Prominent Democratic lawmakers released the Health Over Wealth Act Thursday — legislation meant to beef up the regulation of private equity investment in health care.

The bill text specifically names “mental health or behavioral health” providers and opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Among several other requirements, it would require that private equity firms obtain licenses from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that could be revoked if a firm engages in certain practices. Revocation would require the disgorgement of said health care assets.

“Private equity firms and greedy corporate executives are using the health care system as a piggy bank,” Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a press release. “We need to put in place permanent guardrails to protect patients, providers, and communities, and that is exactly what the Health Over Wealth Act provides.”

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is the bill’s sponsor in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Markey points to the implosion of Steward Health Care in his home state of Massachusetts. The health system is working through bankruptcy following years of criticism about how its for-profit backers — including once-owner Cerberus Capital Management — operated the organization. In addition to the new bill ostensibly inspired in some part by Steward Health Care, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted Thursday to subpoena Steward CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre in a move to compel an appearance before federal lawmakers.

The Health Over Wealth Act has five stated aims, according to documents from Markey’s office:

— Require private equity-owned health care entities to report debt, executive pay, lobbying and political spending, patient costs, and any patient service or wage reductions.

— Require defined entities to create escrow funds with enough cash to cover five-years-worth of operating funds to hedge against financial disruptions and to cover funds for neighboring nonprofit hospitals that take on patients during any disruption; the creation of licenses for private equity funds that want to acquire health care assets that HHS can revoke and then require funds to divest their asset if revoked; require asset sales to real estate investment trusts (REITs) to be reviewed by HHS.

— Establish a task force to monitor private equity activity in health care and limit its influence in the sector.

— Prohibit stripping assets that undermine care quality, safety, or access; require bankruptcy courts to place a heavy weight on health care entities’ plans for continuing care access and quality.

— Close tax loopholes for REITs seeking rental income from health care properties.

“We have a duty to protect patients from greedy corporations that are prioritizing their bottom line over patient care,” Jayapal said in the release.

Private equity firms drive most of the dealmaking in the behavioral health space. Over the last few years, these firms have driven about 60% of all dealmaking. However, private equity owns tiny slices of the addiction and mental health industries, according to recent research. The same can be said about physical health care: just 20% of hospitals are owned by investors, according to the American Hospital Association.

The move comes at the same time as broader discontent by state and federal officials over private investment in health care has come to the forefront. More states are requiring disclosure-and-review laws for pending health care deals that could result in months of delay. Earlier in the year, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched a new investigation into private equity and other corporate investment control in the healthcare industry.