Medical group mergers are a lot like marriages.
Some are actual mergers. The formerly separate groups really do become one. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. So if one of the merged practice sites closes, the partners based there are reassigned. There’s still love, or as much as there can be in a merger as opposed to an actual marriage.
But too common these days are mergers that are simply temporal, for market share, for beefing up for a private equity deal, or to share contract rates. These are a bit like marriages for the purpose of obtaining a green card. So if merged-in group “A” loses its exclusive contract or if providing services at that site no longer makes economic sense to the group as a whole, then everyone in “A,” from partners to part-timers are shown the door.
The ties that bind versus the lies that say goodbye.
Sure, unlike immigration love, less than heartfelt medical group merger isn’t a federal crime. If you’re in control of the merger, “do it until it no longer feels good” may be exactly what you’re looking for.
But if your group is the merger target, make sure you know what kind of marriage your intended has in mind.
