FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stephen M. Monroe, Partner
Lisa Phillips, Editor
800-248-1668
203-846-6800
Fax: 203-846-8300
pressreleases@levinassociates.com
NORWALK, CT – July 22, 2015 – The home health and hospice acquisition market appeared to take a breather in the second quarter of 2015. There were just five publicly announced transactions in the second quarter, down from 16 in both the first quarter of this year and the second quarter of 2014. None of the transactions in the second quarter of 2015 came with a price, which indicates that the acquisitions that were announced were most likely small. “With the push in Washington, D.C. for more home and community-based care options, home health care will undoubtedly grow as a business. The problem is that Medicare reimbursement has not helped with cash flow, which can cause a slowdown in M&A activity,” stated Steve Monroe, a partner at Irving Levin Associates. In addition, “there are many home health care agencies that are sold as part of a larger transaction, such as the sale of a hospital or post-acute care provider, that do not get into the numbers as stand-alone deals,” commented Lisa Phillips, Editor of the Health Care M&A Report. The hospice business has been growing quickly, and as doctors and families become more comfortable with end-of-life care and all its implications, hospice care will continue to see more growth.
Most of the significant acquisitions in the past 12 months involved post-acute care companies purchasing large home health care and hospice providers. This would include the acquisition of Gentiva Health Services by Kindred Healthcare for $1.8 billion, HealthSouth Corporation’s acquisition of Encompass Home Health and Hospice for $750 million, and the sale of Revera’s home health care business to Extendicare for $83 million. “The name of the game in post-acute care these days is to be the provider of choice, and to be the provider that can take care of the patient through the continuum of care,” stated Monroe.
All quarterly results are published in The Health Care M&A Report for all 13 sectors of health care, which is part of the Health Care M&A Information Source. For more information, or to order the report, call 800-248-1668. Irving Levin Associates, Inc. was established in 1948 and has headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. The company publishes research reports and newsletters, and maintains databases on the health care and senior housing markets.
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