The final days of the first half of 2024 saw several hospital merger and acquisition deals move forward.
Here are four recent merger and acquisition moves to know:
1. Rhode Island's department of health and attorney general gave conditional approval for Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings to sell its two safety net hospitals in the state to The Centurion Foundation.
Attorney General Peter Neronha's June 20 approval of the deal involving Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, R.I., and Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence included 40 unique conditions. Among them, Prospect must address the life safety and physical plant violations that state and federal regulators have cited, including inadequate life safety equipment and roof repairs.
The department of health's approval included further conditions, including that healthcare services cannot be eliminated or significantly reduced at the hospitals without the department's approval.
2. Risant Health, the nonprofit formed under Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, signed a definitive agreement on June 21 to acquire Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health. If the transaction closes, Cone Health will operate independently as a regional and community-based health system under Risant, which supports organizations with technology and services to improve outcomes and lower care costs in diverse business models.
"Cone Health's impressive work for decades in moving value-based care forward aligns so well with Risant Health's vision for the future of healthcare. Their longstanding success and deep commitment to providing high-quality care to North Carolina communities make them an ideal fit to become a part of Risant Health," CEO Jaewon Ryu, MD, said.
Cone Health is the second system that Washington, D.C.-based Risant is attempting to acquire. Risant completed its acquisition of Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health on March 31.
3. Birmingham, Ala.-based UAB Health on June 25 agreed to acquire the five-hospital Ascension St. Vincent's Health System from St. Louis-based Ascension. The $450 million deal still needs approval from federal regulators and is expected to close this fall.
The two organizations have worked closely together in the past, launching UAB/Ascension St. Vincent's Alliance in 2020 to improve access to care. The most recent agreement is a "natural next step" to achieving that goal, UAB said in a news release. After the transaction is complete, both health systems will continue serving their respective communities, and Ascension's Foundation for Health Equity will keep providing grants investing in nonprofit organizations.
4. New Brunswick, N.J.-based Saint Peter's Healthcare signed a definitive agreement on June 25 to join Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System. The agreement comes after the two parties signed a letter of intent in January to bring Saint Peter's into Atlantic Health's care network.
Once the transaction is approved, Saint Peter's will implement Epic's electronic health record to allow providers and patients to share information across Atlantic Health's network. Opportunities such as population health strategies and outpatient services will also be pursued to ensure more affordable and accessible healthcare for patients.