EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1564406
Filing Year: 2022
Filename: 1564406_10-K_2022_0001564590-22-007694.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
Overview
Oak Street Health, Inc. (collectively with its subsidiaries is referred to as “Oak Street Health,” “OSH,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”) was formed as a Delaware corporation on October 22, 2019 for the purpose of completing a public offering and related restructuring transactions (collectively referred to as the “IPO”) in order to carry on the business of Oak Street Health, LLC (“OSH LLC”) and its affiliates. As the managing member of OSH LLC, Oak Street Health, Inc. operates and controls all of the business affairs of OSH LLC and its affiliates. Following the IPO, Oak Street Health, Inc. consolidates the financial results of OSH LLC. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “OSH.”
The Company operates primary care centers within the United States serving Medicare beneficiaries. The Company, through its centers and management services organization, combines an innovative care model with superior patient experience. The Company invests resources into primary care to prevent unnecessary acute events and manage chronic illnesses. The Company engages Medicare eligible patients through the use of an innovative community outreach approach. Once patients are engaged, the Company integrates population health analytics, social support services and primary care into the care model to drive improved outcomes. The Company contracts with health plans and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to generate medical costs savings and realize a return on its investment in primary care. As of December 31, 2021, the Company operated 129 centers across 19 states, which provided care for approximately 153,400 patients. We, together with our affiliated physician practice organizations, employed approximately 4,800 team members, including approximately 500 primary care providers as of December 31, 2021. Our operations are organized and reported under one segment.
Mission
Since our founding in 2012, our mission has been to build a care delivery platform, built on a chassis of primary care that directly addresses rising costs and poor outcomes, two of the most pressing challenges facing the United States healthcare industry. Our approach shifts the allocation of healthcare resource delivery from traditional acute and specialist care into an enhanced, patient- centered care delivery platform which is designed to meaningfully improve the quality of care and outcomes for high-risk populations. It represents the frontline implementation of the solutions addressing the most powerful trends in healthcare, mainly the shift towards value-based care and increasing patient consumerism. Our approach also disrupts the current state of care delivery for Medicare-eligible patients and aligns the incentives of our patients, our providers and our payors by simultaneously improving health outcomes and care quality, lowering medical costs and improving the patient experience.
To pursue our mission, we created a technology-enabled, integrated platform, which we refer to as the Oak Street Platform, to deliver value-based care focused exclusively on Medicare patients. The key attributes that differentiate the Oak Street Platform include:
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Our patient focus. We are focused on the Medicare-eligible population, which generally has consistent, clinically cohesive needs and which we believe represents the greatest potential for cost savings, while still benefiting patient health outcomes, in our current healthcare system.
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Our technology-enabled model. We leverage technology that compiles and analyzes comprehensive patient data and provides actionable health insights through applications that are embedded in care delivery workflows, including at the point of patient-provider interaction.
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Our integrated approach to care delivery. We integrate a personalized approach to primary care, proactive management of our patients’ health needs and expanded preventive services to keep our patient population healthy, reducing the number of hospitalizations and other expensive and unnecessary utilization of the healthcare system. As such, we focus on delivering what we believe to be the right care in the right setting, encouraging our patients to visit us in our centers, while also offering robust virtual and digital engagement options.
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Our value-based relationships. Our value-based capitation contracts reward us for providing high- quality care rather than driving a high volume of services.
Organization
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We operate through our direct and indirect subsidiaries, primarily, Oak Street Health MSO, LLC (“OSH MSO”). OSH MSO operates as a management services organization and is in the business of providing management and other administrative services to our affiliated physician practice organizations under long-term management and/or administrative services agreements (“MSAs”), pursuant to which OSH MSO manages certain non-medical services for the physician practice organizations and has authority over all non-medical decision making related to ongoing business operations.
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Some states have laws that prohibit business entities with non-physician owners from practicing medicine, which are generally referred to as the corporate practice of medicine. States that have corporate practice of medicine laws require only physicians to practice medicine, exercise control over medical decisions or engage in certain arrangements with other physicians, such as fee-splitting.
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Therefore, in addition to our subsidiaries, we mainly operate by maintaining long-term management services agreements with our affiliated physician practice organizations, which are owned, directly or indirectly, and operated by certain licensed physicians who hold shares, and which employ or contract with additional physicians to provide medical services. Under such agreements, we provide and perform non-medical management and administrative services, including financial management, information systems, marketing, risk management and administrative support.
