What’s driving health care bankruptcies?

More mergers and acquisitions, paying for staff and changes in Washington, D.C., all will be factors affecting health care in 2025, said a forecast from an analyst.

Gibbins Advisors, based in Nashville, Tennessee, published “Healthcare Restructuring: Trends and Outlook.” The report analyzed Chapter 11 health care bankruptcy cases with liabilities of at least $10 million, since 2019.

Company Principals Clare Moylan and Roland Winters also listed examples of industry drivers that will be in play in 2025. In short: Don’t necessarily expect easy going the rest of the year.

“The health care sector continues to face financial headwinds, with some organizations better equipped to meet those challenges than others,” said their news release about the report.

“We’ve already observed a rise in bankruptcy filings among physician practices, and the 2.83% reduction in Medicare’s Physician Fee Schedule for (fiscal year) 2025 will further strain this sector, impacting both physician groups and the hospitals that own them,” Moylan said in the news release. “Given these trends and our ongoing experience, we anticipate an increase in physician practices needing restructuring support in 2025.”

This slideshow presents their examples and brief commentaries about each. All data and statements come from Gibbins Advisors.