Sanford Health and Marshfield Clinic
In January, Sanford Health, a large rural health system based in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Marshfield Clinic Health System, an integrated health system with locations in rural Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, completed their merger. The move was first announced in July 2024.
The nonprofit integrated health system will now operate as Sanford Health, with MCHS becoming a region of the larger organization. It will maintain its branding within the region.
“Together, we will reimagine the future of local, patient-centered nonprofit health care by expanding services, enhancing access and harnessing innovative technologies to improve the health of our communities,” said Sanford Health President and CEO Bill Gassen in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome 13,000 new employees from Marshfield Clinic Health System to our Sanford family and look forward to embracing all of the new possibilities that lie ahead.”
According to Marshfield News Herald, Sanford intends to invest $500 million into the Marshfield region over the next five years. Part of this investment includes plans to migrate MCHS’s electronic health records to Epic.
This deal follows years of efforts from both parties to integrate with other organizations. Essentia Health and MCHS held discussions for two years before canceling integration plans in January 2024. Before that, MCHS ended talks with Gundersen Health System in 2019. Sanford had previously announced that merger plans fell through with UnityPoint Health in 2019 and Intermountain Healthcare in 2020.
UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys
In response to the Department of Justice’s November 2024 statement that it intends to block UnitedHealth Group’s $3.3 billion acquisition of home health and hospice provider Amedisys due to antitrust concerns, UHG filed an answer to the complaint rebutting the DOJ’s challenge.
The DOJ’s suit stated that UHG’s original plan to divest assets in hundreds of markets to VitalCaring Group did not resolve its concerns about competition.
In UHG’s response, filed in February, the company proposes to divest a minimum of 128 home health and hospice facilities. As a result, “UHG will operate just 10% of total home health services in the United States and 4% of hospice services in the United States. UHG will continue to compete with over 11,000 home health agencies and over 5,000 hospice agencies across the country, and post-transaction, payment structures and referral patterns will continue as they do today — incentivizing UHG to maintain high clinical and service quality across its entire footprint and to grow through quality incentive payments and increased referrals.”
UHG also argues that the DOJ’s antitrust claims ignore its proposed divestiture package entirely.
This move followed UHG’s abandonment of a motion to dismiss the DOJ’s suit, filed on January 10.
READ MORE: These tips can help healthcare CIOs navigate IT integration during M&As.
Prime Healthcare and Ascension Illinois
In March, eight Ascension Illinois hospitals joined Prime Healthcare, a for-profit health system with 51 hospitals across 14 states. The cost of the sale totaled $375 million.
The group of hospitals, consisting of four senior living and four post-acute care sites, includes Holy Family Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center, Resurrection Medical Center, Saint Francis Hospital, Saint Joseph Medical Center, Saint Joseph Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital and Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital.
Prime Healthcare plans to invest $250 million in facility, technology and system upgrades.
Earlier in the year, the Prime Healthcare Foundation announced that it will become the sole corporate member and parent company of Central Maine Healthcare, which includes seven larger entities and 40 physician practices. Each entity will retain its branding and leadership.
OSF HealthCare and Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital
Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon, Ill., joined OSF HealthCare, an integrated health system with 17 hospitals across Illinois and Michigan, January 1 as OSF HealthCare Saint Katharine Medical Center. The deal was first announced in spring 2024.
The 80-bed acute care hospital has six clinic locations. According to a press release, the hospital will offer OSF MyChart integrated with Epic.
University of Minnesota and Essentia Health
A bump in the road has appeared for the University of Minnesota and Essentia Health in their efforts to merge and create an all-Minnesota healthcare solution. As a result, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has stepped in to get negotiations back on track.
University of Minnesota and Fairview Health System have agreements in place that will expire at the end of 2026. The university said in a recent statement that the end of the partnership leaves “the future of the University of Minnesota Medical School and the University’s ability to train physicians and other healthcare providers at risk.”
KIMT3 News reported that Fairview is not interested in the University of Minnesota’s proposed $1 billion deal with Essentia.
“Fairview is a valued and important partner, but without their full engagement and investment, our mission as a university and a practice will be negatively impacted for decades,” said Bevan Yueh, vice dean for clinical affairs and CEO of University of Minnesota Physicians, in a university press release.
As talks have stalled, Attorney General Ellison announced that his office will select a strategic facilitator to move negotiations forward.
“Given the current status of the talks, the time pressure, and the importance of the public interest in getting this right, my office is taking a more active role,” Ellison said in a release. “The parties have tried to find a resolution in the past, and I commend their efforts; these are complicated matters, however. Importantly, the parties recognize the importance of these negotiations to the public interest, and they welcome the chance for a fresh start. I am working with the parties to identify a strategic facilitator to aid the parties in finding a resolution and to prioritize the public interest in the parties’ negotiations.”
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