June 2016 M&A Results Show Strength

Uncertainty is the hobgoblin of the merger and acquisition markets, and the month of June was a high point (or low point, depending on your perspective) for anxiety in global financial markets. Still, the healthcare deals kept rolling in. Our preliminary total for June 2016 stands at 115 transactions, exactly equal with the same month a year ago. Compared with May’s total of 141 deals, though, June’s total does look as if someone is applying the brakes. It takes 12 months to make a year, though, and one month’s results do not create a trend. The digital health sector turned in the strongest gain compared with June 2015, when only two deals were announced. This June, 22 deals were announced... Read More »

Baptist Health Expands in Indiana

Baptist Health, the largest not-for-profit system in Kentucky, added a ninth hospital to its system in June. The Floyd County Commissioners, Floyd County Council and Floyd Memorial Board of Trustees all voted to sell Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services to Baptist Health. Baptist Health currently includes eight hospitals with 2,400 licensed beds, care centers, physician offices and health facilities. Its subsidiary, Baptist Health Plan, provides health insurance and managed-care services to more than 300,000 members in Kentucky and other states. Floyd Memorial is a 211-bed acute care hospital with more than 600 physicians on staff. The $276 million price represents $75 million at... Read More »

The FTC’s Recent Losses in Hospital M&A

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust unit has been very active in the health care sector in recent years, thanks in part to the steady beat of hospital mergers and acquisitions taking place. In 2015, 102 hospital transactions were announced, up slightly from 99 the year before. Halfway through 2016, we’ve recorded 48 hospital deals, which is keeping pace with the two previous years. The FTC challenged a few of those deals, including the NorthShore University Hospital/Advocate Health Care merger in Chicago and the Penn State Hershey Medical Center/PinnacleHealth System in Pennsylvania. The agency has notched up some significant wins in years past, most recently the December... Read More »

Six Forest Park Medical Centers All Sold

The lawsuits may go on, but the facilities that once belonged to the physician-owned chain of six hospitals In Texas are now in new hands. Each filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at different times, beginning in September 2015, and were sold in separate auctions. On February 18, Sabra Health Care REIT (NASDAQ: SBRA) unloaded Forest Park Medical Center at Frisco for $96.25 million to HCA North Texas, a subsidiary of HCA (NYSE: HCA). The REIT had paid $119.8 million to acquire the 54-bed hospital in October 2013. The hospital initially relied on out-of-network fees for procedures, but that revenue stream dried up as insurance companies created their own in-network contracts. The... Read More »

Hospital Deals, 2006 to 2015

Hospital merger and acquisition activity remained strong in 2015, as the effects of the Affordable Care Act continued to ripple through the healthcare industry. Small hospitals and healthcare systems felt greater financial pressure to merge, partner or affiliate with larger hospitals and systems as the shift to value-based and capitated reimbursements gained ground. Hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid generally were in better financial shape than those in states that did not expand the healthcare safety net. Read More »

Bankrupt Hospital M&A Up in Non-Expansion States

Has the decision to expand or not to expand Medicaid impacted merger and acquisition activity among hospitals and health systems? With only two years’ worth of data (2014 and 2015), it’s still early to draw definitive conclusions. So consider the following data as anecdotal evidence of the economic impact the various state governments have brought to bear on healthcare providers in their states. Mergers and acquisitions among all types of hospitals—acute care, long-term care, critical access, etc.—in the Medicaid expansion states increased from 49 deals in 2014 to 56 deals in 2015. Hospitals and health systems based in non-expansion states saw M&A activity decrease in the same time... Read More »