Health care M&A activity expected to be flat or down in 2019

Almost 60% of health care investors and operators said industry mergers and acquisitions will either stay the same or decrease in the next year, according to a recent survey.

The survey, conducted by Capital One Healthcare, indicates that 48% of respondents said health care M&A will stay the same in the coming year as it has been within the past 12 months, while 10% said it will be lower.

Asked to identify the biggest health care growth segment in the next year, 46% of Capital One Healthcare's respondents said health care information technology. Another 30% said home health and hospice. Eight percent said insurance providers and another 8% said assisted living and skilled nursing.

Health care IT also took the top spot in a 2016 Capital One Healthcare survey. That year, 66% of respondents said health IT would see the most growth.

More than 60% of the respondents to Capital One's survey said their transition to value-based care is just beginning. About 30% said they were about halfway. Six percent said nearly complete, and only 2% said they were fully transitioned.

Also in Capital One Healthcare's results, 72% of respondents said they expect their business to perform better next year, compared with 68% in 2016. No respondents said their business would perform worse in the current survey, compared with one in 2016.

Capital One Healthcare compiled the survey in advance of its annual conference for health care payers and providers. This year's gathering will feature about 200 healthcare investors, bankers, operators—payers and providers—and thought leaders, about half of whom took the survey.