Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print Illustration: Xavier Lalanne-Tauzia for Industry Dive Hospital and health systems announced 22 mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter this year, the highest first-quarter amount in six years, according to a report from consultancy Kaufman Hall. Several mega-mergers, or deals in which the smaller party’s annual revenue is more than $1 billion, boosted the total transacted revenue in the quarter to $14.5 billion, the highest amount the consultancy said it’s seen in recent years. The M&A totals come after a low period of deal activity in 2025, especially in the first half of the year. Hospital and health system M&A is trending upward, after a cooling period last year driven by financial stress and policy uncertainty from Washington. Cuts to federal healthcare programs, especially to Medicaid, and changes to A…

Hospitals and health systems announced 46 M&A transactions in 2025, compared to 72 the year prior. However, the pace in deal-making started picking up in the back half of last year. That momentum has now carried to the first quarter. “Health system M&A activity continues to rebound from the policy and market-related uncertainty of early 2025,” said Courtney Midanek, managing director and co-leader of Kaufman Hall’s M&A practice, in a statement. “Organizations are increasingly aware that partnerships can help them face future challenges and opportunities.”