Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1514738
24 GASTROENTEROLOGY The GI companies to watch in 2024 By Patsy Newitt Here are six gastroenterology groups to keep an eye on 2024: 1. Allied Digestive Health (West Long Branch, N.J.) Allied Digestive Health has a portfolio of 72 locations and 228 physicians. e company is led by CEO Matthew Devine and backed by private equity firm Assured Healthcare Partners. e company partnered with Suki, a provider of voice artificial intelligence-powered healthcare solutions. Allied Digestive was among the first practices to use Suki's ambient note-generation capabilities. 2. Gastro Health (Miami) Gastro Health has more than 152 locations and 403 physicians. e company is led by CEO Joseph Garcia and backed by private equity firm Omers. Gastro Health acquired Olympia, Wash.-based Gastroenterology Associates and Davenport, Fla.-based Gastroenterology Consultants of Polk County. In December, it partnered with M.H. Razavi, MD, and the Endoscopy & Digestive Center of Woodbridge (Va.). 3. GI Alliance (Dallas) GI Alliance has more than 800 locations and 527 physicians. e company is led by CEO and founder James Webber, MD, and backed by private equity firm Apollo Hybrid. GI Alliance has partnered with Rocky Hill-based Connecticut GI, St. Louis-based Specialists in Gastroenterology; Silverdale, Wash.-based Digestive Health Consultants; and New London, Conn.-based Coastal Digestive Care Center. 9. One GI (Georgetown, Tenn.) One GI has more than 65 locations and 195 physicians. e company is led by CEO Christa Newton and backed by private equity firm Webster Equity Partners. One GI has partnered with Skyline Gastroenterology and Skyline Endoscopy, two groups in Tennessee; Gainesville, Va.-based Gastroenterology Associates; Chesapeake, Va.-based Gastroenterology Associates of Tidewater; and Nashville, Tenn.-based TransSouth. 11. United Digestive (Atlanta) United Digestive has more than 81 locations and 129 physicians. e company is led by CEO Mark Gilreath and backed by private equity firm Kohlberg & Company. United Digestive partnered with private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. and acquired Gastroenterology Group of Naples and Gulfshore Endoscopy Center, both in Naples, Fla.,. e company also partnered with New York City-based payer Oscar Health to extend care to patients in Georgia. 12. US Digestive Health (Exton, Pa.) U.S. Digestive Health has more than 64 locations and 157 physicians. e company is led by CEO Jerry Tillinger and backed by private equity firm Amulet Capital Partners. US Digestive Health added four new providers to its team in June and another nine in August. e company added Wilmington-based GI Specialists of Delaware and Altoona, Pa.-based Blair Gastroenterology Associates. e company also added York, Pa.-based surgeon Chris Evans, DO. Additionally, the group unveiled new offices in Collegeville, Pa., and Langhorne, Pa., and relocated an office to join its affiliated endoscopy center, Central Chester County Endoscopy, in Downingtown, Pa. n The payer behavior making gastroenterologists wary By Patsy Newitt Here are three major payer moves and tendencies that have drawn gastroenterologists' interest in 2023: 1. UnitedHealthcare's advance notification Gastroenterologists are calling on UnitedHealthcare to reverse its advance notification program, which went into effect earlier in 2023. According to a letter penned by the American Gastroenterological Association and 17 patient advocacy organizations, the policy "threatens to disrupt its 27.4 million commercial beneficiaries' access to virtually all endoscopies and colonoscopies." 2. Anesthesia coverage restriction for GI procedures Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts announced that Jan. 1, it will no longer cover the use of monitored anesthesia for certain gastrointestinal patients undergoing endoscopic, bronchoscopic or interventional pain procedures. The payer no longer will consider the use of monitored anesthesia medically necessary for these procedures unless a patient receives documentation by the operating provider that there are specific risk factors or significant medical conditions. 3. Payer reimbursement negotiations Some gastroenterology leaders said they are having a hard time securing appropriate reimbursement for GI procedures. Omar Khokhar, MD, a gastroenterologist at Illinois GastroHealth in Bloomington, told Becker's he is holding out hope that 2024 might see more successful payer negotiations. "I would love to see payers and clinicians sit down at a table and have a conversation about the benefit of early endoscopy for diagnosis and screening," Dr. Khokhar said. "In particular, how EGD/colonoscopy can potentially prevent patient morbidity and decrease downstream cost to the healthcare system. Yes, endoscopy isn't cheap, but cancer is a bad diagnosis and is more expensive." n