Private equity’s Welsh Carson, casting itself as a noble force, relentlessly pursues profits in health care

Before the allegations of neglect, before the lawsuits, before the government investigations, the health care nonprofit InnovAge had a simple mission: Help the sickest and poorest seniors live comfortably in their communities, beyond the confines of nursing homes and hospitals.

It accomplished this by coordinating care for older Americans in a handful of states under a little-known, taxpayer-funded program.

But a particularly eager investor — private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe — saw a way to profit from the model and wanted in. The former head of Medicare and Medicaid, a longtime partner at the firm, orchestrated a takeover of InnovAge, transforming it into a for-profit company and the largest program of its kind.

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