Omnichannel healthcare provider Carbon Health has recently acquired two separate clinic chains: Southern Arizona Urgent Care’s nine clinics in Tucson, Arizona, and Med7 Urgent Care’s four clinics in Sacramento, California. This brings Carbon Health’s total up to 83 clinics across 12 states.
Aided by a funding round this year totaling $350 million, the acquisitions are calculated to make Carbon one of the largest national healthcare providers, with an emphasis on equitable access to high-quality care.
The move was also spurred in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Carbon Health cofounder and CEO Eren Bali saying via statement that rising case counts are widening the healthcare inequality gap, prompting the company to expand its care model and technology platform to new regions.
WHAT’S THE IMPACT?
Carbon Health’s proprietary platform is designed to reduce administrative workload – and burnout – for providers by enabling them to focus on care and utilize clinical staff at the top of their license.
This, the company said, ultimately improves the patient experience and lowers medical costs for patients. Carbon Health has a 92% offer acceptance rate for clinicians, with 50% coming in from internal referrals.
Carbon cites its omnichannel care model as key to its clinical growth and ability to increase healthcare accessibility. The omnichannel model entails multiple access points: in-person clinics, home-based virtual care and consumer health tools. As part of that model, Carbon Health is focused on expanding its physical footprint through partnering with and acquiring local/regional practices.
THE LARGER TREND
Hospitals, health systems and providers, both for-profit and nonprofit, are expected to see continued robust merger and acquisition activity throughout the year, according to an April report from Moody’s Investors Service.
Larger health systems will pursue M&A efforts to increase market share and to diversify, in terms of both geography and service lines. Smaller providers, meanwhile, have felt the COVID-19 pandemic exact a toll on their financial performance and will likely pursue M&A to gain access to clinical, strategic and financial resources. They’ll also want to reduce labor, supply and information technology expenses, the report found.
For-profit hospitals, flush with liquidity, will focus their M&A efforts on building up capabilities in nonhospital settings in an effort to meet consumer demand.
