Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System has made plans to acquire Astria Ambulatory Surgical Center in Yakima, Wash., Yakima Herald-Republic reported Jan. 12.

With 70% of ASCs remaining independent as of 2022, according to a report from VMG Health, consolidation may seem like a fairly distant problem. But as health systems, management companies and private equity firms take interest in ASCs, it may be time to ask if consolidation is a threat worth taking seriously. 

The 48,000-square-foot Wellington (Fla.) Medical Arts Pavilion has sold to Rendina Healthcare Real Estate and Artemis Real Estate Partners for $18.3 million, according to a Jan. 11 report from REBusiness Online.

Most health system leaders expect 2024's merger and acquisition activity to look similar to 2023, according to a Jan. 4 VMG Health survey.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Surgery Partners affirmed its 2023 adjusted earnings were between $436 million and $440 million. 

Optum, parent company of ASC chain SCA Health, already is poised to make two major moves in 2024. 

A medical office building in Jackson, N.J., was acquired by real estate firm Horizon Equities for $24 million, according to a Jan. 4 report from NJBiz.

On Jan. 4, management services organization Compass Surgical Partners announced a joint venture with Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health to launch a network of ASCs. This is one of several joint ventures Compass has secured in the last year as it continues to spread nationwide. 

Optum's 2023 deals included health systems, physician groups, technology groups and Uber. 

Big Sky Medical has acquired a $46 million medical office building in Phoenix, Ariz., according to a Jan. 4 report from the Commercial Property Executive. 

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health has partnered with ASC management organization Compass Surgical Partners to launch a network of ASCs that will be branded as Horizon Surgery Center. 

The West Palm Medical Plaza medical office building in West Palm Beach, Fla., has sold for $8.3 million, according to a Jan. 3 report from REBusiness Online.

Optum, parent company of ASC chain SCA Health, is eyeing the acquisition of the physician-owned Corvallis (Ore.) Clinic, according to a Dec. 28 notice from the Oregon Health Authority. 

Hospitals continue to face financial headwinds heading into 2024, and some are closing clinics or reducing outpatient services as a result.

Here are three major updates since Nov. 17 from Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, parent company of ASC chain United Surgical Partners International, the largest ASC chain in the country. 

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare has more than 150 ASCs, making it the fourth-largest outpatient surgery center operator nationwide. 

A recently constructed medical office building in Alamo Heights, Texas, has filled up following the addition of four new physician practice tenants, according to a Dec. 18 report from the San Antonio Business Journal. 

Portland-based Legacy Health has sold a medical office building on its Legacy Emanuel Medical Center campus for $60.5 million, according to a Dec. 14 report from The Oregonian.

UnitedHealth Group, parent company of Optum, now employs, contracts or aligns with roughly 90,000  physicians in the country, according to a Dec. 14 report from Medscape. 

A medical office building housing an OrthoVirginia practice in Ashburn, Va., was sold for $8.5 million, ReBusiness Online reported Dec. 14.