Literature Review

Amedisys to divest certain home health locations to VitalCaring, clearing path for UnitedHealth Group deal Home Health Care News; by Andrew Donlan; 6/28/24 Amedisys Inc. filed paperwork Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission saying it has agreed to divest “certain” locations to an affiliate of home health and hospice company VitalCaring. The divestiture was a way for Amedisys to avoid further antitrust concerns from regulators prior to it joining UnitedHealth Group. UnitedHealth Group’s Optum agreed to purchase Amedisys last June for a purchase price of $3.3 billion. Optum already owns LHC Group, another one of the largest home health companies in the country.

UAB Health to acquire Ascension St. Vincent's Becker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 6/25/24 The University of Alabama System's board of trustees unanimously approved an agreement to acquire Ascension St. Vincent's Health System. Birmingham-based UAB will assume ownership of all Ascension St. Vincent's care sites under the agreement, announced June 25. The transaction still needs approval from federal regulators and the Catholic Church. UAB and Ascension expect thes deal to close in the fall of 2024. "Patients will continue to have access to the healthcare services and providers they've come to trust and ultimately gain access to a larger care network," said Dawn Bulgarella, CEO of UAB Health System, in a news release. The two organizations have worked closely together in the past, launching UAB/Ascension St. Vincent's Alliance in 2020 to improve access to care. ... UAB Health, a $6.4 billion system, aims to strengthen hospitals in the state, especially as financial hardship has caused other hospitals nationwide to close.

Private equity investment in assisted living: Distinct impacts and policy considerationsHealth Affairs; by Kali S. Thomas, John R. Bowblis, Paula Carder, Cassandra Hua, Sean Shenghsiu Huang, Yashaswini Singh, Lindsey Smith, Momotazur Rahman; 6/18/24Numerous academic publications, newspaper articles, and government reports have addressed private equity (PE) investment in health care entities, including nursing homes, hospitals, and physician practices. Proponents argue PE investment brings much-needed financial capital, allowing health care providers to renovate aging facilities, invest in the latest technology, spur innovation, and enhance operational efficiency. However, there are also concerns that PE investment has been associated with higher prices, lower quality, and inadequate staffing levels. Such changes could lead to patient harm, even death. ... However, one significant and continually expanding sector—assisted living—has several distinct features that, compared to other health care entities, may lead to different outcomes from PE investments. Assisted living is paid for differently. In relation to PE investments, the arrangement of assets and operations in assisted living are different from other health care sectors. This distinction creates unique and more nuanced incentives. Crucially, there’s actually no evidence to date on the effect of PE investment on the welfare of the people who reside and work in assisted living communities.

Pennant and Hartford HealthCare partner to transform home care services CBS News 13, Eagle, Idaho; by Pennant Group, Inc.; 6/18/24 The Pennant Group, Inc., the parent company of the Pennant group of affiliated home health, hospice and senior living companies, announced today that it has entered into a management and consulting services agreement to provide operational support to Hartford HealthCare at Home (HHCAH), the home health and hospice business of Hartford HealthCare. Hartford HealthCare is the highest ranking in quality, comprehensive non-profit integrated health system in Connecticut, and HHCAH’s home-based care spans the state, with eight locations, more than 1,000 employees, and more than 33,000 home health admissions and approximately 4,000 hospice admissions over the trailing 12 months. Hartford HealthCare has provided home-based care for over a century, and this engagement of Pennant reflects its continued commitment to home-based care as an essential and growing part of the care continuum and a central component of Hartford HealthCare’s future. Hartford HealthCare at Home remains owned by Hartford HealthCare and is a critical part of Hartford HealthCare’s ecosystem of care.

Missouri system acquires Illinois hospice, home health companiesBecker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 6/7/24St. Louis, Mo.-based Dover Health is expanding into the Chicagoland area with the acquisition of Joliet, Ill.-based Centered Care Hospice and Palliative Care, and Cornerstone Home Health.

