If you own a medical practice, the buyers fall into a few groups: physician practice platforms backed by private equity, hospitals and health systems, insurers and other companies building physician networks, larger physician groups, and individual physicians buying into or taking over a practice.

What makes those buyers pay more is mostly predictable: a payer mix and contracts they are comfortable with, steady referral sources, ancillary services, physicians and staff who are staying, billing and coding that holds up to review, and a practice that does not depend entirely on the owner’s own patient schedule.

The short version

  • Who buys: private equity platforms, hospitals and health systems, insurers and other corporate buyers, larger physician groups, and individual physicians.
  • What they pay more for: payer mix and contracts, referral sources, ancillary services, providers who stay, low dependence on the owner, clean billing and coding, and clean financials.
  • How investor deals usually work: in many states only physicians can own the medical practice, so investors buy the business side and provide management services under an agreement. Sellers usually keep practicing for a period and often keep part of their equity.
  • How to get the best result: put the practice in front of several of those buyers at once, confidentially, instead of taking the first offer that arrives.

Fewer physicians own their practice

The American Medical Association’s Physician Practice Benchmark Survey found that 42.2% of US patient-care physicians worked in a private practice in 2024, down from 60.1% in 2012. In the same survey, 34.5% worked in practices owned by hospitals and 6.5% in practices owned by private equity, up from about 4.5% in 2022. The survey covers physicians past residency who spend at least 20 hours a week on patient care.

For an owner, that means more buyers with more capital are looking at practices, and they come with very different ideas about structure, your role after the sale and what happens to the practice later.

Who has been buying medical practices

The deals below come from public announcements. None of them is a Hello Exit transaction, and naming a buyer here does not mean it works with Hello Exit or is looking for any particular practice.

Private equity platforms

Private equity firms build specialty platforms, such as dermatology, eye care, orthopedics, urology and gastroenterology, by investing in a first group and then adding practices to it:

Hospitals and health systems

Health systems buy practices to add physicians, locations and patients to their networks. In March 2026, MUSC Health acquired Palmetto Primary Care Physicians, which it described as South Carolina’s largest independent multispecialty practice, with 40 practices. A sale to a health system usually means the physicians become employees of the system.

Insurers and other corporate buyers

Insurers have been building their own physician networks, especially in primary care. In February 2026, Humana’s CenterWell completed its acquisition of MaxHealth, a Florida primary care group with 54 clinics of its own, buying it from Arsenal Capital Partners and its founders, as Healthcare Dive reported. It is also a reminder that a platform backed by private equity can be sold again, which matters if you keep equity in one.

Larger physician groups

A larger group in your specialty or region may want your patients, your referral relationships or your location. These buyers know your market and can often keep the practice running much as it does today.

Individual physicians

An associate or partner who already works in the practice, or a physician buying into a first practice, is often the buyer for a smaller practice or a retiring owner’s share. They usually finance the purchase over time, and the transition tends to be the easiest on patients.

How a sale to a private equity platform usually works

The structure

In many states, a medical practice must be owned by licensed physicians, a rule known as the corporate practice of medicine. So an investor usually does not buy the clinical practice itself. It buys the business assets and runs the nonclinical side, such as billing, staffing, purchasing, contracting and technology, through a management services organization, while physicians keep making the clinical decisions. A Milbank Memorial Fund brief explains how private equity firms, insurers and other companies use management services organizations to work within those rules.

These rules have been tightening. In 2025, Oregon limited how much control a management company can have over a practice it manages, and California put limits on private equity control of clinical decisions into law, effective January 2026.

Cash, equity and your role after closing

Deals with platforms backed by private equity usually pay part of the price in cash at closing and part as equity in the platform, often called rollover equity, and the selling physicians sign employment agreements as well as the purchase documents. How long you must keep practicing, how you will be paid, any noncompete, and what your equity is worth when the platform is sold again matter as much as the headline price.