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We have entered into MSAs with affiliated physician practice organizations (each, a “PC”). These affiliated PCs contract with various managed care organizations or licensed health care service plans, each of which pays a fixed capitation payment to that particular PC. In return, that PC provides health care services by employing physicians and other providers of primary care services. The applicable PC assumes the financial risk of the cost of delivering health care services in excess of the fixed amounts received. The risk is subject to stop-loss provisions. The physicians employed by the PC are exclusively in control of, and responsible for, all aspects of the practice of medicine for their patients. In accordance with relevant accounting guidance, each of these PCs is determined to be a variable interest entity (“VIE”) of Oak Street Health as Oak Street Health has the ability, through the MSA, to direct the activities (excluding clinical decisions) that most significantly affect the PC’s economic performance. Therefore, all PCs are consolidated in the accompanying financial statements.
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As of October 20, 2021, we acquired RubiconMD Holdings, Inc. (“Rubicon” or “RMD”), a leading technology platform in New York providing access to specialist expertise. The acquisition enables Oak Street Health to integrate virtual specialty care into its existing care model, which is expected to significantly streamline the referral process and better manage costs, enhance patient experience and provide comprehensive care far beyond traditional primary care.
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Lastly, we are the majority interest owner in three joint ventures: OSH-PCJ Joliet, LLC; OSH-RI, LLC and OSH-ESC Joint Venture, LLC, which are consolidated in the accompanying financial statements.
Industry Overview, Challenges and our Opportunity
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), healthcare spending in the United States reached nearly $4.1 trillion, and Medicare accounted for approximately $830 billion of spending in 2020. We believe the core addressable market for the Oak Street Platform is approximately 27 million Medicare eligible patients in our target demographic, which we believe represents an approximate $356.4 billion annual industry revenue opportunity. We determine the core addressable market by multiplying an estimate of average annual revenue of $13,200 per member, which is derived from our experience and industry knowledge and which we believe represents a reasonable national assumption, by the number of Medicare eligibles in our target markets. Average spending on Medicare is projected by CMS to grow approximately 7.4% annually, driven primarily by the aging United States population as well as the high prevalence of chronic conditions and the associated cost of care for these conditions among the Medicare eligible population.
We reimagined the approach to caring for a patient population with a high prevalence of chronic conditions and purpose-built the Oak Street Platform to improve health outcomes and combat wasteful spending. The Oak Street Platform consists of (i) Our Centers, (ii) Our Interdisciplinary Care Teams, (iii) Canopy: Our Purpose-Built, End-to-End Technology and (iv) Our Care Delivery Approach (further discussed below).
Although we have incurred net losses since inception, we believe that the Oak Street Platform has enabled us to create a healthcare model where all constituencies involved have the ability to “Win.” Our patients, payors and providers are incentivized to adopt the Oak Street Platform, and each has the potential to benefit in a meaningful way.
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Patients. We leverage our differentiated care delivery model to improve the health of our patients, effectively manage their chronic conditions and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations while greatly improving their patient experience.
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Payors. We enter into arrangements with Medicare Advantage (“MA”) plans and CMS to manage the care of our patients, allowing us to control the plans’ medical costs, increase the plans’ Medicare quality scoring, improve the plans’ profit margin and help the plans grow membership.
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Providers. We enable our providers to focus on improving the lives of their patients and improve their job satisfaction by providing them with meaningful clinical support and customized technology resources.
We believe we can translate these “Wins” into economic benefits. Since 2016, our performance has been driven by our multi-year, contractual arrangements with payors on a per patient, per month (“PPPM”) basis, which create recurring revenue streams and provide significant visibility into our financial growth trajectory. By focusing on interventions that keep our patients healthy, we can capture the cost savings the Oak Street Platform creates and reinvest them in our care model. We believe these investments lead to better outcomes and improved patient experiences, which will drive further cost savings, power patient retention and enable us to attract new patients. We believe increasing cost savings over a growing patient population will deliver an even greater surplus to the organization, enabling us to reinvest to scale and fund new centers, progress our care model and enhance our technology.
We have demonstrated an ability to rapidly scale, expanding our model to a network of 129 centers across 19 states, which provided care for approximately 153,500 patients as of December 31, 2021, of which approximately 75% are under capitation arrangements (which we refer to as “at-risk patients”) and approximately 25% are fee-for-service, although fee-for-service accounted for less than 1% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, we, together with our affiliated physician practice organizations, employed approximately 4,800 team members, including approximately 500 primary care providers. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, our total revenues were $1,432.6 million and $882.8 million, respectively, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 62%.