Addus to buy Gentiva’s personal care assets for $350 million Home Health Care News; by Andrew Donlan; 6/10/24 Addus HomeCare Corp. is set to acquire Gentiva’s personal care assets for about $350 million.Those assets amount to over 16,000 home care patients per day, in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Addus – which just left the state of New York – will fund the acquisition through its existing revolving credit facility. “We believe this acquisition is a great strategic fit for Addus, and we are excited about the opportunity to expand our personal care market coverage in seven states, including Texas and Missouri, which are new markets for Addus,” Addus CEO Dirk Allison said. ... Addus currently provides home care, home health care and hospice services to over 49,000 consumers through 214 locations spanning 22 states.

Why private equity hospice investors need to re-focus on patients Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/7/24 As private equity investors seek out hospice and other health care transactions, they should retrain their sights on potential benefits for patients in addition to financial metrics. Driving this is a changing regulatory environment as scrutiny heats up for both hospices and the private equity firms themselves. Tightened regulation in the hospice space has led to longer, more stringent diligence processes when it comes to buying and selling provider companies. This means that potential buyers are looking hard at compliance and quality metrics before completing a deal, along with the seller’s financials.

PACS Group subsidiaries to acquire 53 long-term care properties across 8 states McKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/24/24 PACS Group is on an accelerated growth trajectory since going public earlier this month. ... The Farmington, UT-based holding company announced plans Thursday for subsidiaries to acquire the operations of 53 skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities across eight western states. The properties currently are being operated by Prestige Care or Prestige Senior Living. The company anticipates that the transactions will close in the third quarter. PACS Group already is one of the country’s largest nursing home operators. Founded in 2013, the company’s portfolio includes more than 200 facilities, mostly SNFs but also some assisted living communities.

Steward proposes timeline for selling assets in bankruptcy Modern Healthcare; by Caroline Hudson; 5/20/24Steward Health Care is seeing interest from potential buyers of its 31 hospitals, particularly in Massachusetts and Arizona, and it hopes to complete sales this summer. The health system, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month, also is in advanced discussions with UnitedHealth Group's Optum to buy physician network Stewardship Health. Optum, which had been negotiating with Steward before the bankruptcy filing, submitted a "stalking horse" bid. A stalking horse bid is the initial bid on a bankrupt company's assets that helps set the minimum price for other potential buyers. Steward also is in discussions with "various third parties" for its northern Massachusetts facilities, the health system said in a bankruptcy court filing last week.

Optum spent $31B on acquisitions in 2 yearsBecker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 5/13/24In the last two years, Optum has spent $31 billion on acquisitions, The Oregonian reported May 13. In the state of Oregon, Optum has acquired 12 healthcare provider companies including Oregon Medical Group, GreenField Health System, Family Medical Group Northeast as well as an independent physician association in Portland. ... This comes as Optum is currently pursuing authorization to acquire Amedisys, a home health care firm, for $3.3 billion.

Vitas’ acquisition pipeline likely growing Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/15/24 Vitas Healthcare, a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. is gearing up for potential acquisitions. ... VITAS is targeting its home state of Florida and other Certificate of Need (CON) states for potential deals, Michael Witzeman, vice president, CFO and controller at Chemed said during the Bank of America Securities Health Care Conference. “We certainly think that there’s a pipeline growing, and we have the resources on our balance sheet with cash and no debt to be able to really be a player in any of these,” Witzeman said. “We would like to be in states that have CON restrictions much more than an unrestricted state, but we certainly have the interesting inability when things come available to be able to jump on them.” ...

Around the nation: Steward Health Care puts hospitals up for sale following bankruptcyAdvisory Board; 5/10/24Steward Health Care, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, has placed all its 31 hospitals in the United States up for sale in hopes of finalizing transactions by the end of the summer to address its $9 billion debt, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Georgia, Illinois, and Texas.