Tag Archives: CVS Aetna

Nonprofit Hospital Consolidation to Continue in 2019

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Despite increased scrutiny from regulators, nonprofit health systems will remain active through mergers and acquisitions this year, according to a new Moody’s report.

The deluge of M&A activity among nonprofit health systems is expected to continue on in 2019, with the potential for some “unconventional relationships,” according to a Moody’s report released Friday morning.

Driven by tight financial conditions challenging the nonprofit hospital business model, as well as the entrance of nontraditional corporate players to healthcare and the potential changes to the ACA, more M&A activity is expected throughout the year.

Moody’s expects nonprofit health systems to engage in partnerships with other hospitals but also seek to align with companies specializing in data analytics or ridesharing services to continue the transition from inpatient care to outpatient care.

Nonprofit health systems are also aiming to increase their footing when negotiating with payers, which involves strategic decisions to diversity service options and increase their geographic reach.

The report cites ProMedica’s acquisition of HCR Manorcare and Tower Health’s purchase of five for-profit acute care hospitals as examples of nonprofit systems taking a short-term credit hit to gain stable long-term positioning for the organization.

Though M&A activity is expected to be widespread and a primary objective for many nonprofit systems, the Moody’s report warned that additional scrutiny from state and federal regulators is on the way.

The requirements put in place on the CHI-Dignity Health merger by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with price increase restrictions imposed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on CareGroup and Lahey Health, are cited as examples of the terms health systems should expect to meet.

For-profits will tap into capital markets

The Moody’s report also indicates that for-profit hospitals will delve further into capital markets so long as they remain receptive and buoyed by low interest rates. This approach could lead to lower interest costs and improve liquidity, which would bolster their credit standing.

Jessica Gladstone, Moody’s associate managing director and lead analyst on for-profit hospitals, told HealthLeaders that rising interest rates would a material impact on many for-profit hospitals.

“High cash interest costs relative to earnings are already consuming the majority of cash for many FP hospital companies,” Gladstone said. “For companies with floating rate debt, rising interest rates (depending on the amount of the increase) could leave some FP hospitals with very little free cash flow left to pay down debt or otherwise invest to grow operations.”

Gladstone added that while many of the same headwinds facing for-profit hospitals remain a challenge in 2019, executives can be encouraged by the opportunities ahead to refinance high-cost debt and achieve cost savings.

Several deals are listed as potential opportunities that could benefit for-profit healthcare organizations in 2019 regarding changes to capital structure, interest cost savings, as well as M&A activity:

Additional highlights from the Moody’s report:

  • Expect smaller community and regional nonprofit hospitals to join cooperatives to gain leverage at the negotiating table on supply costs among other price points.
  • Growing investment by private equity firms in physician practices and ambulatory services, will put a pinch on nonprofit systems.
  • The entrance of Amazon, Walmart, and Apple can’t be discounted as another driver of M&A activity in 2019.
  • Vertical mergers like CVS-Aetna and the continued rise of telemedicine will drive patients away from traditional areas of care delivery, like hospitals.
  • Though major changes to the ACA remain unlikely due to the split government in Congress, smaller changes could still make a significant impact.
  • The report cites potential changes to site-neutral payments, Medicare quality-factor penalties, and DSH payment reductions as examples.

 

 

 

 

CVS to Judge: Please Don’t Let Those 7 Witnesses Testify

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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/strategy/cvs-judge-please-dont-let-those-7-witnesses-testify

The pharmacy chain asked for a narrow hearing on its DOJ-approved purchase of Aetna, as seven witnesses prepare to testify against it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Both CVS and the DOJ argue the hearing should be narrowly tailored, with at least some witnesses excluded.

If allowed to proceed as proposed, the hearing could devolve into “a forum for airing competitors’ grievances,” CVS warned.

CVS Health asked the federal judge overseeing its acquisition of Aetna to prevent seven witnesses who lined up to testify against the megamerger from speaking at a hearing next month.

Although antitrust regulators with the U.S. Department of Justice greenlit the CVS-Aetna deal last fall, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., made clear that his review should not be seen as a rubber stamp. Leon said he wanted to hear from witnesses before deciding whether to sign off on the DOJ-approved deal.

The seven witnesses put forward by three groups of amici curiae include health policy professors and economists from major universities, but CVS argued in a court filing Friday that Leon should decline altogether to hold a hearing with live witnesses. The planned testimony, as outlined in court filings, includes irrelevant arguments that could turn the hearing “into a forum for airing competitors’ grievances about the CVS-Aetna merger and about the healthcare industry more generally,” attorneys for CVS wrote.