The U.S. healthcare system is at a transition point in its evolution
Unsustainable and rising healthcare costs
Healthcare spending in the United States reached nearly $4.1 trillion in 2020 according to CMS, representing approximately 19.7% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”). The United States spent approximately $12,530 per person on healthcare in 2020, more than any other country in the world and twice the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) average. Healthcare expenditures are particularly concentrated in the Medicare-eligible population due to the high rate of chronic conditions. While representing only 15% of the United States population, the 65 and older age group accounted for 34% of all healthcare spending in 2014, with an average spend of $19,098 per person. Additionally, two-thirds of the Medicare population lives with two or more chronic health conditions, and treatment of these conditions represents 96% of Medicare spending.
Prevalence of wasteful spending and sub-optimal outcomes
A 2019 study estimated that approximately 25% of all healthcare spending is for unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, fraud and other problems creating waste, implying approximately $760 billion to $935 billion of annual wasteful spending at current levels.
In 2017, hospital care accounted for the largest portion of healthcare spending in the United States, representing 33% of the total. In 2018, over 60% of Medicare expenditures (including both Medicare Part A spend and Medicare Part B institutional spend), or approximately $455 billion, were dedicated to hospitalization, compared to only approximately 3% dedicated to primary care. Proper management of chronic conditions can significantly reduce the incidence of acute episodes, which are the main drivers of trips to the emergency room and hospitalization, particularly among the elderly.
Despite high levels of spending, the United States healthcare system struggles to produce better health outcomes and to keep doctors and patients satisfied. Life expectancy in the United States was 78.6 years in 2017, compared to 82.2 years in comparable developed countries, and patient satisfaction with the healthcare system is low, as evidenced by a Net Promoter Score of 3 for the average provider, as shown in a 2015 Advisory Board survey.
New payment structures have begun to address the problem
Policymakers and healthcare experts generally acknowledge the fundamental challenges and opportunities for improvement in the delivery of healthcare in the United States. Historically, healthcare delivery was centered around reactive care to acute events,
which resulted in the development of a fee-for-service payment model. By linking payments to volume of encounters and pricing for higher complexity interventions, the fee-for-service model does not reward prevention but rather unintentionally incentivizes the treatment of acute care episodes as they occur. Policymakers have responded by creating programs like MA and pushing for transitions to value- based reimbursements.
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Medicare Advantage. MA works as an alternative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare. In MA, CMS pays health plans a monthly sum per member to manage all health expenses of a participating member. This provides the health plans with an incentive to deliver lower-cost, high-quality care.
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Value-based payments. In response to rising healthcare spending in the United States, commercial, government and other payors are shifting away from fee-for-service payment models towards value-based models, including risk-based payment models that tie financial incentives to quality, efficiency and coordination of care. Value-based refers to the goal of incentivizing healthcare providers to simultaneously increase quality while lowering the cost of care. While not a policy-setting body, the Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network, an active group of public and private healthcare leaders, indicated in October of 2019 its desire to move 100% of Medicare payments to being tied to value-based care by 2025. Additionally, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (“CMMI”) launched the Global and Professional Direct Contracting (“GDPC”) Model (the “Direct Contracting Model”) as of April 2021 to create value-based payment arrangements directly with provider groups for their current Medicare fee-for-service patients similar to the value-based contracts that we enter into with our MA partners. On February 24, 2022, CMMI announced that the Direct Contracting Model will continue through the end of 2022 after which it will be transformed into the new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) Model (the “ACO REACH Model”), which seeks to encourage health care providers to coordinate care to improve the care offered to people with Medicare - especially those from underserved communities. We believe that patient-centered, outcome driven reimbursement models will continue to grow in prominence. We already receive substantial value-based payments, and as valued-based payment systems continue to increase in prominence, it is our view that our strong clinical outcomes will be increasingly rewarded.
Legacy healthcare delivery infrastructure has been unable to transition from reactive and episodic care to proactive and comprehensive care models
In order for shifts to value-based payment models to drive meaningful results, there must be a corresponding shift in care delivery models. To date, such care delivery models have been slow to develop. While there has been significant investment by providers, payors and technology companies in developing solutions to drive higher quality and lower cost of care, these investments have not resulted in meaningful change within a healthcare delivery infrastructure that remains optimized for the fee-for-service model.
