Hospital, Private Equity M&A Expected to Rise in 2026

Healthcare Transactions attorney John Saran was quoted in a Modern Healthcare article previewing transactional trends in the healthcare industry for 2026. The past year saw a decrease in deal-making as hospital groups and private equity investors watched increased scrutiny of outsider involvement in the healthcare sector, from newly proposed or enacted bills in state legislatures to expanded Hart-Scott-Rodino filing act requirements at the federal level. However, now that physician groups and other providers have a clearer picture of policies regulating mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and consolidations, 2026 portends to be a strong one for deal execution, according to professionals interviewed by Modern Healthcare. They said to expect hospitals to focus on growing their ambulatory service center (ASC) offerings and scaling regional networks; private equity firms will pivot to healthcare information technology (IT), biotechnology and medical technology (MedTech), as well as areas such as revenue cycle software and pharmaceutical management technology, which carry less regulatory scrutiny. Mr. Saran, who co-authored Holland & Knight's comprehensive year-end report on antitrust trends in healthcare, explained why businesses can expect an uptick.

"The concern that states are going to come in and block everything has not materialized," he said.

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