The MACRA Effect Keeps Building

Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services asked for comments and then rolled out the final rules on the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Many industry observers predicted the rules would drive the majority of independent physician practices “right into the arms” of a local hospital, health system or other entity. Those predictions appear to be true. As of mid-March 2017, 46 acquisitions of physician practices have been announced, a 105% increase from the same period a year ago. Only one of the deals disclosed a price,  Optum’s (NYSE: UNH) $3.3 billion acquisition of Surgical Care Affiliates Inc. (NASDAQ:... Read More »

Arizona Urgent Care Market Tightens

Banner Health just threw its hat in the ring for the title of largest urgent care operator in Arizona. The not-for-profit health system, which operates 29 hospitals in seven states, just announced its acquisition of 32 Urgent Care Extra facilities in that state, primarily around Phoenix and Tucson. The clinics will be rebranded as Banner Urgent Care and join three other urgent care centers currently run by the health system. Two of those are in Colorado, and one is in Arizona. Banner plans to have as many as 50 urgent care centers in Arizona by the end of 2017, which would make it the largest urgent care operator in the state. Banner may have some competition from two other... Read More »

McKesson Sells its Care Management Business

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is divesting its Care Management business, which will be renamed AxisPoint Health. Its offerings include complex and chronic case management services to payers and other risk-bearing entities through a network of nurses and clinicians in 24 states. The buyers are Comvest Partners and Mosaic Health. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read More »

FastMed Urgent Care Goes to ABRY Partners

Yet another major transaction for an urgent care provider was announced last week, as Comvest Partners sold its interest in FastMed Urgent Care to ABRY Partners, for an undisclosed price. FastMed is the second largest independent urgent care organization in the United States, with 52 clinics in North Carolina and 35 in Arizona. In April, UnitedHealth Group’s Optum (NYSE: UNH) paid an undisclosed sum for MedExpress, which operates 141 full-service neighborhood medical centers in 11 states. The month before that, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) sold its urgent care subsidiary Concentra Inc. to a joint venture formed by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and Select Medical Corporation (NYSE: SEM)... Read More »