In order to maintain economically viable practices in a fee-for-service payment model, typical primary care providers:
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need to see an ever-increasing number of patients per day with limited support from staff, which limits time spent with each patient during office visits;
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experience time constraints that restrict their ability to engage with patients outside of office visits, which is a key component of ensuring that patients continue to proactively manage their health and do not fall through the cracks of the healthcare system; and
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experience financial constraints that limit their ability to invest in technology and provide patients with many of the supplemental services they need, such as home-based primary care, medication management and behavioral health services.
Advances in technology have disrupted multiple industries when the technology was thoughtfully applied and integrated. These new business models, systems and approaches have replaced legacy offerings and driven significant changes in consumer behavior. We believe that an integrated, value-based care platform enabled by data and technology has the potential to similarly revolutionize the healthcare industry.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted challenges with the current legacy healthcare delivery system. As healthcare providers were faced with dwindling fee-for-service visits in light of the stay-at-home orders and general patient fear, the revenues of traditional healthcare providers plummeted thereby putting a strain on those providers and their ability to provide needed care for their patients.
Our Market Opportunity
We have designed the Oak Street Platform to bring technology-enabled, value-based care to the Medicare- eligible population, which represents the highest proportion of healthcare spending in the United States. We target populations of Medicare beneficiaries in high-density urban and suburban areas and further refine our target markets by utilizing socioeconomic data to target areas suffering from poor care quality and higher unnecessary spend.
As of 2021, there were approximately 63 million Medicare beneficiaries in the United States, with additional individuals reaching the age of eligibility every day. Healthcare spending in the United States reached nearly $4.1 trillion and Medicare accounted for $830 billion of spending in 2020. We estimate our addressable market of Medicare eligibles, based on the criteria set out above, to be 27 million patients. Based upon our experience and industry knowledge, we estimate average annual revenue of $13,200 per member. Multiplying this figure by the number of Medicare eligibles in our target markets, we arrive at what we believe is an annual total addressable market size of approximately $356.4 billion.
The Oak Street Platform is Re-Defining Primary Care
We reimagined the approach to caring for a patient population with a high prevalence of chronic conditions and purpose-built the Oak Street Platform to improve our patients’ health outcomes and combat wasteful spending, providing a higher-quality alternative to the status quo. Our Oak Street Platform consists of (i) Our Centers, (ii) Our Interdisciplinary Care Teams, (iii) Canopy: Our Purpose-Built, End-to-End Technology and (iv) Our Care Delivery Approach.
Our Centers
Our novel approach starts with retail-like, community-based centers that implement a branded and consumer-focused design to create a welcoming environment that engages our patients. These centers are leased or licensed by OSH MSO or an affiliated entity and, pursuant to the terms of certain contractual relationships between OSH MSO and our affiliated physician practice organizations, made available for use by the medical practices in the provision of primary care services. While traditional healthcare facilities are often located in medical office buildings that are removed from where patients spend a majority of their time, we target locations in highly accessible, convenient locations close to where our patients live. Each of our centers has a consistent look and feel, which we believe differentiates Oak Street and contributes to our success in acquiring patients.
Our Interdisciplinary Care Teams
We utilize a team-based approach in our patient-focused primary care delivery model and staff interdisciplinary care teams (“Care Team”) to execute our model. Each Care Team is led by a Primary Care Physician or Nurse Practitioner who is partnered with a Registered Nurse, a Medical Assistant and a Scribe to deliver value-based, coordinated care. As a center grows, we increase the number of Care Teams serving that center in order to keep the average number of patients per Care Team low to ensure optimal care quality and patient experience.
Our Care Teams are trained in preventive and comprehensive care designed to address the whole person, across medical, social and behavioral attributes, in a welcoming and friendly manner. Our Care Teams meet daily to discuss their approach for each patient they will see that day and have weekly and monthly planning and review sessions for their sickest patients to assess their progress and determine the next steps in improving their health. Care is provided in several different ways, including face-to-face visits, telehealth visits, remote patient monitoring and in-home care.
Canopy: Our Purpose-Built, End-to-End Technology
Canopy is a key driver of the success of our care model and underlies every aspect of our day-to-day patient engagement and workflows. Canopy comprises of internally developed software that connects a suite of population health analytics and technology applications designed to fit seamlessly into our care delivery model and Care Team virtual and in-person workflows.
