The Medicare Advantage-focused home health provider Frontpoint Health has acquired High Plains Senior Care Group (HPSC), expanding its footprint considerably on the way.
The company has bolstered its census by close to 50%, from 2,900 daily patients to more than 4,200, Frontpoint Health CEO Brent Korte told Home Health Care News.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“In the Dallas market, we are now one of the largest [home health] providers,” Korte said. “But, really, what we’re worried about is creating access. Our goal isn’t to be the Medicare Advantage provider, it’s to create access to home care where other companies are not doing so, and really partner with health systems and payers.”
Backed by Cimarron Healthcare Capital and Tacoma Holdings, Frontpoint Health is a home health and hospice provider that caters its business more toward MA patients. Based in Dallas, the company will now provide care across 176 counties in Texas.
Korte is the former Chief Home Care Officer at the Washington-based EvergreenHealth. Recognizing the need for home health providers to survive in an ecosystem increasingly being penetrated by MA plans, Korte started Frontpoint Health in 2022 with the help of PE sponsors.
The company also seemingly has ambitions to move into other Southeastern states, but for now, Texas remains the focus, Korte said.
“This acquisition is based on two things,” he continued. “The first is territory, and the second is these [HPSC] leaders, who have figured out a way to provide care in largely rural Texas, and in places where relationships matter deeply. … We’re thrilled to be able to partner with a provider that has a great reputation and provides high quality care. From a growth perspective, doing de novo, and going into these communities, would have been deeply difficult versus finding a standout provider like this.”
Craig Johnson, the former COO of HPSC, will now become VP of home health for Frontpoint Health.
“It was clear from our very first meeting that Frontpoint was the right partner for our business,” Andy McBee, the former executive chairman of HPSC, said in a statement. “We are excited to continue to support HPSC now as investors in the combined business.”
For Frontpoint, adding volume in each of those counties will make it easier to strike more advantageous deals with MA plans in certain markets.
But the company isn’t just adding volume, and then going back to plans and asking for more patients and more money. Instead, they are asking plans what they need, and then adjusting operations to that. That’s a key part of this deal, and will be a key part of future deals.
“It’s literally about what factors matter most to the plans,” Korte said. “And how can we design our entire care model around that to keep their patients out of hospital.”
It’s also taking an interesting approach to integration. HPSC will keep its branding and its own EMR system.
Particularly in rural areas, Frontpoint doesn’t see the need to change trusted branding. It would also rather deal with the complexities of having two EMRs than go in and disrupt “five-star care” for a period of time.
As for any acquisitions in the pipeline, Korte said the primary focus will be on integrating HPSC into its network for now. The goal is to continue growing, but a flurry of additional acquisitions shouldn’t be expected.
“The vast majority of home health organizations are competing for a scarce resource,” Korte said. “We have designed – and will continue to design – our company to provide care to all home health eligible patients, and that includes Medicare Advantage patients, that includes Medicare fee-for-service patients and any other patients that need care in the home. We want to be the access provider.”
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