Apr 21, 2020 - Health

Envision Healthcare considering bankruptcy

Dan Primack

An illustration of people holding up the healthcare sign with rope. — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Envision Healthcare, a Nashville-based healthcare staffing company owned by KKR, is considering a bankruptcy filing, per Bloomberg. A source says no such decision is imminent, as Envision continues to restructure its $7.5 billion debt-load (it recently exchanged $725 million of its $1.75 billion in unsecured notes).

Why it matters: This is a high-profile example of the cash-crunch felt by all sorts of medical groups, due to the sharp drops in everything from elective surgeries to ER visits to preventative care appointments.

It also comes after Envision, which has become synonymous with controversial billing tactics, received an undisclosed amount of federal bailout money, via a provision of the CARES Act.
History: KKR took Envision private in 2018 for $9.9 billion, including assumed debt, after it recorded a $228 million loss in 2017 on $7.8 billion in revenue.

The bottom line: "Elective surgeries that Envision provides are among the most lucrative medical procedures, while intensive care, which COVID-19 patients require, is far more expensive. Envision’s business of staffing emergency rooms has also suffered because it gets compensated per visit rather than for the time patients spent there. As a result, the typical two-week period that many COVID-19 patients spend in intensive care is a further drag on Envision’s revenue." — Reuters

Add Axios on Google

Envision Healthcare considering bankruptcy

What to read next