Becker's ASC Review

32 TRANSACTIONS Where 4 major ASC companies are focused for 2022 By Patsy Newitt U nited Surgical Partners In- ternational, AmSurg, SCA Health and Surgery Partners have made significant changes in the last year and are looking to new strat- egies in the future. Here is a brief overview of the key areas of focus for each company and where trends in the ASC indus- try are headed. AmSurg: Nashville, Tenn.-based AmSurg is one of the largest ASC chains in the U.S. with more than 250 surgery centers and 2,000 physicians in 34 states. AmSurg focuses primarily on gastroenterology, ophthalmol- ogy and orthopedics cases. Its ASCs performed more than 900,000 colo- noscopies, 180,000 cataract surger- ies and 95,000 orthopedic surgeries in 2021. Last year, AmSurg brought in about half of the earnings for parent com- pany Envision Healthcare. In May, Envision moved about 80 percent of AmSurg to a new corporate subsid- iary amid a lender dispute. "With patients returning in 2021 and making up for missed appointments, we were busier than ever and tasked with keeping up with the demand for care," CEO Jeff Snodgrass said in En- vision's "2021 Impact Report." USPI: Dallas-based United Surgical Part- ners International made $738 million in revenue in the first quarter, and now has more than 11,000 physi- cians, 432 ASCs and 25 surgical hos- pitals in its network, the most of any ASC chain. The company became the biggest ASC chain by far in December when it closed on a deal to acquire Towson, Md.-based SurgCenter Development. SurgCenter Development, an ASC chain focused on orthopedic and spine centers across the East Coast and Midwest, added 86 ASCs to US- PI's portfolio and will make an imme- diate impact on the company's bot- tom line. USPI already had ASCs and partnerships dotting the West Coast and Southern U.S., and with the ac- quisition, further solidifies its role as a national chain. The company also has a compre- hensive growth plan of a mix be- tween acquisitions and organic growth in the next few years to have more than 600 surgery centers by 2025, including plans to develop 32 ASCs with physicians. Surgery Partners: Brentwood, Tenn.-based Surgery Partners spent $325 million in trans- actions last year and deployed $34 million in acquisitions during the first two months of 2022. By the end of the year, the company plans to spend $200 million on new centers. By comparison, USPI spent $1.2 bil- lion on SurgCenter Development. Eric Evans, CEO of Surgery Part- ners, emphasized acquisitions as well as partnerships as being core to the company's growth strategy during an earnings call at the end of February. Surgery Partners also inked a deal this year with Privia Health, a Montana-based physician clinic technology company. Surgery Partners expects the deal to repre- sent long-term value to the com- pany and act as a springboard for other partnerships. On May 3, the company announced a deal with ValueHealth to expand access to high-value surgical care. The partnership aims to build ASCs and deploy ValueHealth's value- based surgical programs at Surgery Partners' current locations and those in development. Surgery Partners' growth in orthope- dics is expected to merge with Val- ueHealth's musculoskeletal-focused programming to create a compre- hensive suite of orthopedic services. The partnership will also try to capi- talize on cardiology's migration to outpatient settings. SCA Health: Deerfield, Ill.-based SCA Health, for- merly Surgical Care Affiliates, has more than 260 ASCs in its portfolio. The company rebranded to SCA Health in May to represent its growth beyond ASCs. "Our new brand represents the evolution of our business — all that we are today and all that we will be- come. It also represents our growth into many aspects of specialty care as we support physician specialists, care for more patients and wel- come new partners into our family of businesses," states the compa- ny's website. SCA Health also helps employers and employees navigate healthcare coverage decisions through Surgical Management Solutions, a platform connecting users with local surgeons and facilities where they can save up to 50 percent on the cost of care. SCA Health acquired Global 1, a value- based care platform that serves as a convener for the company's bundled payment contracts, early last year. The company is owned and operated by healthcare giant Optum, which has made three multimillion dollar deals in 2022. Since Jan. 1, Optum has acquired 30-location independent physician organization Atrius Health, home healthcare business LHC Group and Refresh Mental Health. Optum's revenue jumped nearly 19 percent in the first quarter, to $43.3 billion. Optum Health, which in- cludes more than 53,000 physicians and SCA, said revenue per customer served was up 33 percent year over year in the first quarter as it added more members to its value-based care arrangements. n

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