Quest Diagnostics agreed to buy part of Summa Health’s outreach laboratory services business in an all-cash deal. The Akron, Ohio-based health system and Quest announced an agreement on Wednesday, while they didn’t disclose the terms.
Quest will provide testing for physicians and patients served by LabCare Plus, Summa Health’s laboratory services business, using its laboratories in Twinsburg, Ohio and Pittsburgh. Summa Health will continue to own its hospital labs, which serve inpatient and hospital-based outpatient departments, as well as its pathology services.
The companies said the accord will increase patient access to laboratory services, with patients benefiting from broad health plan coverage, Quest’s network of sites and lower out-of-pocket costs for some services.
The agreement will help Summa “optimize their lab strategies,” Quest CEO Steve Rusckowski said in a news release. Summa’s chief strategy officer, Ben Sutton, noted that laboratory services are a “critical and fast-evolving area of healthcare” and that “Quest has the expertise, agility and breadth of innovation” that Summa needs.
Commercial labs have been buying laboratory services from hospitals, which are looking to outsource back-end functions. Quest rival Labcorp bought RWJBarnabas Health’s outreach laboratory business in August, one of several deals by the company.
Summa Health picked Quest as a buyer after a competitive bid. They expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2022 subject to regulatory approval.
