Tenet Healthcare's portfolio transformation toward ambulatory care is paying off.
For-profit Tenet added nearly 70 new and acquired ambulatory surgery centers last year through its United Surgical Partners International business, CEO Dr. Saum Sutaria said on a Wednesday earnings call with investors. The health system plans to invest another $250 million this year into ambulatory care, including plans to add 10 to 12 de novo ASCs, he said.
Related: Tenet sells majority stake in 5 hospitals to Orlando Health
"This was an important year for Tenet," Sutaria told investors. "We've had opportunity to expand capacity and take on that capacity without excessive costs to do so, and we're doing it in a deliberate way."
He said the shift to higher-acuity services in orthopedics in the ambulatory setting continues to produce returns.
Dallas-based Tenet operates close to 50 hospitals and more than 500 ASCs through United Surgical Partners International. Revenue in the ambulatory care segment rose 17% to $4.5 billion in 2024.
Sutaria said Tenet will continue its ambulatory strategy, despite potential regulatory changes. Tenet's ASCs are reimbursed by payers based on freestanding facility rates, largely insulating them from the impacts of site neutrality legislation. The ASC business also has relatively low Medicaid exposure, so cuts to the program under the Trump administration would not majorly affect operations, he said.
Tenet also divested 14 hospitals and their related facilities last year. That delivered a $2.1 billion after-tax gain to the health system's annual net income, which totaled $3.2 billion, or $32.70 per diluted share for 2024. The for-profit system reported net income of $611 million, or $5.71 per share, in 2023, according to its fourth-quarter financial report released Wednesday.
It reported $318 million in net income, or $3.32 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $244 million, or $2.30 per share, in the prior year.
