Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) has entered into an agreement to acquire the home health assets of AssistedCare Home Health and RH Homecare Services, the latter of which conducts business as AssistedCare of the Carolinas.
The agreement marks the second acquisitive move that Amedisys has made in the month of February alone, again signaling a jump-start of the company’s home health M&A engine in 2022.
The company had previously been quiet on the home health front for some time, opting instead to invest in hospice entities and additional service lines such as the hospital-at-home enabler Contessa Health.
While the $250 million deal for Contessa was undoubtedly a forward-facing one and a reaction to the shifting health care climate, some analysts were concerned that Amedisys was moving away from its core strategies.
Wednesday’s announcement – paired with its acquisition of the Dallas-based home health and hospice provider Evolution Health, announced on Feb. 2 – should certainly taper those concerns.
Once the deal closes, Amedisys’ footprint will include 350 care centers in 34 states and the District of Columbia, with an average daily census of about 74,000 patients.
Together, AssistedCare Home Health and Assisted Care of the Carolinas care for more than 450 home health patients daily, according to the press release. The companies also employ more than 100 workers in North Carolina.
The deal is set to close “on or around” April 1. Financial terms were not disclosed. AssistedCare’s personal care, intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and private-duty nursing (PDN) service lines will not be included in the transaction.
“By continuing the great care provided by AssistedCare Home Health and AssistedCare of the Carolinas, Amedisys will provide additional scale and resources that will expand our opportunities to care for more patients in more communities across North Carolina,” Amedisys President and COO Chris Gerard said in a statement. “Amedisys is proud to expand its presence in these communities and provide more comprehensive care by aligning with our Amedisys Hospice footprint in North Carolina.”
Gerard will become the president and CEO of Amedisys upon current CEO Paul Kusserow’s retirement from the position on April 15. Kusserow will remain the chairman of the board.
Elizabeth Robinson, Amedisys’ senior vice president of operations in the Mid-Atlantic, called North Carolina “an important region for growth.” She also added that the company would now be able to serve more than 80% of the Medicare population in the state once the deal was finalized.
Post-closing, Amedisys will have access to more than 1.5 million Medicare enrollees and more than 540,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees in North Carolina.
“We are proud that Amedisys will continue to provide quality care to our home health patients in the comfort of their homes,” Russell Herring, founder and CEO for AssistedCare Home Health and AssistedCare of the Carolinas, said in a statement. “Meanwhile, we look forward to continuing to offer personal care, private duty nursing and IDD services to the communities we serve.”
Amedisys stock has struggled over the past year, as is the case with most of the home health companies on the public market. After the Omicron surge peaked in mid- to late-January, however, it began to show signs of rebounding.
Its full-year earnings call is set for Thursday.
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