Optum and Tenet are the parent companies of the two largest ASC networks –– SCA Health and United Surgical Partners International, respectively. Here's how the ASC giants stack up against one another right now:
Optum
1. Acquired SCA Health in 2017 for $2.3 billion.
2. SCA Health has grown from 186 ASCs in 2019 to 320 in 2023.
3. Largest employer of physicians in the U.S. Optum added 20,000 physicians in 2023.
4. Has spent $31 billion on acquisitions in the last two years.
5. Inked three major physician group acquisitions in 2023. Earlier in 2024, Optum backed out of plans to buy out the financially troubled Steward Health Care's 1,700-physician group.
6. Is one of the potential buyers of Brentwood, Tenn.-based ASC operator Surgery Partners and quietly purchased two cardiology chains in 2023.
Tenet
1. Owns 512 ASCs and 25 surgical hospitals through USPI, spanning 38 states.
2. Acquired more than 90 ASCs from SurgCenter Development for approximately $1.2 billion in 2020.
3. Acquired 45 ASCs in Q1 of 2024, and has plans to invest $450 million in ASCs in 2024.
4. Reported $259 million in Q2 income, a 111% year-over-year increase.
5. Sold nine hospitals in California and South Carolina for a total of $3.9 billion in Q1 of 2024. It also plans to sell its majority stake in five more Alabama hospitals for $910 million this fall.
6. Acquired Covenant Physician Partners in the first quarter of 2024.