Dive Brief:
- HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest for-profit health systems, has agreed to acquire 41 urgent care centers in Texas.
- The deal includes 19 FastMed and 22 MedPost clinics in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and El Paso, HCA said Thursday.
- Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the buy is expected to close this summer, according to the operator.
Dive Insight:
Hospitals have been increasingly investing in outpatient sites as patients seek out cheaper and more convenient care, driving a shift in utilization outside of the inpatient facility.
The purchase will expand the Nashville, Tennessee-based health system’s footprint in Texas, where it already operates 45 hospitals, 395 physician practices and 92 urgent care centers, according to HCA.
The buy executes on HCA’s plan to bolster its urgent care footprint this year. During its fourth quarter earnings call in January, CEO Sam Hazen said HCA could expand to 300 urgent care centers this year. HCA currently operates 268 urgent care clinics, according to the Texas deal press release.
“For M&A, we have been fairly active in the market with outpatient acquisitions, again, when they come available, whether it's urgent care, some freestanding emergency room, some [ambulatory surgical centers], some physician clinics, and so forth,” Hazen said. “And those are very complementary, synergistic to our network acquisitions, and we will continue to pursue those as they develop.”
In its first quarter earnings this year, the health system reported profit of $1.4 billion on revenue of $15.6 billion, compared with $15 billion in the prior-year period. The operator also increased its full-year revenue and net income guidance due to improvements in admissions and contract labor costs.
According to FastMed’s website, the company runs more than 200 walk-in locations, including 41 total clinics in Texas. It also operates urgent care centers in Arizona, North Carolina and Florida, which won’t be affected by the deal.