Ownership, referral and billing rules differ by state and specialty and carry real penalties, so your own healthcare attorney is the authority for your practice. This page is general information, not legal, tax or regulatory advice.

What medical practice buyers pay more for

Every buyer looks at collections and earnings first. After that, these are the things that most often move what a buyer will pay and how much of the price comes at closing.

Payer mix and contracts

Buyers look at how much revenue comes from commercial insurers, Medicare, Medicaid and patients paying directly, the rates in your contracts, and whether any single payer dominates. Know your mix and your contract terms, because they shape both price and which buyers fit.

Referral sources

Buyers want to know where new patients come from: referring physicians, health systems, insurers or patients finding you directly. Referrals spread across many sources, and that do not depend on the owner’s personal relationships, are worth more.

Ancillary services

Imaging, lab work, infusion, physical therapy and ownership in a surgery center can add meaningfully to what a practice earns. Buyers will look at how those services are owned and billed, because the rules on them are strict.

Physicians and staff who stay

Patients are loyal to the clinicians they see. Buyers ask whether your physicians, advanced practice providers and key staff are staying, how they are paid, and whether any of them have agreements that would survive a sale.

How much the practice depends on you

If most of the collections come from your own patient schedule, a buyer will ask what happens when you step back. That is a major reason investor deals ask the seller to keep practicing for a period. The more your partners and providers already carry, the more options you have.

Billing and coding that holds up

Buyers review coding patterns, denials and any past audits or payer disputes. Clean, documented billing gives a buyer confidence. Problems found late can cut the price or stop a deal.

Clean financials and systems

Buyers will ask for several years of financial statements, collections by provider and service, and the add-backs that show what the practice really earns, along with the systems behind them: the electronic health record, practice management software, and the lease. Numbers that match from one report to the next build confidence quickly.

Why it pays to have several buyers at the table

The same practice can look very different to different buyers. A private equity platform may value your specialty and your ancillary services. A health system may value your patients and your place in its referral network. An insurer may value your patients in value-based contracts. When you talk to only one of them, you only learn what that one will pay and on what terms.

Putting the practice in front of several qualified buyers at once, confidentially, tests price and structure against each other, including how much comes as cash at closing and how much as equity. Buyers learn who you are only after signing an NDA, so staff and patients do not find out early.

Hello Exit is a sell-side M&A advisor for founders selling businesses from $1 million to $400 million, and it is the team behind 1,000+ acquisitions and exits. Every engagement starts from accurate information. Hello Exit’s Exit Report is an advisory estimate that shows the strategic case, where strategic buyers exist, and the financial case side by side, along with an honest read on readiness. If the practice is not ready to sell, Hello Exit says so and helps you get there first.

See how the process works, from the first confidential call to closing, what Hello Exit does, and what M&A advisors charge.

Size matters too. Below roughly $1 million in value, a medical practice broker or transition specialist is usually the practical route. Above $400 million, an investment bank is usually the better fit.

Before you talk to buyers

Common questions

Who buys medical practices?

Private equity platforms, hospitals and health systems, insurers and other corporate buyers, larger physician groups, and individual physicians. Which of them fits depends on your specialty, your size, your payer mix and how long you want to keep practicing.

Can private equity own my medical practice?

In many states, not the clinical practice itself. An investor usually buys the business side and provides management services under an agreement, while physicians own the practice and make the clinical decisions. The rules vary by state and have been changing, so check with your own healthcare attorney.

Will I have to keep practicing after I sell?

Usually, yes, for a period set in your employment agreement, so patients and staff move smoothly to the new owner. Many investor deals also pay part of the price as equity. The more of the work your partners and providers already carry, the shorter and lighter that commitment tends to be.

Is my practice big enough for an M&A advisor?

Hello Exit works with businesses from $1 million to $400 million in value. Below roughly $1 million, a medical practice broker or transition specialist is usually the better route.