It's gearing up to be another big year for health system mergers and acquisitions. Here's what Becker's has gathered on the transactions scene as we settle into 2024: 

Several federal agencies are teaming up to launch a cross-government public inquiry into the effects of private equity and other corporations on healthcare.

The United Nurses and Allied Professionals has urged the Rhode Island attorney general and state department of health to reject the Centurion Foundation's plan to acquire two Providence, R.I., hospitals from Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings.

Cincinnati Children's has signed a letter of intent with Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Health to expand their partnership for pediatric healthcare access across Fort Wayne and surrounding areas. 

The number of physician practices acquired by private equity firms increased by more than 600% from 2012 to 2021, according to a new analysis in Health Affairs. 

Denver-based Healthpeak Properties has closed its $21 billion all-stock merger with Milwaukee-based Physicians Realty Trust. The companies will operate under the name Healthpeak Properties.

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has acquired five radiation oncology centers from GenesisCare, a cancer care services provider.

Duluth, Minn.-based St. Luke's and Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health have officially combined, forming a 19-hospital system with almost 14,000 employees.

Lion Star, the group that runs Nacogdoches (Texas) Memorial Hospital, has reached an agreement with the Nacogdoches (Texas) County Hospital District to transition its operations of the hospital to the district on or around March 15. 

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has started 2024 with a flurry of hospital sales. 

Fulton County Hospital in Salem, Ark., has officially agreed to join Mountain Home, Ark.-based Baxter Health. 

Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health has signed definitive agreements to purchase two California hospitals from Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.

Cleveland-based Woodside Health, a medical office building management firm, has acquired Henderson, Nev.-based Seven Hills Medical Center. 

Northwell Health and Nuvance Health have entered into a strategic agreement to combine systems, expanding their reach with 28 hospitals across New York and Connecticut. 

Lewisburg, Pa.-based Evangelical Community Hospital has been an independent community hospital for close to 100 years, but CEO Kendra Aucker said that with an aging population and growing costs, the model is no longer sustainable, PennLive.com reported Feb. 26. 

Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System and Wayne, N.J.-based William Paterson University have signed an agreement for a collaboration to help improve health profession education and health services in New Jersey.

A recent report from Chartis, a healthcare advisory services firm, found that 45 Texas rural hospitals are at risk of closure. The state's total composes the highest percentage of the 418 rural hospitals in the U.S. at the risk of closure.

Lewisburg, Pa.-based Evangelical Community Hospital is set to join York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health pending regulatory approval. 

In 2022, healthcare merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. hit a record high of nearly 2,400 deals.1 But toward the end of the year, the challenges that had been plaguing other sectors of the economy started to drag on M&A dealmaking.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Corewell Health has shared plans to transfer land ownership where shuttered Kelsey Hospital operated to the Village of Lakeview (Mich.) for the purchase price of $1.