Behavioral healthcare M&A pace picks up

The behavioral healthcare services space is gaining traction in the larger healthcare sector, and mergers and acquisition activity year to date reflects the growth, according to a new report from Capstone Headwaters.

Year to date, M&A activity in the subsector has already surpassed 2018 levels, with 38 recorded transactions, compared to 28 transactions YTD in 2018. The findings come at a time when M&A across the healthcare sector has continued to rise over the last several years, particularly among hospital and health systems.

Some of the driving factors ramping up M&A include a reduced stigma on mental illness, as well as the opioid abuse crisis across the nation. In particular, one 2018 bill, the Support for Patient and Communities Act, allotted $90 million in federal funding for opioid addiction.

Among the 38 transactions, outpatient services are becoming increasingly popular, with 18 companies offering outpatient care and 10 with a focus on child behavioral services. Still, outpatient services currently only represent 28% of behavioral services. Nearly 15% of adults received care, 7.5% of which received outpatient services and only 1% received inpatient services.

Capstone Headwaters is an investment bank focused on middle-market business owners, investors and creditors, providing advisory services for M&A, private placement and corporate restructuring.

Amy Baxter

Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."

Around the web

The American College of Cardiology has shared its perspective on new CMS payment policies, highlighting revenue concerns while providing key details for cardiologists and other cardiology professionals. 

As debate simmers over how best to regulate AI, experts continue to offer guidance on where to start, how to proceed and what to emphasize. A new resource models its recommendations on what its authors call the “SETO Loop.”

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, said the clinical community needs to combat health misinformation at a grassroots level. He warned that patients are immersed in a "sea of misinformation without a compass."

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup