Dive Brief:
- The Department of Justice is investigating Swedish Health Services over a civil matter and has requested documents related to joint ventures and physician organizations.
- Swedish is part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence St. Joseph Health, which disclosed the DOJ probe in its recent quarterly report.
- The system expects "these matters will be resolved without material adverse effect on the system’s future consolidated financial position or results of operations," according to the report.
Dive Insight:
In 2011, Swedish announced it would soon fall under Providence's umbrella, though not as a merger or acquisition but through what they described as a unique structure.
Washington state based Providence Health and Services merged with California-based St. Joseph's in 2016, creating one of the biggest Catholic systems in the country.
In 2017, Swedish's CEO resigned after a Seattle Times investigation found that neurosurgeons were "incentivized to pursue a high-volume approach with contracts that compensate them for large patient numbers and complicated surgical techniques," according to the investigation.
Swedish Health Services operates five hospitals and a network of more than 100 primary care and specialty clinics throughout the Seattle area. It's a significant player in the region capturing 27% of the inpatient market share, according to Providence St. Joseph's latest quarterly report.
For Providence St. Joseph, Swedish represents 11% of its operating revenue, fourth in line beyond operations in southern California and Oregon.
Providence's footprint spans seven states across the country's western region. For the six months ended June 30, Providence reported operating income of $250 million on operating revenue of $13 billion.