New Dementia-Focused Payment Model Emphasizes Caregiver Support

Without family caregivers, most hospice and palliative care patients would be unable to receive care in the home. Now, some emerging payment models are including caregiver support as a key component. Case in point is the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) model, which the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled in […]

MedPAC Calls for Freeze on Hospice Payment Rates

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has voted to recommend a freeze on hospice payment increases starting in 2025. However, the commission pulled back on prior calls for cuts to the aggregate payment cap. While MedPAC cannot implement policy or payment rate changes, it does make annual recommendations to Congress and the U.S. Centers for […]

Optum a Rising Star at UnitedHealth Group, Has More Room to Grow

The UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum Health has emerged as one of the largest players in home-based care, primary care and other health care services. Nevertheless, the company sees vast market opportunities on the road ahead. Optum Health currently serves more than 4.1 million patients in value-based care arrangements across all of its clinical […]

Fortis Health Acquires Physiocare Home Health and Hospice

Fortis Health has acquired Indiana-based Physiocare Home Health and Hospice. Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed. Grant Avenue Capital, Fortis’ private equity backer, financed the deal, which is the company’s fourth since its founding in 2020. Fortis currently operates in Indiana and Utah. The M&A advisory firm Agenda Health advised Physiocare on the transaction. […]

New Day Healthcare Acquires Compassion Hospice

The home health and hospice provider New Day Healthcare has acquired Texas-based Compassion Hospice for an undisclosed amount. The transaction expands New Day’s footprint to 29 locations, concentrated in Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. The company’s nearly 6,500 employees serve close to 100,000 patients annually across all of its business lines, including home health, hospice, […]

PE Firms Adapting Hospice ‘Roll-Up’ Strategies

Private equity firms in the hospice space are adapting their “roll-up” strategies as economic uncertainties persist. Roll ups are a common approach to private equity investment. This occurs when a firm buys a larger platform company and then gradually acquires smaller organizations to foster growth. But in 2023, deal volume slowed across the board. While […]

To Affiliate or Acquire: Trends in Nonprofit Hospice Consolidation

Recent years have seen an uptick in consolidation activity among nonprofits in the hospice space. Increasingly, nonprofits are pursuing acquisitions and affiliations, as well as forming regional collaboratives. To achieve these kinds of growth, hospices must consider whether they should affiliate or buy another company outright. Each approach comes with benefits and risks. Rising operating […]

BrightSpring Launches $1B IPO

BrightSpring Health Services is pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) and expects to begin trading on the NASDAQ. The company, which does not yet have a stock symbol, seeks to raise $1 billion through the IPO. The company indicated its intent to go public on Tuesday in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The […]

Hospices Exploring MSOs Amid Evolving Consolidation Rules

Entering agreements with management service organizations (MSOs) may be an alternate route to joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions for hospices seeking to build scale and sustainability than in today’s regulatory and financial climates. A slew of regulatory moves have taken place in 2023 that can have an impact on future deal-making in the hospice space, […]

The Public Hospice Companies Most Likely to Acquire in 2024

After a rocky year for M&A, two of the publicly traded hospice providers are poised to pursue more deals in 2024. Based on 2023 earnings trends, The Pennant Group (NASDAQ: PNTG) and Addus HomeCare Cop. (NASDAQ: ADUS) are well-positioned to buy, according to an analysis by the M&A advisory firm Mertz Taggart. While the majority […]