those problems and advocate for private practice physicians.

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