News in brief - Sept. 11, 2006

Radiation therapy chain bought - HCA computers stolen - Health software company files IPO - Oregon IPA to resell EMR to members - UnitedHealth consolidates Medicare plans

Radiation therapy chain bought

A private equity firm seeking to solidify its focus in the health care sector has acquired the radiation therapy chain OnCure Medical Corp.

Genstar Capital announced the acquisition on Aug. 21, saying the move would strengthen its focus on health care investments. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The San Francisco-based private equity firm said in a news release that radiation therapy is a $7-billion industry and that no single company operates more than 10% of the 2,000 radiation therapy centers in the United States.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based OnCure and its physician partners provide radiation therapy services in 33 freestanding treatment centers in California and Florida.

In other private-equity news, HCA Inc. said it has received a green light from the Federal Trade Commission to move forward with plans for its acquisition by a private equity group.

The Nashville, Tenn.-based hospital chain said on Aug. 21 that the FTC had granted early termination of the waiting period that was imposed on the deal. The leveraged buyout, expected to close in the next few months, remains subject to shareholder approval and other closing conditions.

HCA announced in July that it had agreed to be taken private by a consortium of investors for $21 billion, plus the assumption or repayment of nearly $12 billion in debt. The investors include Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Merrill Lynch and the family of HCA co-founder Thomas F. Frist Jr., MD.

HCA computers stolen

Ten computers holding thousands of files with billing information for patients in eight states were stolen from an HCA regional office, the hospital chain announced.

HCA said the FBI and other law enforcement agencies were investigating the theft, which apparently occurred during a recent break-in at a secured building in a Western state. HCA spokesman Jeff Prescott said the company was not disclosing more specific information about the date and location of the incident to avoid tipping off the thieves about the sensitive information.

Data on the computers included some Social Security numbers and other information about Medicare and Medicaid patients who had unpaid bills at HCA hospitals in Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington over the last 10 years.

Health software company files IPO

Picis Inc., Wakefield, Mass., has filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its common stock. The company, which sells software used by hospitals in their emergency departments, operating rooms, recovery rooms and intensive care units, is seeking to raise $86.3 million. It plans to use proceeds to repay debt and for general purposes.

Oregon IPA to resell EMR to members

As part of an electronic medical records initiative, the Central Oregon Independent Practice Assn. announced Aug. 21 that it will resell an Internet-based integrated EMR and practice management software from eClinicalWorks Inc. to its 600 physician members. The IPA, which has created a subsidiary to resell, install and support the software at physician offices, views the effort as a first step toward establishing a regional health information organization that will enable doctors and others to exchange patient data electronically in central Oregon.

UnitedHealth consolidates Medicare plans

After a series of consolidations, UnitedHealth announced a single brand name for its Medicare Advantage health plans -- SecureHorizons by UnitedHealthcare.

United said its Medicare plans will have nearly 1.4 million members as enrollment for 2007 begins in November. The insurer expects the plan to make up about 20% of its revenue this year.

The SecureHorizons name was acquired with PacifiCare Health Systems in a $9 billion merger. PacifiCare customers make up 735,000 of Medicare Advantage members. United also added 100,000 members through acquisitions of Oxford Health Plans and John Deere Health Care.