Since joining with United Surgical Partners International in 2015, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has helped propel USPI to prominence in the ASC industry.
As of 2024, USPI has interest in more than 480 ASCs and surgical hospitals throughout 35 states, making it the largest ASC chain in the U.S. However, that was not always the case.
Since its founding in 1998, USPI has partnered with more than 50 health systems and 6,000 physicians. One of the company's first health system partners was Dallas-based Baylor Health Care System.
USPI has grown nearly 126% since 2011, when it had 204 ASCs in its portfolio.
After partnering with USPI in 2015, Tenet acquired more than 90 ASCs from SurgCenter Development for approximately $1.2 billion in 2020 and 2021, paving the way for USPI to market dominance, all the while increasing its ownership stake in the company.
By the end of 2019, USPI overtook AmSurg as the largest ASC chain in the U.S., ending the year with 264 facilities compared to AmSurg's 258.
In 2022, Tenet paid $406 million to acquire Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health's 5% equity position in USPI. (Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare merged in 2013 to form Baylor Scott & White.)
Last year, USPI added 30 ASCs and reported a net revenue of $3.9 billion.
Looking ahead, Tenet CEO and Chair Saum Sutaria, MD, does not expect the growth to stop there.
"[Tenet is] very confident in the long-term growth rates of this business," Dr. Sutaria said in a Feb. 8 earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
USPI now has more than 30 de novo ASCs in development and aims to have 575 to 600 facilities by the end of 2025.
"Tenet is entering a new era with a greater proportion of our performance coming from our highly efficient ambulatory surgical business and a reduced debt profile," Dr. Sutaria said. "We will have significant financial and capital flexibility to increase shareholder value over the long term."