At the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference on Sept. 9 in New York City, Tenet CEO Ron Rittenmeyer discussed the company's performance and what to expect from both its hospital and ASC segments in the future.
Tenet reported growth for the hospital segment and United Surgical Partners International, its ASC arm. "We actually feel very good about where we are," he said. "When I step back and look at the transformation that we've been executing within the company, I believe it's not only on track, but it's doing a little bit better than what we expected."
The company just finished refinancing its debt and is now focused on cash and cash accumulation to then pay down the debt. He also said the company will continue to monitor the portfolio to determine any assets that need to be "disposed" of; however, he does not expect to name those assets ahead of time.
He also said reestablishing volume growth in both the hospital and ASC segments was a top priority for the company, especially as higher acuity cases migrate to the outpatient setting. Saum Sutaria, MD, COO of Tenet, said, "The ambulatory environment is growing and it's growing rapidly. We are very happy with the fact that both the USPI and hospital assets participate significantly in outpatient [surgery]."
He sees a big opportunity for USPI centers to partner with health systems across the country and drive outpatient growth. The company is also focused on bringing new physicians on board.
"From our standpoint, we will continue to invest in USPI," said Mr. Rittenmeyer. "[The ASC market] is a very fragmented area, and we own about 6 percent of facilities out there. So, when you think about it, we have a tremendous opportunity still for consolidation as well as de novos."
Finally, Mr. Rittenmeyer also reinforced the company's plan to spinout Conifer, and said the spinout was on schedule.