Health system mergers and acquisitions dipped in the second half of 2022 as hospitals looked to address urgent challenges including staff shortages, inflation and the rising costs of labor, supplies and energy, Becker’s reports.
Coinciding with those macroeconomic pressures, health systems also faced a sterner regulatory environment last year, with the Federal Trade Commission applying greater scrutiny to large transactions.
Some planned hospital deals were scrapped last year after the FTC threatened to get involved, including Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and Dallas-based Steward Health Care System’s proposed five-hospital deal in Utah and Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan and Care New England’s planned merger.
This year, however, deal advisers expect mergers and acquisitions to pick up steam across the healthcare sector as private equity firms and corporate entities look to capitalize on investments in a financially turbulent market, but when that will happen remains unclear. Read more.
