Deerfield, Ill.-based SCA Health, Optum's ASC arm, has inked two deals in 2024 that include offloading ASCs.
SCA Health has a portfolio of approximately 320 ASCs, second to Tenet Healthcare's ASC giant, United Surgical Partners International, which has more than 480.
In April, SCA Health sold equity stakes in San Rafael, Calif.-based Marin Specialty Surgery Center to Greenbrae, Calif.-based MarinHealth Medical Center and San Francisco-based UCSF Health.
The ASC was owned by MarinHealth, 20 local physicians and SCA Health until 2018. MarinHealth sold its interest that year, but the center is now owned by MarinHealth, UCSF and 11 physician partners as SCA has relinquished its stake in the two health systems.
"SCA is an independent surgery center management group," Brian Su, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and chairman of the ASC, told the Marin Independent Journal on April 15. "They're not affiliated with any physician groups locally, and while they're very good at building and operating the center, it's a challenge to grow the center when you don't have collaboration with a local health system."
In March, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente purchased Antelope Valley Surgery Center in Lancaster, Calif., which was previously operated by SCA Health and was set to close in January before Kaiser purchased it.
Optum is the largest employer of physicians in the country and has seen massive growth in the last year — focusing on hiring employees instead of building facilities. Most recently, Optum announced plans to acquire Dallas-based Steward Health Care's 1,700-physician group.
The wider-lens strategy applies to its ASC arm as well. In May 2022, the ASC arm, previously known as Surgical Care Affiliates, rebranded to SCA Health, aiming to expand beyond ASCs. Caitlin Zulla, SCA Health's CEO at the time, told Becker's in October 2022 that the rebranding represents the company's transition to "support physician specialists more holistically across the specialty care continuum," rather than an ASC company "singularly focused on partnering with surgeons in their ASCs."
Aligned with this broader focus, Optum inked huge physician and health system deals in 2023 while SCA Health was quiet on the acquisition front. Optum seems likely to continue its focus on physician employment growth.