HHS Issues New Data and Report on Hospital and Nursing Home Ownership

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is releasing data publicly for the first time on mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, and changes of ownership from 2016-2022 for hospitals and nursing homes enrolled in Medicare. According to HHS, the data will allow researchers, state and federal enforcement agencies, and the public to better understand the impacts of consolidation on health care prices and quality of care.

Relatedly, the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) is releasing an analysis of the new CMS data analyzing trends in changes of ownership over the past six years. ASPE’s report finds changes in ownership have been much more common among nursing homes than hospitals over the past six years, wide ownership variations by state, and a majority of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) purchased have a single organizational owner. CMS anticipates releasing updated change of ownership data on a quarterly basis.

Additional information is available here.