The CVS filing argues that the three groups of amici—the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the American Medical Association (AMA), and Consumer Action with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)—would be advancing their own competitive interests if the hearing were to proceed.

“Amici’s submissions demonstrate that such a hearing is unnecessary in light of the considerable record already before the Court,” attorneys for CVS wrote, “and Amici’s planned presentations, consisting almost exclusively of unreliable competitor testimony on issues that are not relevant to the Court’s Tunney Act determination, will add little, if anything, of value.”

In its own filing Monday, the DOJ argued that Leon should limit the testimony to only those items relevant to the scope of Tunney Act review. The DOJ asked the court to strike five of the seven witnesses entirely and limit of the scope of the testimony offered by the other two.

“These limitations will ensure that the hearing remains within the appropriate statutory and constitutional bounds, and will protect the Executive Branch’s constitutionally mandated control over its resource-allocation decisions in the enforcement of antitrust laws,” DOJ attorneys wrote.

 

 

 

WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM HEALTHCARE’S Q4 EARNINGS SEASON

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Healthcare companies have reported their earnings from the final quarter of 2018, revealing some success stories and some ongoing struggles.

Earnings season for Q4 2018 has concluded for companies across the healthcare industry, from insurers, for-profit providers, telemedicine companies, and others in between.

Given the challenging market conditions during the final quarter of last year, including the surprise federal ruling that struck down the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional, many companies reported weaker earnings than they did earlier in 2018.

However, some were buoyed by new intitiatives and product performance that sustained a level of success they intend to carry into 2019.

Below is a list of healthcare’s winners and losers from the 2018 Q4 earnings season:

WINNERS:

UnitedHealth Group

  • The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based insurer led the pack again, ending 2018 on an upswing thanks to Optum’s record-breaking performance.
  • The PBM subsidiary recorded year-end revenues above $100 billion for the first time ever.
  • Based United expects to achieve revenues above $240 billion in 2019.

Centene Corp.

  • 2018 was a strong year for the St. Louis-based insurer, finishing with more than $60.1 billion in revenues.
  • Managed care membership reached 14 million, an increase of 15% year-over-year.
  • Centene’s net earnings for Q4 2018 were $241 million, an increase of $11 million year-over-year.

Anthem Inc.

  • IngenioRX, Anthem’s PBM slated for debut in 2020, is now expected to launch in Q2.
  • The subsidiary is expected to achieve gross annual savings north of $4 billion, including more than 20% returned to shareholders.
  • Anthem added 37,000 medical enrollment members in Q4, and saw its operating gain grow by 30% year-over-year.

 

MIDDLE:

Teladoc

  • The Purchase, New York-based telemedicine company produced revenues of $122 million and saw total visits rise by 70% while net losses fell.
  • The company still has sizable net losses to account for, posting a net loss of nearly $25 million in Q4 and $97.1 million for the full year.
  • Despite some positive financial metrics, Teladoc’s issued a tepid financial guidance for 2019.

CVS-Aetna

  • While we still wait on final federal approval for the megamerger set to drastically change the healthcare landscape, CVS Health posted its earnings report from a difficult Q4.
  • The Aetna merger played a role in rising revenues by 12.5% for CVS in the last quarter of 2018, but it also hampered some crucial metrics.
  • CVS suffered a net loss of $421 million in Q4 2018 and $596 million during the full year.
  • However, CEO Larry Merlo said he believes CVS’ acquisition of Aetna provides the company with “long-term value” in a rapidly transforming market.

Cigna Corp.

  • As with CVS, a megamerger couldn’t save Cigna from a down quarter to wrap up 2018.
  • The Philadelphia-based insurer produced $14.3 billion in total quarterly revenues and $144 million in net income, but failed to meet earnings estimates after closing its deal with Express Scripts.
  • Overall, Cigna capped off 2018 with total adjusted revenues of $48 billion, a 15% year-over-year increase, along with a net income of $3.6 billion.

LOSERS:

Community Health Systems 

  • Amidst lingering divestiture activity, CHS posted a net loss of more than $325 million.
  • CHS recorded a net loss attributable to shareholders of $328 million in Q4 2018, down from a net loss of more than $2 billion during Q4 2017.
  • On one positive note, the the Franklin, Tennessee-based for-profit hospital operator did manage net operating revenues of $3.5 billion, an increase of nearly $400 million year-over-year.

Tenet Healthcare Corp.

  • Tenet experienced a net loss of $5 million in Q4 and saw its full year operating revenues decline 4.5%.
  • The Dallas-based company’s quarterly adjusted EBITDA fell 34.6% year-over-year.
  • CEO Ron Rittenmeyer praised the “significant progress” Tenet made to “create a more efficient, agile enterprise with new leadership.”