Our position in the healthcare ecosystem allows Canopy to access and capture an immense amount of data about our patients from a broad set of sources, including payor claims data, pharmacy data and medical records from hospitals and specialists. Canopy enhances our ability to quickly structure and sort these disparate data sets to develop a comprehensive view of both our patients and our target demographic across medical, behavioral and social health attributes. We leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to create and refine our clinical rules engine (predictive models and prescriptive algorithms) that informs care delivery and addresses hospital admissions and readmissions, medical costs and patient retention. Our algorithms are internally developed and optimized for the primary care setting, undergo rapid iteration cycles and benefit from clinician partnership and input.
When paired with our operational expertise, we believe Canopy is a key driver in our ability to scale our platform quickly and consistently, while delivering evidence-based care in a value-based model.
Our Care Delivery Approach
Our care delivery approach consists of three core components:
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Personalized Primary Care. We provide preventative care addressing the needs of the whole person- medical, social and behavioral. Upon joining Oak Street Health, our patients undergo a structured geriatric assessment to understand their care needs. We input these assessments, along with other available data, into Canopy, which analyzes multiple patient risk factors using our internally developed algorithms to stratify patients by the risk of their experiencing an acute event. Based on this analysis, we create a tailored, individualized care plan that determines the ideal frequency of primary care visits and use of disease-specific programs. Our patients experience the results of this differentiated approach through approximately eight physician visits per year, significantly more visits than a patient can expect with a typical primary care physician, with our sickest patients being seen even more frequently. In addition, we manage the total number of patients assigned to a Care Team at each center to allow each Care Team to spend more time with their patients and reduce wait times.
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Proactive Patient Health Management. In addition to spending more time with our patients, our smaller ratio of patients to Care Teams allows our physicians to reserve time daily to review their patients’ care plans and each week conduct a deeper dive on high-risk patients. The Oak Street Platform leverages Canopy’s robust data and analytics to generate insights, which are fed into our custom-built workflow applications in order to identify additional actions to take, gaps to close and interventions to perform on our patients. This systematic review of each of our patients is designed to ensure that once a Medicare member becomes an Oak Street patient, they stay current with their recommended health management plan, do not fall through the cracks of the healthcare systems and therefore remain on the path to better health.
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Enhanced Clinical Services. Using Canopy’s internally developed algorithms, we identify high-risk patients with specific needs outside of primary care and provide multi-disciplinary interventions to improve outcomes and reduce cost. We offer a number of programs that are integrated into our care model and that would not typically be available to patients under legacy fee-for-service models, including behavioral health, home-based primary care by dedicated provider teams, virtual digital offerings, medication management, social determinant support, 24x7 live phone support by our clinical call center and transitional care support to help our patients navigate the care journey outside of our centers.
Environmental, Social, and Governance and Impact
At Oak Street Health, we believe the success of our business is intertwined with our impact on and relationships with our employees, customers, suppliers and the communities we serve, as well as the accountability of our leadership to shareholders and our impact on the environment. We measure our impact, in part, based on outcomes for our patients, the communities we serve and the U.S. healthcare system. Our care model has consistently demonstrated outstanding clinical results, removed costs and delivered an industry-leading patient experience. By reducing utilization of high-cost, and often unnecessary, episodes of care and focusing on providing less expensive preventive care to our patients, we can reduce instances of expensive emergency care and hospitalization, which lowers the overall cost of care in the healthcare system. As we deliver on keeping our patients healthier, we capture the cost savings and drive our profitability. And as we have expanded across the country, we have targeted working class and underserved communities whose residents need and deserve the care that Oak Street Health provides. In fact, as of December 31, 2021, approximately 42% of our patients are dual eligible, meaning they qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.
More broadly, we have undertaken a number of strategies and set goals to further what we believe to be the drivers of our success, including strategies and goals to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our workforce, initiatives to engage and protect the health and well-being of our employees, and concerted efforts to connect with and invest in our communities. See “Human Capital Management” for a more comprehensive description of our workforce and social initiatives. With respect to our environmental initiatives, we recognize that environmental health and public health are interrelated, and we place a high priority on operating sustainably and mitigating our impact on the environment.
Looking ahead, we are committed to strengthening these pillars of success, enhancing our impact and fostering healthy and productive relationships with our key stakeholders.
We Are Engineered to be Scalable
We have proven our ability to execute our model, evidenced by the consistency of our performance as we have grown to date. Our performance has improved each year across all markets as our centers mature.
