Dive Brief:
- Tenet's revenue cycle management subsidiary, Conifer Health Solutions, is getting its fourth new CEO in 18 months, according to a Tuesday announcement.
- J. Roger Davis has spent 30 years in the industry, with stents at T-System, Accenture, Perot Systems (acquired by Dell) and IDX Systems (acquired by GE Healthcare). Most recently, he was CEO of revenue management firm Revint Solutions.
- The for-profit hospital operator announced plans last year to spin Conifer off into an independent, publicly traded company, though that hasn't yet happened. Tenet did not immediately respond to questions about the current timeline for the spinoff.
Dive Insight:
The leadership shake-up comes amid a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases posing an ongoing threat to hospitals' finances.
Dallas-based Tenet posted a $197 million loss in its third quarter, noting COVID-19 caseloads already spiked in many of its markets in the late summer, driving higher operating expenses and lower admissions across the board.
Conifer, its revenue cycle management and value-based platforms business, reported net operating revenues of $325 million in the third quarter, down 3.3% compared to the same period last year.
In December 2017, Tenet mulled selling Conifer as part of a cost reduction program, following a year of struggling financial performance.
It's since proved a damper on the company's earnings, with analysts at the time forecasting an impending sale of the unit as a savvy move to recoup losses and bolster Tenet's bottom line as it continued to pare down debt and divest hospitals.
Following low bids from three final parties, Tenet said it would be spinning off Conifer into an independent publicly traded company in lieu of a direct sale or merger.
In January, Tenet named Joe Eazor president and CEO of Conifer and said he would guide the subsidiary's spinoff into an independent company. Then it announced Eazor would step down from the role at the end of August, and "made this decision for personal reasons unrelated to his working relationship at Conifer or Tenet," according to a statement.
Eazor replaced interim CEO Kyle Burtnett, who returned to his previous role as COO of Conifer. Before that, Stephen Mooney held the position as Conifer's CEO.