Literature Review

Compassus announces new partnership for home care and hospice.InvestorsObserver; by PR Newswire; 6/10/24Compassus , a leading national provider of integrated home-based health care services, announced today they have formed a partnership with Columbus, Ohio -based OhioHealth for home health and hospice services. "We're proud to collaborate with OhioHealth to deliver high-quality, patient-centered home health and hospice care to ensure patients and families have the support they need wherever they call home," said Compassus CEO Mike Asselta . "As our teams come together, we'll continue to focus on patients, partnership and innovation to deliver superior care." The company's nearly 7,000 team members serve more than 120,000 patients annually across more than 270 touchpoints across 30 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.

Oregon reviews UnitedHealth deal for Amedisys home health, hospice The Lund Report; by Nick Budnick; 6/4/24State officials are asking members of the public to weigh on the proposed acquisition of Amedisys — a hospice and home health and company that operates in Roseburg, Salem and Portland — by an increasingly controversial health care giant called UnitedHealth Group. Inc.  UnitedHealth operates Optum, a subsidiary whose takeover of a clinic chain in the Eugene area has sparked numerous complaints. The state recently approved the company's acquisition of  The Corvallis Clinic, an 11-clinic company operating in three counties. Now, it proposes to take over the Oregon offices of a Amedisys, a publicly traded firm, and the transaction has federal officials contemplating a lawsuit to block it. UnitedHealth and Optum are under increasing scrutiny for their market dominance and allegations of anticompetitive conduct.

Publicly traded hospice companies poised for dealsHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/24/24The nation’s publicly traded hospice companies are primed for more acquisitions after a 2023 slump, fueled by census and growth. Transaction volume declined in the hospice and home-based care space in 2023, following the two record-breaking prior years. [Examples include:]

Heart to Heart Hospice of San Antonio opens new hospice housePress release; by Kimberly Dellinger; 5/23/24Heart to Heart Hospice plans to expand inpatient services with the opening of the only freestanding Hospice House in the San Antonio area. Heart to Heart Hospice, a leader in hospice services since 2003, is currently building a Hospice House as an extension of its service offerings to patients and families in the San Antonio community, opening Summer of 2024.

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.

The Pennant Group acquires hospice provider Nurses on WheelsHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/16/24The Pennant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired the Corpus Christi, Texas-based hospice provider Nurses on Wheels Inc. for an undisclosed amount. This is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Pennant. Earlier this month Pennant acquired Utah-based South Davis Home Health and South Davis Hospice. The company in December 2023 picked up Arizona-based Southwestern Palliative Care & Hospice after acquiring five Medicare hospice providers in multiple states the prior month. Financial terms were not disclosed in these deals.

Addus CEO: Hospice Headwinds Starting to AbateHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/16/24Addus Homecare Corp. (NASDAQ: ADUS) is seeing constrictions on growth start to ease in its hospice business. Many of those headwinds were associated with lingering effects of the pandemic. Like many hospice providers, Addus has faced COVID-19 challenges that include reduced patient volumes and shorter length of stays. Now, the company’s hospice rebound is starting to accelerate, CEO Dirk Allison said during the Bank of America Securities Health Care Conference.

Aveanna is looking to grow in its ‘rightsized’ home health segment again Home Health Care News; by Andrew Donlan; 5/14/24 Aveanna Healthcare Holdings leaders believe the company is back at a place where it can bank on near-term growth in its Medicare-certified home health business. It first entered into a business “transformation” in January 2023, and that transformation is already paying dividends, according to CEO Jeff Shaner. But much of the turnaround has been led by the private-duty services segment. Now, Shaner sees a path for the company to begin accelerating its home health and hospice lines. 

Potential progress at Optum Tri-State complicated by corporate care crisis: It's bonuses for bodies' The Examiner News; by Adam Stone; 5/13/24 'It's Bonuses for Bodies' This is the 16th installment in an investigative series, launched in December 2022, about CareMount/Optum/UnitedHealth and broader concerns about corporate medical care. ... I know this piece is a long ride to the larger point but buckle up and pretend you’re reading a few book chapters instead of a newspaper column, because all of the context matters, and interconnects. ... 

Vitas Healthcare names four leaders to its executive team: Melad, Escueta, Dr. Loftis, DurkinInvestorsObserver; 5/13/24Vitas Healthcare proudly announces the addition of four new leaders to its executive management team, including the promotions of Jennifer Melad, Martin Escueta and Lauren Loftis, MD. The hospice company also welcomes Vicky Durkin as its latest newly hired executive. Healthcare proudly announces the addition of four new leaders to its executive management team, including the promotions of Jennifer Melad, Martin Escueta and Lauren Loftis, MD. The hospice company also welcomes Vicky Durkin as its latest newly hired executive. 

Amedisys to sell 100 locations to advance UnitedHealth group deal Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 5/8/24 Amedisys Inc. has agreed to divest upwards of 100 home health and hospice locations to an undisclosed private equity buyer as the company addresses regulators’ antitrust concerns in its pending acquisition by the UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH) health care services arm Optum. The news came in a recent social media post from The Capitol Forum. Selling off some of Amedisys’ locations in overlapping markets within Optum’s service region may help push the transaction forward amid mounting regulatory concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is mulling a possible lawsuit to block the acquisition, citing potential antitrust issues related to the deal. The concerns center around the ability for other providers to compete if Optum and Amedisy combine their geographic footprints. 

Addus HomeCare expects 2024 acquisitions Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/7/24Addus HomeCare Corp. is poised for further acquisitions, potentially including some hospice deals. The company is seeking to pair its clinical services with its personal business in its existing markets. This is a cornerstone of its acquisition strategy. But Addus Chairman and CEO Dirk Allison does not rule out the possibility of moving into new markets if circumstances are right. ... When examining new markets, Addus focuses on regions where they can quickly become the largest or second-largest provider by market share, according to CFO Brian Poff. ... Addus’ roughly 33,000 employees provide hospice, home health and private duty nursing services across more than 200 locations in 22 states.