We believe that we have created a repeatable, data-driven playbook to expand our brand and presence across the United States and we have made substantial investments to support each key component of our approach. The fundamental aspects of our playbook include an algorithmic approach to site selection based on our key criteria, a focused approach to recruiting and developing talent (including physicians, nurse practitioners, Care Team members and regional leaders) and an efficient go-to-market model with grassroots community outreach to engage and attract patients.
Our Value Proposition
We believe that, despite a history of net losses, our healthcare ecosystem provides all constituencies involved in our care delivery model with the opportunity to “Win.” The Oak Street Platform incentivizes our patients, our payors and our providers to adopt our vision and rewards them each in a meaningful way.
Our Patients “Win” due to Measurably Better Health Outcomes and Patient Experience
Our patients have complex health needs. As of 2021, the average income of our patient base, as self- reported to us, was less than $17,000, and the average age was 68 years old. More than 50% identify as African American, Latino or Indigenous. Approximately 42% of our patients are dual eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid as of the year ended December 31, 2021. Approximately 60% of our patients have a behavioral health diagnosis and approximately 50% struggle with one or more social risk factors like isolation and lack of access to housing and food that are considered social determinants of health. Approximately 86% of our at-risk patients have one or more chronic conditions, with the average at-risk patient having three or more chronic conditions. We currently provide care to this population in at least seven different languages. The Oak Street Platform is designed to address their needs and drive top-rated quality performance, outstanding health outcomes and an experience our patients love.
The Company has also formed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DE&I”) Committee working group to stop the use of race-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) for Black/African American patients for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) testing. This is a step towards reducing health disparities by eliminating potential sources of bias in our clinical protocols and will give our Black/African American patients increased access to appropriate kidney care.
Our Payors “Win” as Medical Costs Decline, Membership Volumes Increase, and Medicare Quality Metrics Improve
Although we have limited experience managing contracts with full risk, since entering into our first fully capitated contracts in 2016 we have worked closely with key payors to improve outcomes for patients. Our demonstrated track record of improving patient outcomes enables payors to become net beneficiaries when we open centers in locations where they have insured Medicare members or desire to grow. Payors dedicate a large share of their efforts to reducing medical costs and they have a strong desire to engage with solutions proven to achieve that goal. We believe that our ability to remove unnecessary costs through a comprehensive approach to patient care makes us a partner of choice for payors and allows payors to lock in improved medical cost performance. Also, our strong performance in Medicare quality metrics, as demonstrated by our achievements in addressing Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (“HEDIS”) gaps and adherence to evidence-based care guidelines, supports improvements in payors’ quality score, which increases their revenues. On the whole, we believe we represent an attractive opportunity for payors to meaningfully improve their financial results.
As of December 31, 2021, we had contractual relationships with 32 payor partners, including all of the top five national MA payors. A significant portion of our revenues is concentrated with the following three large payors: Humana, WellCare/ Meridian and Cigna HealthSpring, which together comprised approximately 62% of our capitated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021, with 36% from Humana, 17% from WellCare/ Meridian and 9% from Cigna HealthSpring.
Our Providers “Win” because the Oak Street Platform Allows Them to Focus on Improving the Lives of Their Patients
Our providers are supported by integrated Care Teams that partner together to take care of patients and allow providers to spend more time with patients. Additionally, the Oak Street Platform is enabled by technology that our providers leverage to ensure they are aware of each patient’s health history and potential risks, helping to inform proper diagnoses. The Oak Street Platform is designed to reward quality, not quantity, of care. Provider compensation is determined by quality measures across the population of patients for which they are responsible and is not linked to visit volume. This dynamic is valued by providers because it reduces the potential for burnout and rewards them for making decisions in the best interest of their patients.
The net result of our model is that our providers have a smaller number of patients to care for, more time with patients, more support from our Care Teams and better technology to help them care for patients.
We “Win” through a Virtuous Cycle that Promotes Growth across All Facets of Our Business and Drives Our Financial Results
The Oak Street Platform generates a positive feedback loop that can drive our expansion and can perpetuate growth, unlocking the embedded economics of our business as we add centers and those centers mature. We built Oak Street Health to serve patients and provide measurably better health in all communities we serve. By reducing overall cost by increasing the investment in primary and preventive care, we put the dollars where they better serve our patients and increase their overall wellbeing. We have created a model that incentivizes all constituencies to work together because everyone “Wins.” When all constituencies benefit, we can share in the value. By structuring the majority of our contracts with MA plans and CMS as fully capitated arrangements for managing their members, we capture the meaningful value we create by increasing care quality, improving health outcomes and saving the healthcare system money. This potential surplus can then be reinvested in the business to expand and improve our care model which leads to more savings, powering a self-driven cycle of investment and growth that we believe allows us to scale nationally and rebuild healthcare as it should be.
