Seventy percent of ASCs are independent and freestanding, yet the competition for mergers and acquisitions continues to heat up, according to two experts dealing with these trends head-on.
At Becker's ASC 25th Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, which took place Oct. 18-20 in Chicago, Surgery Partners Vice President of Development Andrew Rosen and Merritt Healthcare Advisors Partner Matt Searles discussed key trends in ASC M&A.
During the panel discussion, Mr. Rosen and Mr. Searles shared their advice for ASCs approaching a strategic partnership with a hospital. Here's what they had to say:
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Mr. Rosen: "The first and most important thing is to understand why the hospital wants to partner with your ASC. Are they looking toward the triple aim and to reduce costs while providing the best care for their patients, or is it just because they hate the doctors that took all of their ortho patients away? You also want to look closely at the other partnerships they have and how those have gone. You have to be careful of understanding the culture and the politics of the leaders at the hospital. When you're in the room cutting the deal, who is dead-set against the idea, and who's in favor of it? If the hospital CFO spends half the meeting talking about how their profits are going to go down from this deal, I suggest you leave."
Mr. Searles: "You want the long-term players. They may be down to support the deal at first, but not as much when we are fully at risk, and we are paying for value. But value-based care models are coming, they're manifesting themselves now and they will be here … Either you are aligned in a cost effective way with your hospital partners or you are not."