Increasing consolidation and COVID-19 have accelerated private equity's interest in ASCs.
Here are four ASC leaders' recent thoughts on private equity's interest in their business:
Jeff Almand, MD. Mississippi Sports Medicine (Jackson): Private equity is the best of all worlds when it comes to consolidation. The new private equity partnership models cover it all. You are able to monetize your practice, maintain your autonomy, remain invested in your practice, have access to capital for future growth and take advantage of vertical integration.
Andrew Lovewell. Administrator of The Surgical Center at Columbia (Mo.) Orthopaedic Group: Many hospitals that did not have an outpatient or ASC strategy have looked to develop one of their own or partner with management companies across the country to create one. We will undoubtedly see more private equity market penetration in the ASC space; this could possibly result in more market consolidation.
Shamsideen Musa, MD. Pain management physician (Anchorage, Alaska): If physician payments continue to decline, we will continue to see the consolidation and corporatization of medical practices. As a result, patients will likely continue to experience the depersonalization and corporate feel of medical treatment offered by large groups. Physicians will increasingly seek employment at hospitals and private equity-backed corporations for stable income, while the number of solo practitioners declines.