Top 18 Healthcare Deals for 2017 So Far…

If you’re a hospital, you want to go big or go home.

Over the course of the last 2-½ years, there have been 195 (that we could find) healthcare mergers or acquisitions that directly affect hospital operations.

And the pace for 2017 is as hot as ever.

Not only are hospitals (and suppliers) merging, but these ever larger systems are gobbling up ambulatory centers, physician practices, clinics and technology and service vendors.

Here is are the top 18 deals of 2017, so far….

1. Greenville Health System and Palmetto Heath combined on June 18 to create the largest health system in South Carolina. The new system will have 13 hospitals, hundreds of physicians and ambulatory centers, $3.9 billion in annual sales and be ranked among the 50 largest healthcare systems in the United States.
2. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center bought the 70-bed Sunbury Community Hospital and the 47-bed Lock Haven hospital from Quorum Corporation on June 8. Quorum, which posted a net loss of $22 million in the first quarter of this year, owns 35 hospitals in rural and mid-sized markets in 16 states. Because of their financial woes, Quorum is divesting several hospitals.
3. Cleveland Clinic announced that it intends to buy Union Hospital. Union hospital, like many hospitals in the United States, is struggling with rising operational costs but flat revenues. Last year Union cut $3 million out of its operating budget and eliminated 20 jobs.
4. Prime Healthcare Foundation buys Mission Regional Medical Center. Mission Regional, in Mission, Texas, is one of the top maternity care centers in the U.S. and is a top 10% hospital for joint replacement surgery. The 297-bed acute care hospital was a plum purchase for California-based Prime Healthcare. Closing is set for July 1.
5. Geisinger Health Systems merges with Jersey Shore Hospital. The 25-bed Jersey Shore Hospital is another gem of a hospital. It was recognized by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for excellence in patient satisfaction and outcomes. And Pennsylvania’s Geisinger Health is going to the Jersey Shore.
6. Baptist Memorial merged with Mississippi Baptist. Memphis-based Baptist Memorial, which runs hospitals in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi is merging with Jackson-based Mississippi Baptist to create one of the largest non-profit hospital systems in the country.
7. HCA Healthcare bought Tomball Regional and South Texas Regional. Nashville based HCA bought Tomball Regional Medical Center, a 350-bed hospital in Houston and 67-bed South Texas Regional medical Center in Jourdanton, Texas, which is south of San Antonio. Both Tomball and Texas Regional were part of the Community Health System (CHS) network. Because of financial problems, CHS is shedding hospitals.
8. Cardinal Health bids $6.1 billion for Medtronic’s patient care, DVT and nutritional businesses. For hospital supplier Cardinal, adding such brands as Curity, Kendall, Dover, Argyle and Kangaroo to the product line is what this purchase is all about. As hospitals merge, their suppliers will be incentivized to merger as well.
9. ABILITY Network bought cloud-based healthcare workforce management company ShiftHound. Hospital staffing shortages are the bugaboo of medicine and one of administrator’s biggest worries. This merger brings together two companies who can address those problems at ever more complex hospital systems.
10. Comprehensive Pharmacy Services acquired PharmaSource. Comprehensive Pharmacy Services bought PharmaSource in April. The two suppliers of pharmacy services are in more than 500 hospitals in the United States.
11. Trusted Health Plans bought Harbor Health Plan. Washington, DC-based Trusted Health Plan, which is a managed care organization, is adding Michigan-based HMO Harbor Health. The combined integrated delivery networks will build new wellness centers in Michigan.
12. Pinnacle Health bought Memorial Hospital of York, Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center and Carlisle Regional Medical Center. In addition to the four purchases, Pinnacle Health also announced that it was “affiliating” with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. UPMC is one of the largest integrated health systems in the U.S.
13. CareCredit bought Citi Health Card. Even the credit card companies are getting in on the M&A action. Health, wellness and personal care credit cards are accepted by more than 200,000 healthcare providers in the United States. This merger builds CareCredit’s network to more than 200,000 healthcare providers and retail locations.
14. Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, University Hospitals and Southwest General form Northern Ohio Trauma System. While not an out and out merger or acquisition, this collaboration created one of the largest regional trauma networks in the country.
15. Border Healthcare Solutions buys Business Dynamics. Two revenue cycle management companies merge. Business Dynamics specializes in spine coding and reimbursement while Border Healthcare is essentially a financial services company.
16. UnitedHealth, through its OptumCare division, bought Surgical Care Affiliates for $2.3 billion. This is yet another step toward merging insurance with hospitals and clinics. Surgical Care is a chain of outpatient surgery, urgent care and primary care centers. This combination helps UnitedHealth transition to an integrated health delivery system.
17. Kaufman Hall bought KREG Information Systems. KREG provides contract management, budgeting and decision support for healthcare providers. That is a strategic fit with management consultant Kaufman. Together the firms will be able to estimate net revenue by patient, manage claims, contracts and payments.
18. Health Carousel bought Medical Staff Options. This is Health Carousel’s second acquisition in two years. The two firms provide workforce staffing for traveling nursing and allied healthcare staffing.