Literature Review

West Monroe’s 3 healthcare outlooks for 2024: AI, cost pressures, dealmakingMedCityNews, by Marissa Plescia; 12/29/23 In a recent report, consulting firm West Monroe laid out three trends for the healthcare industry to watch out for:

Serious Medical Errors Rose After Private Equity Firms Bought HospitalsNew York TimesDecember 26, 2023The rate of serious medical complications increased in hospitals after they were purchased by private equity investment firms, according to a major study of the effects of such acquisitions on patient care in recent years. The study, published in JAMA on Tuesday, found that, in the three years after a private equity fund bought a hospital, adverse events including surgical infections and bed sores rose by 25 percent among Medicare patients when compared with similar hospitals that were not bought by such investors. The researchers reported a nearly 38 percent increase in central line infections, a dangerous kind of infection that medical authorities say should never happen, and a 27 percent increase in falls by patients while staying in the hospital. 

Hospital merger activity to increase in 2024Modern HealthcareDecember 26, 2023Hospital merger and acquisition activity is expected to increase next year as hospitals manage financial pressure, competitors combine and insurers grow. ... The number of announced hospital deals through the third quarter rose by more than 50%, to 53 proposed transactions from 35 last year, according to data from consultancy Kaufman Hall. Deal activity was particularly pronounced among midsized health systems ranging from $1 billion to $5 billion in annual revenue. ... Nearly 40% of the 18 proposed hospital deals announced in the third quarter were driven by financial distress, according to Kaufman Hall. 

Froedtert, ThedaCare to launch combined system Jan. 1Becker’s Hospital ReviewDecember 19, 2023Milwaukee-based Froedtert and Neenah, Wis.-based ThedaCare have finalized their merger agreement and will launch as a combined 18-hospital system Jan. 1.

Brandywine Living acquired by Retirement Unlimited Inc.McKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 20, 2023Mt. Laurel, NJ-based Brandywine Living’s senior living management platform is being acquired by Roanoke, VA-based Retirement Unlimited Inc., RUI announced Wednesday. Following the transaction, the combined company will consist of 59 communities with more than 6,739 independent living, assisted living and memory care units. 

ProPublica Adds Ownership Information to Our Nursing Home DatabasePro PublicaDecember 20, 2023The quality of care that residents receive in a nursing home can be profoundly affected by who owns it, studies have shown. It’s not always clear who should be held accountable, though: Many nursing homes are owned by companies that are owned by other companies, obscuring who has the ultimate decision-making power. ... To help navigate the confusing world of nursing home ownership, ProPublica’s Nursing Home Inspect now publishes detailed ownership information for facilities and an upgraded search to help you sift through the information. 

Jefferson, Lehigh Valley Health to merge in 2024Modern HealthcareDecember 19, 2023Jefferson and Lehigh Valley Health Network plan to merge next year, creating a system of 30 hospitals and more than 700 care sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The two health systems said Tuesday they have signed a non-binding letter of intent to merge and plan to sign a definitive agreement and close the transaction sometime in 2024, pending regulatory approval. 

A Lukewarm Home Health, Hospice Dealmaking Year Comes To A CloseHome Health Care NewsDecember 19, 2023Following consecutive record years for health care transactions, 2023 was a comparatively lukewarm time for home health and hospice dealmaking activity. That’s according to a recent report from PwC. Specifically, there were 95 home health and hospice deals in the 12 months examined by PwC, which ended on Nov. 15., compared to 114 during the same period last year. The deals were worth $4.7 billion. ... PwC experts believe that M&A will likely be a key growth and profit driver next year.

Private Equity—The Metastasizing Disease Threatening Health CareHealth AffairsDecember 18, 2023In 2010, when purchasing Prospect Medical Holdings, the private equity firm Leonard Green and Partners made numerous lofty promises to state regulators around expanding services, capital investments, and modernization. They assured regulators they would not only maintain hospitals but would increase the quality of care. Over the course of its 10-year ownership, Leonard Green broke many of the promises made to regulators.Editor's Note: This article articulates some of the challenges that can occur when private equity moves into the healthcare space.

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.