From a Hawaii system holding preliminary merger talks with the state’s largest health insurer to Hartford HealthCare receiving approval — with conditions — to acquire two hospitals from Prospect Medical Holdings, here are four hospital M&A moves that Becker’s reported =during the week of Dec. 8:
1. Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke’s University Health Network is terminating its joint venture with Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger and will assume full ownership of their jointly owned hospital.
The health systems partnered in 2019 to create Geisinger St. Luke’s Hospital in Orwigsburg, Pa. Following discussions between the systems, St. Luke’s will purchase Geisinger’s interest in the joint venture. The transition is expected to take effect in 2026, pending regulatory approval.
2. The Connecticut Office of Strategy on Dec. 10 approved Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare’s acquisition of two hospitals owned by Los Angeles-based for-profit Prospect Medical Holdings, with several conditions.
Hartford HealthCare in October secured the winning bid to acquire Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital in Vernon, Conn., for $86.1 million. The Office of Strategy’s conditions include providing an assessment of the condition of the hospitals, as well as a strategic integration plan, within nine months. The system must also maintain service levels at the hospitals unless the office grants prior approval for reductions.
3. Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based Select Medical on Dec. 9 acquired Landmark Hospital of Savannah (Ga.), a 50-bed long-term acute care hospital from Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based Landmark Holdings of Florida, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.
Select Medical operated Select Specialty Hospital – Savannah, a 40-bed critical illness recovery hospital (licensed as long-term acute care), for 20 years. Those operations have relocated to the newly acquired hospital, which will carry the Select Specialty Hospital name.
4. Honolulu-based Hawaii Pacific Health and the state’s largest health insurer, Hawaii Medical Service Association, are in preliminary talks regarding a possible merger.
The two organizations said the goal of the potential merger would be addressing affordability, expanding access and improving long-term financial stability. Hawaii Pacific Health, a four-hospital system, said that affordability is becoming “increasingly out of reach for families across the nation, and in Hawaii, the situation is even more severe.” The state’s geographic isolation and some of the highest costs of living in the country have created “overwhelming financial pressures for families.” Those challenges have extended directly to healthcare “as costs rise and infrastructure is stretched thin.”
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