Magellan Health

  • Segment profit fell to $16 million in Q4, down 83.8% year-over-year, and only reached $228 million in 2018, a 26.7% drop.
  • Net revenues for 2018 did increase more than 25%, a lone bright spot for Magellan.
  • CEO Barry Smith remains confident despite the significant financial declines over the past year.

 

 

 

 

Healthcare’s vertical mergers kick-started a massive industry shift in 2018. Will it pay off?

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Mergers and acquisitions deals consolidation

Two massive megamergers in CVS-Aetna and Cigna-Express Scripts dominated the conversation around mergers and acquisitions in healthcare.

Whether you think the mergers will help or hurt consumers, both deals have sparked a distinct shift across the industry as competitors search for ways to keep pace. It also frames 2019 as the year in which five big vertically integrated insurers in CVS, UnitedHealth, Cigna, Anthem and Humana begin to take shape.

Combined, the mergers totaled nearly $140 billion.

Both CVS and Cigna closed their transactions in the fourth quarter with promises that their new combined companies would “transform” the industry. Unquestionably, it’s already triggered some response from other players. Whether those companies can make good on their promises to improve care for consumers remains to be seen, and the payoff may not come for several years, as 2019 is likely to be a year of initial integration.

While CVS and Cigna hogged most of the spotlight, several other notable transactions across the payer sector could have smaller but similarly important consequences going forward.

WellCare acquires Meridian Health Plans for $2.5B

In May, WellCare picked up Illinois-based Meridian Health Plans for $2.5 billion, acquiring a company with an established Medicaid footprint with 1.1 million members. The deal boosted WellCare’s membership by 26%.

But the transaction also thrust WellCare back onto the ACA exchanges. Meridian has 6,000 marketplace members in Michigan.

Importantly, the acquisition gave WellCare a new pharmacy benefit manager in Meridian Rx. CEO Kenneth Burdick said it would provide “additional insight into changing pharmacy costs and improving quality through the integration of pharmacy and medical care.”

WellCare also makes out on CVS-Aetna transaction

WellCare was also a beneficiary of the CVS-Aetna deal after the Department of Justice required Aetna to sell off its Part D business in order to complete its merger.

The deal adds 2.2 million Part D members to WellCare, tripling its existing footprint of 1.1 million.

Humana goes after post-acute care

2018 was the year of post-acute care acquisitions for Humana. The insurer partnered with two private equity firms to buy Kindred Healthcare for $4.1 billion in a deal that was first announced last year. It used a similar purchase arrangement to invest in hospice provider Curo Health Service in a $1.4 billion deal.

Both acquisitions give Humana equity stake in the companies, with room to make further investments down the road. Kindred, in particular, is expected to further Humana’s focus on data analytics, digital tools and information sharing and improve the continuity of care for patients even after they leave the hospital.

Not to be outdone, rival Anthem also closed its purchase of Aspire Health, one of the country’s largest community-based palliative care providers.

UnitedHealth keeps quietly buying up providers, pharmacies

With ample reserves, UnitedHealth is always in the mix when it comes to acquisitions. This year was no different. The insurance giant snapped up several provider organizations to add to its OptumHealth arm. In June, it was one of two buyers of hospital staffing company Sound Inpatient Physicians Holdings for $2.2 billion. It also bought out Seattle-based Polyclinic for an undisclosed sum. The physician practice has remained staunchly independent for more than a century.

Most notably, UnitedHealth is still in the process of closing its acquisition of DaVita Medical Group. DaVita recently dropped the price of that deal from $4.9 billion to $4.3 billion in an effort to speed up Federal Trade Commission approval.

The Minnesota-based insurer is also clearly interested in specialty pharmacies to supplement its PBM OptumRx. UnitedHealth bought Genoa Healthcare in September, adding 435 new pharmacies under its umbrella. Shortly after, it bought up Avella Specialty Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy that also offers telepsychiatry services and medication management for behavioral health patients.

Centene invests in a tech-forward PBM

Perhaps in an effort to keep pace with Cigna and CVS, Centene has made smaller scale moves in the PBM space, investing in RxAdvance, a PBM launched by former Apple CEO John Sculley. Following an initial investment in March, Centene sunk another $50 million into the company in October and then announced plans to roll the solution out nationally. Notably, CEO Michael Neidorff has said he is pushing the PBM to move away from rebates and toward a model that relies on net pricing.

“You talk about ultimate transparency—that gets us there,” he said recently.