Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. has become one of the most influential health systems in the country, and it plans to continue its "robust growth."
At the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter shared four ways the for-profit hospital chain will continue its expanding market position.
1. Scale and market leadership. Last year, Tenet closed on its acquisition of Vanguard Health Systems. The deal was valued at $4.3 billion — $1.8 billion in cash and $2.5 billion in debt assumption. Tenet now has 78 acute-care hospitals, more than 170 ambulatory surgery centers and five health plans. The deal not only gave Tenet more scale but also made it a top market leader in 20 of its 30 main metropolitan markets. The company expects to continue increasing its scale through an "aggressive outpatient growth strategy" and driving more cost efficiencies across its system.
2. Value-based healthcare delivery. Tenet expects focusing on the value aspect of healthcare, such as quality metrics, patient satisfaction and value-based pay, will give it an edge.
3. Innovative capabilities. The Vanguard deal also gave Tenet the oversight of six accountable care organizations. Those new delivery models, along with its Conifer Health Solutions business, are expected to grow Tenet's bottom line.
4. Readiness on the exchanges. Many healthcare groups are sheepish when it comes to the success of the health insurance exchanges established through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Mr. Fetter has previously said he believes reimbursement from the exchange plans will be on par with commercial payers, and consequently, Tenet has doubled down on its exchange efforts. All of the company's hospitals are participating in at least one exchange plan at every level, and 97 percent of Tenet hospitals are participating in at least one of the two lowest-cost silver plans, which are expected to be the most popular.
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