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 »
MEDNAX Moves into Radiology
It’s been a while since MEDNAX (NYSE: MD) surprised the healthcare industry with its $500 million acquisition of Virtual Radiologic Corporation (NASDAQ: VRAD). Since May 2015, in fact. Consider the wait over. The MEDNAX M&A juggernaut is rolling into the radiology arena. The acquisition of vRad added approximately 350 radiologists to MEDNAX’ payroll back then, at an average of $1.4 million per radiologist. It also added a telemedicine component, which was previously missing from MEDNAX’ dealings with hospitals on behalf of its anesthesiology and neonatology divisions. Essentially, vRad physicians read and interpret more than 5 million diagnostic imaging studies... Read More »December 2016 Didn’t Deliver a Year-End Boost
The final month of the fourth quarter is typically a busy one for deal makers in all industries. Last year, some health care deal makers apparently got a rest. Deal volume in December 2016 was an anemic 119 transactions, compared with 131 deals in November and 148 in December 2015. The Services sectors accounted for 55% of the deals in December, which is on the low side. Consider that, in November, Services accounted for 69% of the month’s transactions, and even 70% of the total in December 2015. Spending on those deals reached $15.4 billion, a relatively modest amount until it is compared with November’s $8.7 billion total (+78%) and December 2015’s $12.3 billion total (+26%). Suddenly,... Read More »PMG Sector Sets Record in 2016
Mergers and acquisitions in the Physician Medical Group sector hit a record 119 transactions in 2016, up 19% over 2015’s previous record of 100 announced transactions. Consolidation was a big theme, as some of the top publicly traded companies either merged or were taken private. Another factor driving independent physician practices to team up was MACRA (the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015), which gave smaller physician practices the option to stay with fee-for-service Medicare reimbursement, or to switch to value-based payment for treating Medicare patients. The best option for many groups was to join a larger practice or the local hospital. Despite the frenzy of... Read More »Schedule a demo
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