Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has asked Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Minneapolis-based Fairview Health System to slow down their proposed merger, the Star Tribune reported Jan. 25. 

El Centro (Calif.) Regional Medical Center is looking to a merger to stay afloat after its acting CEO and CFO resigned, the Imperial Valley Press reported Jan. 25. 

Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth and Parkview Health System on Jan. 24 signed an agreement to merge in mid-2023.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is in the process of acquiring the closed Norman (Okla.) Specialty Hospital for nearly $3.3 million, with plans of turning the building into a new VA hospital, The Norman Transcript reported Jan. 24.

Louisville, Ky.-based ScionHealth has completed the acquisition of Dallas-based Cornerstone Healthcare Group, adding 15 specialty hospitals, eight senior living locations and about 3,000 providers to its network.

Despite hospital consolidation concerns, "growth is critical" to the success of Yale New Haven Health, and its planned 3-hospital acquisition will benefit patients in the state, CEO Christopher O'Connor told the Hartford Courant.

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems has agreed to sell Plateau Medical Center in Oak Hill, W.Va. to Vandalia Health System, according to the Register-Herald.

Almost half of the more than 400 executives surveyed in a recent Mercer report on workplace trends said they will be looking at strategic partnerships as a way of harnessing talent in a challenging macro environment.

When there's less competition, prices are higher. That's one fundamental principle of economics that applies to all markets, and this is especially true in healthcare, where American hospitals are the driver of the rising cost of care, Barak Richman, PhD, professor of law and business administration at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University, wrote in a Jan. 19 column for Politico.

Financial and clinical challenges will ensure merger and acquisition activity remains strong in the healthcare sector in 2023, building on the momentum of last year, Kaufman Hall said in a Jan. 12 report.

Charleston, W.Va.-based Vandalia Health has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Plateau Medical Center in Oak Hill from a subsidiary of Community Health Systems, the Register-Herald reported Jan. 12.

Some of the larger merger and acquisition transactions and proposals in the healthcare sector are no longer just about economies of scale but have other goals in mind, such as improving health equity, according to a Jan. 12 report from KaufmanHall.

Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System on Jan. 17 completed the acquisition of Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and its associated clinics.

  David Ramsey, president and CEO of Charleston, W.Va.-based Vandalia Health, expects healthcare cost pressures to force more community hospitals to join larger health systems, MetroNews reported Jan. 16.

Pittsburgh-based UPMC will acquire Sports Surgery Clinic, an independent hospital specializing in orthopedic surgery in Dublin, Ireland, according to a Jan. 14 news release. 

A merger between Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Minneapolis-based Fairview Health System has been a subject of debate in the North Star State, with ownership of the University of Minnesota Medical Center proving particularly contentious. 

Some of the largest healthcare merger and acquisition deals in 2022 involved cross-market transactions, and this trend is expected to continue in 2023, a report from Kaufman Hall said.

Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine will acquire Welch (W.Va.) Community Hospital after the McDowell County Commission approved the takeover, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

Hospital and health system mergers and acquisitions are projected to regain momentum in the following years as providers adapt to tougher financial conditions and look for strategic partnerships either to scale or stay afloat, according to a Kaufman Hall report published Jan. 12.

Healthcare transaction revenues hit all-time highs in 2022, according to an analysis from Kaufman Hall.