In a move that will reshape the healthcare landscape in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, Arkansas Methodist Medical Center and Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis will join forces. This merger is just one of the latest in the ongoing consolidation of the hospital industry.
How many healthcare mergers and acquisitions occurred in 2025?
In 2025 so far, Definitive Healthcare tracked more than 120 articles on mergers and acquisitions (M&As), reflecting the strategic realignment and consolidation within the healthcare sector. Collectively, the top 10 health systems now manage over 1,380 hospitals, or 22.9% of all hospitals managed by health systems. The top health systems also manage more than 159,400 hospital beds, or 17.9% of all health system beds, and account for about one in five discharges. Below are the top 10 health systems by number of staffed hospital beds.
Top 10 health systems by number of staffed hospital beds
Rank | Health system name | State | # of staffed beds | # of discharges | # of hospitals |
1 | HCA Healthcare (FKA Hospital Corporation of America) | TN | 40,942 | 2,018,543 | 221 |
2 | Department of Veterans Affairs | DC | 25,260 | N/A | 161 |
3 | Universal Health Services | PA | 21,394 | 728,609 | 185 |
4 | CommonSpirit Health | IL | 19,009 | 855,102 | 156 |
5 | Ascension Health | MO | 12,037 | 475,953 | 100 |
6 | Trinity Health | MI | 10,926 | 518,519 | 89 |
7 | Encompass Health Corporation (FKA HealthSouth) | AL | 9,709 | 215,743 | 164 |
8 | LifePoint Health (FKA LifePoint Hospitals) | TN | 7,917 | 266,004 | 95 |
9 | ScionHealth | KY | 6,555 | 74,689 | 92 |
10 | Select Medical Corporation | PA | 5,729 | 60,188 | 119 |
Fig. 1 - Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product, according to the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database. Data is sourced from the January 2025 Medicare Cost Report release. Accessed April 2025.
What were the biggest healthcare mergers and acquisitions in 2025?
Health systems may opt to merge for various strategic, financial, and operational reasons. Notable health system mergers and merger announcements this year include the following:
- Arkansas Methodist Medical Center and Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis signed a letter of intent to merge into a single healthcare system.
- Ardent Health announced the acquisition of six urgent care clinics in New Mexico and 12 clinics in Oklahoma, further expanding its presence in the southwest after last year’s urgent care acquisitions in Texas and Kansas.
- Ascension Seton, a subsidiary of Ascension Health, finalized its $460 million purchase of Cedar Park Regional Medical Center in Texas from Community Health Systems, Inc.
- The Duke University Health System also made a purchase from Community Health Systems, in this case for the Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in North Carolina for $284 million.
- Prime Healthcare completed its acquisition of eight Ascension Illinois hospitals, four senior living facilities, and multiple physician practices.
Beyond hospitals, health systems are also snapping up ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), urgent care clinics, and other sites of care as more care continues to shift from inpatient to outpatient settings. Below, we highlight the top 10 health systems by number of affiliations.
Top 10 health systems by number of affiliations
Fig 2- Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Accessed April 2025.
HCA has the most hospitals in the U.S., with 221 hospitals and 1,321 facilities total. Among the top 10 health systems based on affiliations, HCA also has the largest number of physician groups and urgent care clinics.
Meanwhile, CommonSpirit Health leads the way with the total number of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health agencies. Ascension Health operates by far the most hospices at 151, while Tenet Healthcare dominates the ASC space with 454 ASCs – the most of any health system by a long shot.
As more care steadily shifts to outpatient settings like ASCs and urgent care centers, look for health systems to ramp up investments and form joint ventures with additional outpatient partners.
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