Transactions & Valuation Issues

Being part of a regional healthcare system will give Fort Payne, Ala.-based DeKalb Regional Medical Center access to local resources it does not have, Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital Health System CEO Jeff Samz told al.com in a Jan. 4 report.

The year is off to a busy start in Missouri healthcare, with three health system partnerships closing in two days. 

Columbia-based University of Missouri Health Care and Jefferson City, Mo.-based Capital Region Medical Center have completed their integration, with both health systems unified under the one brand: MU Health Care. 

Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital Health System plans to acquire DeKalb Regional Medical Center, a 134-bed hospital in Fort Payne, al.com reported Jan. 2.

SoutheastHealth — a Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based system including two hospitals, a behavioral health hospital and 48 clinics — is now part of St. Louis-based Mercy. 

Beckley, W.Va.-based Carl Larson Cancer Center has officially joined Vandalia Health to provide more procedure capacity and expand available services to the community, according to a Charleston (W.Va.) Area Medical Center release shared with Becker's. 

St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare and Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System — which signed a letter of intent to combine in May — have finalized their transaction to merge. 

The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department have ramped up antitrust enforcement against mergers and acquisitions across various industries, including healthcare, since Lina Khan, 34, was appointed FTC chair, a position she will hold until Sept. 25, 2024. 

It was a busy year for health system transactions, as organizations — 18 in the third quarter alone — joined forces to weather financial challenges. 

The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department filed 50 merger enforcement actions in fiscal year 2022 — the highest level of enforcement activity in more than 20 years.