Dive Brief:
- Dignity Health and Select Medical have announced a definitive agreement to combine their urgent care businesses, citing the potential for greater patient access and standardization of best practices.
- Under the agreement, Select Medical’s Concerta Group Holdings will purchase all shares of Dignity subsidiary U.S. HealthWorks, valued at $753 million. Dignity will own a 20% equity interest in the combined businesses.
- U.S. HealthWorks operates about 250 medical and onsite clinics in 21 states. Concerta operates 315 occupational health and urgent care centers in 38 states.
Dive Insight:
The agreement builds on a joint venture between the two companies to build and run a 60-bed acute care inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Las Vegas. That effort also includes joint operation of 12 outpatient rehab clinics in and around Las Vegas.
As inpatient admissions decline and payers nudge consumers toward less costly care environments, providers are looking to investments like urgent care to bolster their bottom line. Currently, there are about 7,400 urgent care centers in the U.S., according to the Urgent Care Association of America. Concentra is the industry leader.
The global urgent care market is expected to be $30.5 billion in 2020, up from $23.5 billion in 2013, according to IbisWorld market research. Fueling the trend is rising demand for walk-in services, cost-effective care and a wider choice of nonemergent care options.
Dignity is still in talks with Catholic Health Initiatives about a possible merger. The not-for-profit hospital systems signed a nonbinding letter of intent to explore such a move in September 2016. If completed, the deal would create one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S. based on revenue.
With over 400 care centers in 22 states, Dignity is currently one of the nation’s largest health systems. Select Medical operates 102 long-term care hospitals and 21 acute rehab hospitals in 28 states, plus 1,608 outpatient rehab clinics in 37 states and the District of Columbia.