How Proposed Cuts to Home Health Payments Could Impact Hospice M&A

Disruption in home health reimbursement has an influence on the hospice mergers and acquisitions market, particularly among the rising number of companies offering both services. The most recent example is the 2020 implementation of the Patient-driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Uncertain about how this new payment system would impact their businesses, a number of strategic buyers […]

What’s Fueling the Hospice JV Furnace

More hospice and palliative care providers are pursuing joint ventures with hospitals and health systems. Joint ventures offer unique advantages compared to traditional referral streams, according to Aaron Stein, COO of Contessa Health, a subsidiary of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED). Joint ventures allow providers to develop integrated care models that build improved transitions of care, said […]

How Does the Workforce Shortage Affect Hospice M&A?

The labor pressures in the hospice community are straining clinical operations, but the issue is also becoming a more pressing concern when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. Buyers, in fact, are paying much closer attention to workplace culture and human resources as they select acquisition targets. Hospice M&A has been exploding in recent years […]

Hospice Operators Hunting for Non-Medical Home Care Deals

Hospice agencies have been in high demand in the health care mergers-and-acquisition market in recent years, particularly among private equity firms. As that trend continues, some hospices themselves are considering their own investments in businesses that can bolster their current services and bottom lines, including private-duty and non-medical home care care. A few factors are […]

Hospices, Investors Navigate Deal-Threatening Regulatory Hurdles

Private equity and venture capital investors continue to flock to the hospice space. When negotiating with investors that are new to the industry, providers in some cases are coming to the table with parties that are not familiar with the regulatory environment, even as federal enforcement activity ramps up. Of the 23 hospice-related deals in […]

Arkansas Hospice Acquires First Choice Senior Care

The nonprofit Arkansas Hospice has acquired First Choice Senior Care (FCSC) of Little Rock for an undisclosed sum. FCSC provides companion services, personal care and other programs to address the nonmedical needs of the aging and seriously ill. Arkansas Hospice cares for nearly 600 patients daily from 10 locations and three inpatient facilities in 43 […]

Hospice Dealmaking Could Slow After Strong Q4

Last year finished with a flurry of hospice transactions, with private equity groups continuing to show ample interest in the space. Overall, there were at least 23 hospice-related deals in 2021’s fourth quarter, according to a recently released report from M&A advisory firm Mertz Taggart. That total is on par with the 23 that came […]

Health Care Execs Have Positive 2022 Outlook, but Staff Shortage Casts a Shadow

Health care executives are optimistic that the financial position of their business will improve during 2022 compared to last year, though they acknowledge the risk to growth posted by worsening labor market conditions. Capital One Healthcare during Nov. and Dec. 2021 surveyed 219 senior executives at health care companies, including providers of clinical services, pharmaceuticals, […]

Nonprofit Hospices Selling to For-Profit Providers, Trend May Accelerate

Industry consolidation has been robust in the hospice space, with deal volume and valuations outpacing other health care industry sectors. Most of these transactions involve one for-profit company buying another. However, more instances are cropping up in which a for-profit agency purchases a nonprofit hospice. While individual nonprofits have grown in recent years, in aggregate […]

Hospice M&A Boom Accelerated in Q3

The volume of hospice mergers and acquisitions continues to rise, with more than 23 publicly announced transactions during the third quarter of the year, up from 17 in Q2. M&A advisory firm Mertz Taggart tallied these numbers in a quarterly report, indicating that Q3 saw the most hospice transactions since the final quarter of 2020, […]