Literature Review

New Day Healthcare acquires Christian Senior Care Services  Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/20/25 New Day Healthcare has acquired the home-based care company Christian Senior Care Services in Houston for an undisclosed sum. The deal, New Day’s 13th to date, expands the company’s personal care services division into five additional counties in the Houston metro area. The operation will continue to operate under its current brand, and the entire staff will remain in place. ... The transaction adds personal care services to New Day’s hospice and home health operations in the Houston area, a key step in the provider’s efforts to build out a multi-faceted continuum of care. ... Similar to national demographic trends, a growing aging population is driving demand for hospice in Texas. Seniors 65 and older represent 13.8% of the Lone Star State’s overall population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

How the DOJ-UnitedHealth Group lawsuit could change hospice M&A Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/11/25 A U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) victory in its lawsuit to block UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) acquisition of Amedisys is unlikely to have a cooling effect on hospice M&A, according to some experts. The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum in June 2023 agreed to acquire Amedisys in a $3.3 billion deal. Optum in February 2023 also acquired the home health and hospice provider LHC Group for $5.4 billion. DOJ in December 2024 filed the lawsuit to kill the deal. The state attorneys general of Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York are also plaintiffs in the suit. ... DOJ’s chief concern is that the combination of the two companies would dampen competition in the hospice and home health space. Should the transaction proceed, Optum would control 30% or more of the home health or hospice services in eight states, according to the Justice Department’s complaint.

Bristol Hospice acquires St. Agatha Comfort Care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/6/25 Bristol Hospice has acquired St. Agatha Comfort Care in Las Vegas for an undisclosed amount. ... Bristol is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Webster Equity Partners. The company operates 64 locations across 25 states, employing more than 3,000 professionals. The hospice provider has indeed been on a growth trajectory. In June 2024, Bristol Hospice acquired Mississippi-based Mid-Delta Hospice, a move that marked its entry into that state. Bristol has been a prolific buyer in the M&A market during the past five years, but more recently it has leaned harder into its de novo strategy. In August of last year, Bristol Hospice opened four new locations within a single week in three different states.

Kroger partners with Express Scripts to expand pharmacy services Becker's Hospital Review; by Alexandra Murphy; 2/6/25 Cincinnati-based Kroger Health has reached a new agreement with Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefit services arm of Evernorth, to provide access to prescription medications and health services at the Kroger Family of Pharmacies for Express Scripts Customers. Under the new agreement, the Kroger Family of Pharmacies will resume serving customers in Express Scripts' Medicare Part D and Tricare/Department of Defense plans, according to a Feb. 5 Kroger news release. This comes after Kroger ended its contract with Express Scripts in September of 2022, after months of unsuccessful negotiations over a new agreement. 

Baptist Health announces joint venture to enhance home health services Lane Report, Louisville, KY; 1/31/25 To further expand the delivery of high-quality care to a growing population, Baptist Health announced a joint venture with national home health leader Alternate Solutions Health Network (ASHN) to enhance services across Kentucky, southern Indiana and southern Illinois. Effective March 3, the joint venture will be owned by Baptist Health and ASHN and will continue operating as Baptist Health Home Care. 

Brightspring Health Services, Inc. enters into definitive agreement to divest Community Living business to Sevita; reports preliminary 2024 financial results and provides 2025 guidance excluding Community Living The MarCom Journal, Louisville, KY; by Leigh White; 1/20/25 BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. (“BrightSpring” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BTSG), a leading provider of home and community-based pharmacy and health services for complex populations, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its Community Living business, namely ResCare Community Living, to Sevita, a leading provider of home and community-based specialty health care, for $835 million in cash consideration, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in 2025, pursuant to regulatory approvals and typical closing conditions. Following the divestiture, BrightSpring’s Provider Services will be comprised of Home Health and Hospice, Personal Care, Rehabilitation Services, and Primary Care. 

HHS targets private equity, pushes for more SNF ownership transparency in new report McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 1/16/25 A new federal report is calling for greater transparency in long-term care ownership, citing “growing consolidation in the healthcare sector and the lack of meaningful competition” as main drivers in decreased patient care quality and caregiver well-being. The Department of Health and Human Services released its report Wednesday. “HHS Consolidation in Health Care Markets RFI Response” was created in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Report authors examined a broad range of settings and deals in the healthcare sector, ultimately identifying two major trends: increasing consolidation in certain healthcare markets and a recent influx of private equity and other private investors. Some providers support the push for more ownership transparency, saying private equity acquisitions of previously nonprofit-owned healthcare providers is a symptom of a broken system.

