Dive Brief:
- Ascension has closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of ambulatory surgery provider AmSurg days after reaching a deal with federal antitrust regulators.
- The Federal Trade Commission said this week that it would require the nonprofit Catholic health system to divest seven AmSurg facilities in overlapping markets in order for the deal to go through. Ascension said it was amenable to the compromise and “pleased” to move forward with the acquisition.
- With the deal’s closing, Ascension now operates 300 ambulatory surgery centers across 35 states.
Dive Insight:
Ascension first announced plans to acquire AmSurg last year, as part of the health system’s strategy to prioritize outpatient growth. The health system had invested in lower-cost outpatient settings and divested inpatient facilities in recent years, a strategy increasingly popular among hospital operators worried about looming policy headwinds and expenses.
Previously, AmSurg had been owned by private equity-backed physician staffing firm Envision Healthcare, but the company was split off following Envision’s bankruptcy in 2023.
Ascension originally expected the acquisition to close late last year, but scrutiny by federal regulators held up the deal.
Regulators worried the acquisition could raise healthcare prices, given that both companies provide outpatient surgeries in overlapping markets.
To alleviate those concerns, the FTC said the deal could go through as long as Ascension sold surgery centers in Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Regulators also said they would appoint a monitor to oversee compliance.
Ascension agreed. On Thursday, Ascension CEO Eduardo Conrado said the acquisition of AmSurg positioned the health system to increasingly move “beyond the traditional hospital setting.”
