MAP activity continues to grow, bringing about a broad range of impacts on the industry.
This article first appeared in the March/April 2018 issue of HealthLeaders magazine.
Healthcare industry merger, acquisition, and partnership (MAP) activity remains strong, with little change in momentum after years of consolidation activity.
Driven by the move to value-based care and provider needs for greater scale and geographic coverage, MAP activity shows few signs of a changing trajectory.
According to the 2018 HealthLeaders Media Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships Survey, for example, 71% of respondents expect their organizations' MAP activity to increase within the next three years, a compelling result indicating that MAP activity levels will remain strong for some time. Only 20% say they expect MAP activity to remain the same, and only 2% expect this to decrease.
One area of inquiry about MAP that has mostly gone under the radar, however, is determining the kind of financial and clinical impacts providers are seeing from investments in MAP activity.
What do operating margins and net patient revenue look like post-MAP, and has the cost of providing care come down due to greater scale? Has MAP activity had a beneficial effect on patient readmissions, HCAHPS scores, and most importantly, quality outcomes?
Jonathan Bees is a research analyst for HealthLeaders.