Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1365724
68 ASC 15 closures, mergers & acquisitions affecting medical groups, surgery centers this year By Laura Dyrda M edical group practice and surgical center closures and sales in 2021: 1. Santa Rosa-based Northern California Med- ical Associates said it plans to close May 1 and lay off 26 physicians. e group cited natural disasters and financial decline over the last three years for the closure. e group will lay off 151 employees. 2. Gilford, N.H.-based Advanced Orthopae- dic Specialists said it would close at the end of March aer its service agreement with Laconia, N.H.-based Lakes Regional Gener- al Hospital ended and wasn't renewed. e organizations have a service agreement dat- ing to 2004 but were unable to reach a new agreement. 3. SCL Health in Broomfield, Colo., acquired Montana Orthopedics based in Butte March 16. e practice's four surgeons are becom- ing SCL Health Medical Group employees. 4. Optum agreed to acquire Newton, Mass.- based Atrius Health, a 715-person physician group, according to a March 2 report. e deal needs approval from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, Department of Public Health and Federal Trade Commis- sion. 5. US Orthopaedic Partners revealed March 2 it bought Jackson (Miss.) Anesthesia Pain Centers and Oxford (Miss.) Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. 6. Gastro Health in Miami, Fla., on March 1 ac- quired Digestive Disease Associates, with two locations in Maryland, and Woodbridge, Va.- based Associates in Gastroenterology in January. 7. In February, four solo primary care phy- sician practices in Shelburne, Vt., reported plans to close their practices. Two of the phy- sicians are retiring, and two are joining larger organizations. 8. Specialty Surgery Center of Connecticut in Stamford and Bloomfield (Conn.) Am- bulatory Surgery Center sold majority own- ership stake to Deerfield, Ill.-based Surgical Care Affiliates. 9. PE GI Solutions in Jamison, Pa.; North Bergen, N.J.-based Ambulatory Center for Endoscopy; and Teaneck, N.J.-based Holy Name Medical Center purchased Hudson Bergen Endo Surgical Center in North Ber- gen Feb. 12. e center includes three part- nering physicians who are expected to per- form 4,000 procedures annually. 10. Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica Central Physicians acquired Toledo Orthopaedic Surgeons in January. 11. Acuity Eye Group in Pasadena, Calif., acquired Escondido, Calif.-based Premiere Surgery Center. e ASC focuses on eye sur- gery. 12. ValueHealth purchased Kendall Pointe Surgery Center in Oswego, Ill., Jan. 14. e acquisition included 2 acres of land and the ASC building for future expansion. 13. Eyes of York (Pa.) sold to Vision Inter- national Partners Jan. 4. Vision Innovation Partners now has 35 practices and eight sur- gery centers in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia and Pennsylvania. 14. Dallas-based GI Alliance purchased Di- gestive Health Associates of Texas in Dallas; Cleburne (Texas) Endoscopy Center; and Oak Lawn, Ill.-based GI Associates of Chi- cago in January. 15. St. Louis Park, Minn.-based ENT Part- ners bought Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Arlington ENT–Head & Neck and Facial Plastic Surgery in January. n Physician pay under Stark Law's final rule: 4 takeaways on fair market value By Laura Dyrda C MS and HHS made adjustments to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute Jan. 19, affecting calculations of fair market value for physician pay. Jen Johnson, managing director, chief commercial officer and head of com- pensation arrangements, and Anthony Domanico, director of compensation design and consulting at VMG Health, outlined how organizations should think about physician pay in a Feb. 24 article. Four takeaways: 1. CMS unveiled three definitions for fair market value in the new rule, fo- cused on general services, equipment rental and office space. 2. The final rule defines general market value of compensation as "compen- sation that would be paid at the time the parties enter into the service agree- ment as a result of bona fide bargaining between well-informed parties that are not otherwise in a position to generate business for each other." 3. Previously, the definition of general market value mandated physician pay be set prior to the transaction and not take into account the volume or value of re- ferrals generated. In the new rule, CMS removed the "volume or value" standard. "Organizations must continue to demonstrate that compensation is not set in a way that accounts for the volume or value of referrals or other business generated, however CMS affirmed that is a separate test and is not related to the fair market value of an arrangement," according to the article. 4. The final rule also addresses physician pay under value-based payments, noting organizations should base payments for outcomes on objective and measurable data. It also suggests updating payments for cost savings and quality improvement annually. n