Despite hitting a brief slump at this year’s start, hospice merger and acquisition activity still managed to outpace other health care sectors. Strong hospice and home health consolidation continued during the first quarter of 2022, according to a recent report from Provident Healthcare Partners. Both private equity firms and strategic investors remained “bullish” on home-based […]
LHC Group
LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) shareholders overwhelmingly approved the acquisition of the company by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHG) subsidiary Optum for $5.5 billion. Optum announced the forthcoming deal in April. The purchase agreement stipulates that UnitedHealth Group will acquire LHC Group’s common stock for $170 per share. The companies expect the transaction to close during the […]
More hospitals and health systems are stepping into the home-based hospice space, often seeing joint ventures as a promising route to a return on their investment. While there are several factors driving facility-based health care organizations to eye home-based care, more than anything, hospices and other providers should simply be aware that the “normal” look […]
As one massive home health and hospice transaction steams towards completion, another is delayed. The forthcoming spin-off of Enhabit Home Health & Hospice from Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) is just about ready to close on July 1. Meanwhile, a minor administrative snag will delay closing of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHG) subsidiary Optum’s acquisition of LHC […]
As LHC Group’s (NASDAQ: LHCG) pending $5.5 billion acquisition by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) unfolds, the home health and hospice provider is seeing resurgent admissions growth despite persistent workforce pressures. LHC Group saw a contraction in the nursing labor market across its business segments during the second half of last year, President Joshua Proffitt previously […]
Deal volume in hospice and home health took a dive during the first quarter of 2022, though the dollar amounts in those acquisitions appear to be rising. A total of 30 transactions occurred during Q1 this year in the hospice and home health space, compared to 41 deals in Q4 of last year, according to […]
Value-based payment, care in the home and technology are some of the pillars on which UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and its subsidiary Optum Health are building their future. That’s evidenced by the forthcoming $5.5 billion acquisition of LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG). One outstanding question, however, is where hospice will fit into this rubric. Generally speaking, […]
Recent acquisitions of large hospice and home health providers by insurance companies suggest a drive among payers to reduce financial risk and improve cost outcomes in value-based care arrangements. These deals include two of the largest in recent memory for the home-based care space. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) recently agreed to purchase LHC Group (NASDAQ: […]
A lack of nursing and medical education in hospice and palliative care creates an additional obstacle for providers trying to push back against industry-wide labor shortages. Not only are hospices competing with other health care sectors for new hires, but the vast majority of clinicians entering the workforce are unprepared to provide those services. Most […]
Mergers-and-acquisition activity continues to boom in the hospice space this year. Deal volume may exceed the record number from the prior two years. As many as 61% of the 203 hospice care professionals who responded to a recent Hospice News Outlook Survey and Report said they anticipate that hospice M&A activity will increase during 2022. […]