StateServe’s Delta Care Rx Acquisition Fueled by Hospice Cost Saving Potential

Durable medical equipment (DME) provider StateServ has acquired Delta Care Rx, a national hospice pharmaceutical benefits manager (PBM). Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

The acquisition is a move aimed at leveraging technology to improve quality, care delivery and operational efficiencies among hospice, palliative and post-acute care providers, according to Drew Mihalyo, founder, president and COO of Delta Care Rx.

“As hospices nationally are navigating the effects of inflation, staffing challenges and, in many markets, heightened competition — they need to simultaneously look at reducing costs while maintaining a level of quality care that helps differentiate them from others in their market(s),” Mihalyo told Hospice News in an email. “The primary tools that hospices can utilize to attain these twin objectives are to continuously drive efficiency in operations, simply workflows for staff and, most importantly, push for effective contracts with their vendors that replace the standard vendor-client relationship with a genuine partnership committed to the hospice’s cost-saving, staff-satisfaction and quality goals.”

The ability to streamline the management of both DME and pharmaceutical services could help providers to consolidate workflows during a time of increasing labor pressures and rising care delivery costs, according to Mihalyo.

Based in Pennsylvania, PBM management company Delta Care also offers mail-ordered prescription services and clinical pharmacy consulting to hospice and palliative care providers.

Arizona-based StateServe provides post-acute DME services across the United States. Founded in 2004, the company’s tech-enabled platform includes features that help monitor durable medical equipment costs, utilization and access.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Mihalyo said. “We’ve got some wonderful hospice partners who are committed to working with us to figure this all out … We’ve made a lot of progress right out of the gates.”

TripleTree LLC served as the financial advisor for StateServ in the transaction. McDermott Will & Emery LLP provided legal advisory for StateServ, with the legal firm Much Shelist, P.C. serving Delta Care in the deal.

Part of the deal will include a “significant investment” in technology systems that automate operational workflows around durable medical equipment and pharmacy benefits management, StateServ co-founder and CEO Paul DiCosmo said in a statement.

The partnership will unlock a new era of home-based care, according to DiCosmo.

“The next chapter for StateServ and Delta Care will transform the care-at-home market for DME and pharmacy across the United States,” DiCosmo said. “Our vision of the combined solution will include a significant investment in new technology to automate and streamline workflows, enabling better quality service and efficiency for our customers.”