Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are in no short supply as providers, payers, 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 November.
Providers
Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services unveiled plans to merge and form a 58-hospital juggernaut serving rural and urban patients across the Midwest. The nonprofits said they expect the deal to close sometime next year pending due diligence and regulatory approvals. Under the current proposal, the South Dakota- and Minnesota-based organizations would each maintain their own regional presence, leadership and regional boards but operate as a single integrated system under Sanford Health’s banner.
VillageMD announced plans to shell out $8.9 billion for Summit Health, the parent company of urgent care clinic chain CityMD. The deal is being financed in part by investments from VillageMD’s majority owner Walgreens Boots Alliance as well as Cigna's Evernorth healthcare unit, which will become a minority owner. Combined, VillageMD and Summit Health will operate more than 680 provider locations in 26 markets while employing 20,000 people.
Bellin Health and Gundersen Health System closed their 11-hospital “merger of equals” at the end of November. The new organization is based in dual Wisconsin headquarters but expands into Upper Michigan, southeastern Minnesota and northeast Iowa. It employs more than 14,000 people and has more than $2.4 billion in annual revenues.
Butler Health System and Excela Health entered a definite agreement toward the five-hospital merger discussed earlier this year. The deal would create a system generating more than $1 billion in revenue and employing 7,300 people. Pending state and federal regulatory approvals, the Pennsylvania systems anticipate closing their deal by the end of the year.
UnityPoint Health has signed a deal to hand over three Illinois hospitals and their associated care sites to nearby Carle Health. The integrated network includes more than 850 multispecialty physicians and employs almost 5,000 people. The systems’ deal is set to close April 1 pending regulatory approvals, though no other financial terms were disclosed.
Pipeline Health System has received U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to sell two of its Chicago hospitals—Weiss Memorial Hospital and West Suburban Medical Center—to Resilience Healthcare and Ramco Healthcare Holdings. Resilience assumed operations of the centers Dec. 3.
Hill Country Memorial Hospital’s board has unanimously voted to join Methodist Healthcare, marking the Texas system’s ninth hospital. The new addition has roughly 600 employees and 226 medical staff as well as a total 15 locations. The deal is set to close in early 2023.
Payers
UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare acquisition may be closed, but federal regulators haven’t given up their opposition to the deal. The Department of Justice issued a notice of appeal, saying it would take the case to D.C. circuit court and adding New York and Minnesota to its side of the legal challenge. UnitedHealth Group said the appeal is "without merit" in a statement to Fierce Healthcare.
Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) has entered into an agreement with CarepathRx to pick up BioPlus, which offers a range of specialty pharmacy options for patients with chronic conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune conditions and hepatitis C. BioPlus will be folded into Elevance's pharmacy benefit management arm, IngenioRx, and help the payer better meet the whole-person specialty drug needs of its members. The deal is expected to close in the front half of 2023.
Centene agreed to sell Magellan Specialty Health to Evolent Health, which provides utilization management tools to insurers. Centene expects to pull $750 million in the aggregate from its deal, which will include a multiyear partnership that enables the government insurer to extend and build on its work with Magellan Specialty.
CareMax, a tech-enabled value-based care provider targeting seniors, has wrapped up the acquisition of Steward Health Care System’s Medicare value-based care business. Announced during the summer, the deal grows CareMax’s network to roughly 2,000 providers and more than 200,000 senior value-based care patients, among other expansions.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is selling off its in-home health subsidiary Livio Health to Lifespark. The Minnesota-based senior health company will be integrating all of Livio’s operational components and employees into its current offerings. Financial terms were not disclosed, although BCBSM’s parent company has secured a minority owner stake in Lifespark via an additional cash investment.
Tech
Amwell is reported to be in talks to potentially acquire online therapy company Talkspace for $200 million, according to a late November report from Israeli business publication Calcalist. The latter went public via SPAC merger last year in a deal valuing the company at $1.4 billion. Neither company commented on the rumors.
Wheel has purchased GoodRx’s back-end virtual care technology in a $19.5 million cash deal. The all-in-one virtual care platform will get and integrate GoodRx Care’s clinician clinician-centric electronic medical record system, clinical management tools and patient experience software. Wheel anticipates its deal will accelerate growth into new markets while also expanding its ongoing partnership with the drug discount app thanks to a multiyear agreement. GoodRx still owns the consumer-facing GoodRx Care website and mobile app and will continue to provide its consumers access to telehealth services using Wheel’s technology and staffing service.
SonderMind, a digital mental health provider, has acquired mental health monitoring and support platform Total Brain for an undisclosed sum. It plans to integrated Total Brain’s offering into its own therapeutic platform so therapists and patients can better understand thought patterns, triggers and the efficacy of treatment plans. It also intends to use data collected through Total Brain to better inform patient-provider matches.
CNSI, a health information technology maker, and Kepro, a tech-enabled care management, quality oversight and clinical assessment services provider, unveiled plans to merge. The new company would focus on helping government-sponsored healthcare agencies and payers expand access, improve care and lower costs through its combined offerings. The deal is expected to close in 2022 and will be followed by a rebrand in early 2023.