Hospital Mergers Point to the Future of Health Systems

Hospital Mergers Point to the Future of Health Systems

Hard on the heels of the merger announcement between Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives  came the news that Ascension Health and Providence St. Joseph Health were in their own talks to merge. The Dignity/CHI deal will create a 139-hospital system spanning 28 states, with revenue of more than $28 billion. If the Ascension/Providence merger is realized, the resulting company would be the largest hospital system, with 191 hospitals in 27 states, and annual revenue of $44.8 billion. By contrast, the current largest system, for-profit HCA (NYSE: HCA), has approximately 175 hospitals and revenue of $42.7 billion. Even if the Ascension/Providence deal doesn’t go through, the... Read More »

WellStar Acquires Five Tenet Hospitals in Atlanta

WellStar Health System, the Marietta, Georgia-based not-for-profit health system, is buying its way to become the state’s largest healthcare provider. On December 1, the hospital chain and for-profit hospital chain Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) announced their agreement to exchange five Atlanta metro area hospitals for $575 million upfront, plus the assumption of $86 million in debt related to the lease of the 158-bed North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia. The other hospitals  included in the sale are the 466-bed Atlanta Medical Center (Atlanta), its 210-bed South Campus (East Point), the 160-bed Spalding Regional Hospital (Griffin) and the 10-bed Sylvan Grove Hospital (Jackson).... Read More »