Dive Brief:
- A new report from global consulting firm PwC suggests that hospital mergers, acquisitions and affiliations are going to continue at a high rate this year.
- Hospital deal volume has been rising steadily since 2009, though it saw a small decrease (5%) in 2013.
- There were 89 mergers and acquisitions announced in the hospital sector last year, with total transaction value rising from $1.9 billion in 2012 to $18.6 billion this year due to the execution of large deals like Community Health Systems' $7.6 billion acquisition of Health Management Associates.
Dive Insight:
It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, and it doesn't take a genius to see that hospital mergers, acquisitions and affiliations are likely to continue at a breakneck pace this year. After all, with the market focused on large entities like ACOs, it must be getting pretty scary to the community hospital or even a small health system going it alone. True, running into the arms of another entity comes with its own set of problems, but for now, for many struggling hospitals some sort of deal probably looks like a brilliant idea.