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Residential Hospice Acquires Safe HavenHospice NewsDecember 19, 2023Residential Hospice has acquired Illinois-based Safe Haven Hospice from the senior living provider Christian Horizons for an undisclosed sum. The transaction expands Residential’s presence in four Illinois counties. 

How Changing Consolidation Rules Could Affect Hospice ‘Megadeals’Hospice NewsDecember 15, 2023President Joe Biden in 2021 announced a set of new rules and guidelines for mergers and acquisitions, with pledges to implement by mid-2024. ... In the years since the administration took this position, scrutiny of M&A transactions has been on the rise, as have associated lawsuits and investigations by government agencies, including the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

State can finally start formal review process for Fatima and Roger Williams hospital acquisitionRhode Island CurrentDecember 15, 2023The two state regulators overseeing hospital conversions in Rhode Island have declared an application to transfer ownership of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital to a Georgia nonprofit is complete.

Rumored Help at Home sale ‘par for the course’ of PE ownership, expert saysMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 14, 2023Three years after it was bought by private equity firms Centerbridge Partners and the Vistria Group, Help at Home could be exploring a possible transaction in what experts have called an unsurprising move. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Vistria Group and Centerbridge Partners were “gauging interest” in a transaction involving Help at Home. 

University of Kansas deal with Missouri hospital feels ‘terribly wrong’ to lawmakersMissouri IndependentDecember 11, 2023The proposed takeover of Liberty Hospital in Missouri by the University of Kansas Health System is being greeted with scorn by lawmakers from both sides of the state line and both political parties. Leading the charge against the takeover in Missouri is Kansas City Democratic state Sen. Greg Razer, who said the idea of KU owning a hospital in suburban Missouri is “terribly wrong.” “There are boundaries for a reason, and they’ve crossed one,” said Razer, a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

Thrice-rebuffed suitor StoneBridge Healthcare is once again involved in a bid to buy Tower HealthPhiladelphia Business JournalDecember 12, 2023Bucks County-based hospital turnaround firm StoneBridge Healthcare is taking yet another stab at Tower Health, this time potentially entering into a management contract with an affiliated nonprofit organization that is interested in acquiring the Berks County health system. The nonprofit, called WoodBridge Inc., was expected to send Tower Health a non-binding agreement in principle Tuesday morning under which it would purchase substantially all of Tower’s assets for $706 million. 

Cigna Calls Off Humana Pursuit, Plans Big Stock BuybackWall Street JournalDecember 10, 2023Cigna Group abandoned its pursuit of a tie-up with Humana after shareholders balked at a deal that would have created a roughly $140 billion giant in the health-insurance industry. The companies couldn’t come to agreement on price and other financial terms, according to people familiar with the matter. In the near term, Cigna is turning its focus toward smaller, so-called bolt-on, acquisitions.

Care Advantage Acquires Nova Home Health Care, Delivers On 18th Acquisition Since 2018Home Health Care NewsDecember 6, 2023Care Advantage announced Tuesday that it has acquired Nova Home Health Care. The acquisition expands Care Advantage’s Northern Virginia footprint—a market that CEO Tim Hanold believes is an important one for current and future growth. ... Hanold told Home Health Care News, “... Northern Virginia is part of the Metropolitan D.C. area, and is a very diverse market. We want to make sure that we’re approaching that in a smart and culturally sensitive way.” Richmond, Virginia-based Care Advantage is a home-based care company that has more than 45 locations throughout Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina. The company offers both personal care and home health care services. On its end, Nova Home Health Care is a personal care company that serves the Medicaid population. The company has ties to a number of different communities that make up the diverse population in the area. “They have real deep market penetration with the Vietnamese community, as well as the Hispanic and African American communities,” Hanold said.

National HME Acquires Hospice SourceBusiness WireDecember 5, 2023Irving, TX—National HME, a leading provider of durable medical equipment solutions and services to hospice and alternate sites of care, today announced that it has acquired Hospice Source, a provider of medical equipment to hospice patients and facilities.

2023’s Most Impactful Hospice DealsHospice NewsDecember 5, 2023A rich mix of hospice merger and acquisition activity at the end of 2023 is fueling trends into next year. Hospice M&A activity has diverged from the frenzied pace set in recent years. The hospice space in the last five years has seen record-breaking multiples, a prevalence of private equity-backed platform transactions and large-scale assets up for grabs. This year saw a slow but significant start, with mainly smaller and fewer hospice transactions taking place. As valuations have come down, asset sizes have varied and the scope of buyers has pivoted. However, the hospice market also saw a number of multi-billion-dollar “mega-deals” involving payers that stand to reshape aspects of the industry. The forthcoming sale of Amedisys to Optum marks one of the most significant transactions in the hospice industry in terms of valuation and buyer trends.

Hospice 36-month rule work-around not worth the risk, financial experts warnMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 4, 2023Though the recently enacted 36-month rule presents another obstacle for hospice transactions, mergers and acquisitions experts encouraged buyers to play by the rules rather than push the boundaries of the new regulation. This so-called 36-month rule, which requires re-enrollment for providers that undergo a change in majority ownership within 36 months of initial Medicare certification, now covers hospice as part of the 2023 home health final rule. It had previously only applied to home health facilities.