Adult Day Care Back on Track?

The adult day care industry growth slowed during the recent economic slowdown.  However, the Affordable Care Act through an increase in private health insurance coverage is expected to generate increased funding for this sector.  Recovery in disposable income levels will also spur growth as households will be better able to afford the services again.

What is Adult Day Care?  Services provided during normal business hours at a center (not the home) include social and basic health assistance, including transportation, meals, personal hygiene and therapeutic activities, to the elderly and individuals with mental or physical disabilities.

Active Day/Senior Care, Inc., a Clearview Capital portfolio company, stands tall in the roughly $6B highly fragmented market adult day care industry.  The company created by the 2011 merger of Active Day and Senior Care Centers of America is the largest adult day service provider in the U.S.  The company operates 75 centers in 11 states:  Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina.

The latest Active Day/Senior Care branded center is in New Jersey with the early March acquisition of a well-established center in Brick.  Acquisition is likely to remain a key component of the company's growth strategy.  >>Read more

More Regular Care = Urgent Care Growth

The urgent care industry is poised for more expansion driven by the Affordable Care Act, hospital closings, primary care doctor shortage, high Emergency Room costs.  Industry sources expect a steady flow of patients seeking regular care (vs. acute care) to flow into urgent care centers within the next 5 to 10 years.

Dr. Kenneth Palestrant, founder of Physicians Immediate Care in Florida, recognizes this trend.  Approximately, 20% of patients use his five centers to receive primary care.  With ACA implementation, Dr. Palestrant expects more hiring of nurse-practitioner and physician assistants in urgent care to address the gap in primary care.  >>Read more

Source:  MedCity News

Envision, a Medical Services Co. - Goes Public

Envision Healthcare Corporation successfully debuted on Wall Street with its initial public offering.   The Colorado-based company is a provider of ambulance services for local governments, facility-based physician services (ER, anesthesiology, hospitalist/inpatient care, etc.) as well as patient care across various settings for the chronically ill.  The company, formerly EMSC Corporation, had been expanding via new contracts and physician practice acquisition. 

Envision, which operates American Medical Response (AMR), EmCare Holdings and Evolution Evolution Health, LLC, is expected to thrive in the era of the Accountable Care Act.    >>Read more

Clinic Efficiency Tips...Worth Repeating

In the words of Dictionary.com:  
ef·fi·cien·cy [ih-fish-uhn-see]:  accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.

Efficiency...We’re always trying to improve upon it whether at home or work.  The weekly PPS multibriefs newsletter recently offered key efficiency tips for rehab therapy owners - which can clearly be leveraged by other healthcare-related clinics. 

Quick Tips:

1. Establish a process and share with staff & patients
2. Keep traffic flowing.
3. Avoid handoffs:  one focused staffer best.
4. Huddle up.. review daily schedules with staff
5. Create a culture of timeliness.  Respect time of others.
6. Find your groove...what’s your best work style?
7. Get techy.  Today’s devices are time savers.

>>Read more

Self-insurance: Option for Small Firms?

While self-insurance has been the go-to option for large companies* - not so for small employers.  However, is there a market shift adrift?  In a recent blog post in Healthcare Finance News, Robert Laszewski keeps the discussion going.  He suggests that the movement by smaller employers to self-insurance is “on the cusp of becoming a market trend.”  With ACA implementation on the horizon, this isn’t a new topic.  In a 2011 report, the RAND Corporation outlined influential factors in an employer's decision to self-insure.  >>Read more

* 96% of workers in firms of 5,000+ covered by self-insured plans

More Consolidation to Boost Govt Share

On the heels of the Wellpoint acquisition announcement of Amerigroup, Aetna has agreed to buy Coventry Health Care Inc. in a deal expected to close mid-2013.

"Integrating Coventry into Aetna will complement our strategy to expand our core insurance business, increase our presence in the fast-growing government sector and expand our relationships with providers in local geographies," according to Mark T. Bertolini, Aetna's chief executive.

The acquisition is expected to increase Aetna's share of government business to more than 30% from 23%.  >>Read more

Hill-Rom Reaches Outside DME

...Acquires Aspen Surgical
Hill-Rom, a hospital bed and equipment supplier since 1939, enhanced its existing surgical platform with the acquisition of privately-held Aspen Surgical for $400M.  Aspen Surgical is a leader in surgical and specialty medical products including scalpels, operating room disposables and instruments and wound care products.  
Hill-Rom's move should be a positive one as growth of the disposable medical supplies market is anticipated based on aging demographic patterns, extended insurance coverage by Affordable Care Act, and rising incidence of disease and disorders.  The market is forecast to increase 4.3% annually to $47B in 2016.

"With the addition of Aspen Surgical, Hill-Rom is well positioned for growth and geographic expansion in our surgical business, particularly in the safety product segments," said John J. Greisch, President and CEO of Hill-Rom.

Source:  Deanna Pogorelc, MedCity News  >>Read more

More Health Care Deals Expected

Unless you've been under a rock, you know that the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in late June.  Analysts expect the ruling to spur consolidation of health care companies looking to cash in on an increase in Medicaid enrollment.  Wellpoint led the way with its $4.9B acquisition of Amerigroup. Antoine Gara's article (Health Care:  Obamacare M&A Trumps Weak Earnings Outlook) suggests Humana, Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealth could follow suit.  Recent comments regarding Centene may have elevated it to the takeover target frontrunner.