VITAS eyeing expansion in 12 states Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 1/14/25 Historically, VITAS Healthcare has relied heavily on organic growth, a strategy the company is not turning away from. However, it may add more acquisitions to the mix. VITAS is a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE). The company this year made its return to the M&A market after a hiatus of several years. In April, VITAS acquired Covenant Health and Community Services’ hospice operations as well as one assisted living facility in an $85 million deal. Now, the company is seeking out other targets, with an emphasis on Certificate of Need states. “There are at a minimum 12 states we don’t operate in that we think are very attractive to us, and we are out actively sourcing deals, and we expect some of that deal flow to continue to come through here in 2025 and beyond …” VITAS CEO and Chairman Nick Westfall said during the JP Morgan Healthcare conference. “We think we’re in the early roads of really an ongoing consolidation inside of the space.”

PruittHealth acquires family-owned skilled nursing centers in middle Georgia GlobeNewswire, PruittHealth, Warner Robbins, GA; 1/9/25 PruittHealth, a family-owned and Georgia-based provider of post-acute care, today announced the purchase of two new health care centers from industry leader Debbie Meade and her Georgia-based organization Health Management. PruittHealth took over the operations of Eastview Nursing Center in Macon and Southern Pines Nursing Center in Warner Robins on December 31. The locations were rebranded as PruittHealth – Lakeside and PruittHealth – Warner Robins.

UnitedHealth, Amedisys ask judge to toss antitrust lawsuit Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 1/9/25UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys asked a federal judge Wednesday to either dismiss a government lawsuit over their planned merger or require the Justice Department to better define where the deal would stifle competition. The motion is the latest chapter in UnitedHealth Group’s 18-month effort to acquire home health and hospice company Amedisys for $3 billion. In November, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block the deal, claiming it would stifle competition. ... The request for a dismissal came days after UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys backed away from a deal to sell some home health and hospice locations to Dallas-based Vital Caring Group to alleviate antitrust concerns.

Renovus Capital Partners announces strategic partnership with Superior Health Holdings The Alvin Sun, Wayne, PA; by Renovus Capital Partners, LLC; 1/7/25 Renovus Capital Partners ("Renovus") today announced a strategic partnership with Superior Health Holdings, Inc. ("Superior" or the "Company"), a leading provider of home health and hospice services throughout Louisiana. ... Superior was formed in 2021 as an aggregation of several agencies providing similar services throughout Louisiana and has since grown both organically and through strategic acquisitions, led by Chief Executive Officer, David Martin. ... Superior Health Holdings, Inc., based in Baton Rouge, LA, is a full-service family of agencies offering hospice and home health services.

Masonicare completes merger with UMH, facility acquisition McKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 1/6/25 Wallingford, CT-based Masonicare has completed its planned merger with United Methodist Homes, the companies said Thursday in a joint statement. Masonicare Corp. is Connecticut’s largest not-for-profit senior living and care organization, offering independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing as well as short-term rehabilitation, respite care and hospice care. UMH, a 150-year-old organization, has five locations in the Nutmeg State. The communities provide independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and short-term rehab. The merger moves UMH under the Masonicare brand and extends to UMH access to Masonicare’s comprehensive continuum of care, the companies said.  Also on Jan. 2, Masonicare announced the acquisition of Atria Greenridge Place in Rocky Hill, CT, rebranding the assisted living and memory community to Masonicare at Greenridge Place.

Hospice M&A market to ‘return to sanity’ in 2025 Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/2/25The hospice mergers and acquisitions market has seen a host of changes in recent years, with buyers and sellers examining a range of risks and opportunities in the field this year. The industry saw a flurry of M&A activity in 2019 and 2020, with record high valuations and deal volume. Subsequent years saw cooling periods that left many operators wondering what’s next in store as 2025 unfolds. The previous “buy, buy, buy” mentality among hospice investors has morphed into a more disciplined strategic approach, according to New Day Healthcare LLC CEO G. Scott Herman. Certain lessons learned are driving future hospice investment decisions, particularly those around valuations and keys to sustainable growth, Herman said during a recent Hospice News Elevate podcast. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]