Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are in no short supply as providers, health tech companies, retailers and other industry players look to expand their businesses and gain a competitive edge. Here’s a roundup of new deals that were revealed, closed, rumored or called off during the month of April.
Providers
Northwell Health and Nuvance Health’s 28-hospital merger cleared its final regulatory hurdle with a mid-month sign-off from Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy, paving the way for the deal's close in early May. The regulator’s blessing came with assurances of continued investment and support of existing service lines.
Community Health Systems is selling a 80% stake in Cedar Park Regional Medical Center and its ancillary businesses to Ascension Health for $460 million. The deal for the Texas hospital is expected to close in either the late second quarter or early third, pending regulatory approvals. Ascension, through its 10-hospital Ascension Seton subsidiary, already held a minority stake.
Ascension also will be selling off four of its southwest Michigan region hospitals to Beacon Health System, which will grow the latter to an 11-hospital entity. Financial terms were not disclosed, though the deal will mark a clear cross-state expansion for Beacon.
Hudson Regional Hospital has taken control of CarePoint Health’s three northern New Jersey hospitals, per a deal approved in bankruptcy court. CarePoint had filed for Chapter 11 in November, and Hudson Regional had been providing debtor-in-possession financing and facility oversight through the proceedings.
General Catalyst’s pending deal to purchase Ohio nonprofit Summa Health for $485 million faces pushback from local advocates. In April, they wrote to state officials asking for scrutiny into the price tag and clearer requirements that Summa’s existing assets and future work would benefit the public. The deal is still undergoing regulatory review.
Duke Health finalized a $284 million acquisition of Community Health Systems’ 123-bed Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and related businesses, bolstering its presence outside of North Carolina’s greater Triangle area.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine) welcomed Doylestown Health following approvals from state and federal regulators. Doylestown Hospital, a 245-bed facility north of Philadelphia, will be rebranded as Penn Medicine Doylestown Health and become the academic system’s seventh hospital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Novant Health signed a deal to acquire 18 imaging centers from OrthoCarolina, which will be run by the system’s MedQuest outpatient center subsidiary.
Payers
UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys’ $3.3 billion merger will be going to mediation with the Department of Justice as part of an ongoing antitrust lawsuit brought late last year, according to a mid-month filing. A filing from Amedisys with the Securities and Exchange Commission later in the month disclosed divestitures of certain Amedisys home health and hospice centers as well as some UnitedHealth care centers. BrightSpring Health Services and the Pennant Group are named as buyers, with the deal contingent on final closure of the broader merger.
CareSource wrapped its purchase of Massachusetts-based nonprofit Commonwealth Care Alliance. The latter’s nearly 50,000 members will continue to receive the services and coverage that they're accustomed to, while Commonwealth Care Alliance can also tap into CareSource's resources and expertise in the Medicaid space.
Cone Health has bought out Novant Health’s stake in HealthTeam Advantage, giving the former 100% ownership of the Medicare Advantage plan. The organizations expect no change for its more than 22,000 members.
Tech
Transcarent completed its merger with health benefits platform Accolade. The $621 million deal was announced in January and financed by General Catalyst and Transcarent CEO Glen Tullman’s 62 Ventures. The new company now serves over 20 million members and more than 1,700 employer and health plan clients.
Teladoc dropped $30 million to acquire UpLift, the former announced alongside its first-quarter earnings. The all-cash deal for the virtual mental health provider is an inroad to the health plan market, as UpLift reaches more than 100 million covered lives through its payer clients.
LifeMD, a direct-to-consumer virtual primary care company, bought assets from Optimal Human Health MD to accelerate its push into the women’s health market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
CareCloud, a practice management tech vendor, acquired audiology-focused revenue cycle management company RevNu Medical Management. Financial terms were not disclosed, though the purchase is expected to be accretive within 90 days.
Promptly, a patient experience software vendor, acquired MDprospects and Patient Spectrum to expand its platform. Terms were not disclosed.
Reveleer, a value-based care workflow automation tech provider, acquired Novillus, which sells provider engagement and care gap management software to payers. Terms were not disclosed. The combined company serves 72 million covered lives and works with 86 healthcare organizations.
Miscellaneous
The American Telemedicine Association has acquired the Digital Therapeutics Alliance through its lobbying arm, ATA Action. The advocacy organizations’ joining will bring new membership and digital health clout to the telemedicine group, while the digital health organization will see its causes championed by a larger organization.
HMP Global, a healthcare events, education and market insight company, acquired Masterclasses in Dermatology, a dermatologist-focused events and content company. Terms were not disclosed.