Changes in Ownership of Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facilities: An Analysis of Newly-Released CMS Data

This report analyzes newly-released data from CMS that provides information on changes in ownership among hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), based on information reported to CMS through the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS). Analyses of this dataset demonstrate 347 changes in ownership among hospitals and more than 3000 among skilled nursing facilities between 2016 and 2021, with wide variation across states. Ownership changes were more common in medium and larger hospitals (compared to small hospitals), hospitals with low profit margins (compared to more profitable hospitals), and long-term care hospitals. Future research can link this new dataset to other sources of information to support policymaking and research on consolidation, health care quality, and health care costs.