Our Competitive Advantages
We Purpose-Built the Oak Street Platform from the Ground Up
The Oak Street Platform was designed to manage Medicare-eligible patients’ total cost of care through capitated, value-based payments. We designed a brand-new model because the existing primary care infrastructure was not built to be able to provide the type of care necessary to drive the massive improvements in cost and quality the health system needs. We decided to focus on the Medicare market due to its size, growth tailwinds and largely clinically cohesive population. We designed the Oak Street Platform to take risk in managing patients’ health below an agreed-upon baseline cost because we believed there was a meaningful opportunity to generate system-wide cost savings and we saw an opportunity to capture the value we created by delivering those results. The purposeful design of the Oak Street Platform against a specific population with similar clinical needs differentiates it from the majority of other players in the healthcare delivery system.
We Have a First Mover Advantage
Our care delivery model is the result of years of research, observation, iteration, and enhancement, and we continue to invest in improving our approach. Due to our existing scale, growth trajectory and demonstrated ability to drive improving center-level financials, we believe we have access to more capital and operational expertise than potential new entrants, meaning we will be able to continue to improve our model more quickly than new entrants are able to develop their models, build scale and become our competitors.
Positive Feedback Loop Accelerates Our Business
We have created an environment in which our strong performance in one dimension accelerates performance in another, which, in turn, leads to growth in yet another aspect of our business.
Custom-Designed, Integrated End-to-End Technology
Canopy is designed to fit seamlessly into our care delivery model and Care Team workflows. As we scale, so does our technology. With the benefit of larger data pools as our business grows, Canopy will be able to produce increasingly powerful data insights that will equip us with more tools to improve the health of our patients. We believe that we have only begun to unlock the value of our data assets, which are growing rapidly as we open new centers and add more patients.
Organic, Community-Based Marketing and Patient Recruitment
We employ a multichannel marketing strategy that goes directly to our target customer. We fundamentally control our own destiny and can scale the number of centers on our platform rapidly and fill them with any interested patients we attract.
Highly Recurring Customer Base Creates Subscription-Like Revenue Model
Our patients benefit from our offering, and they rarely leave. Because we generate the majority of our revenue on a PPPM basis and we are able to consistently retain patients, we have significant visibility into our future financial performance. This provides us the
flexibility to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and deliver what we believe to be the right care in the right setting, as we did with telehealth in the period from March to June 2020, without having an immediate adverse impact to our revenue.
A Flexible Model Able to Match Patient Needs and Preferences
The COVID-19 pandemic has been creating difficulties for traditional fee-for-service model providers to provide care while causing changes to patient’s preferred means of engagement. The changes in preference are not uniform, with some patients preferring traditional in-person visits while others would prefer leveraging telehealth. It is unknown how these preferences will evolve both during and after the pandemic. Additionally, clinical needs of patients vary. Given the high disease burden of our patients, we believe in-person care will remain a necessity for the vast majority, with our sickest patients generally requiring more in-person care.
However, we believe we have been able to effectively complement in-person care with telehealth visits and can continue to do so. For reasons of both patient preference and clinical need, we believe our model’s adaptability and our ability to effectively engage our patients in numerous ways without negatively impacting our capitated revenue will be an advantage for Oak Street Health.
Mission-Driven Team with Unique “Oaky” Culture
Our team has a steadfast commitment to executing on the mission and vision of our business. To achieve our goals, we have developed an “Oaky” culture centered around creating an unmatched patient experience, driving clinical excellence, taking ownership, fostering innovation and radiating positive energy.
Our Growth Strategy
The key elements of our growth strategy include:
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increase patient enrollment within existing centers;
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add additional centers in existing markets;
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expand into new markets;
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movement of current patients from fee-for-service to value-based arrangements; and
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continue to optimize the Oak Street Platform.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Our Operations
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization designated COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The rapid spread of COVID-19, including its variants, around the world and throughout the United States has altered the behavior of businesses and people, with significant negative effects on federal, state and local economies, the duration of which is unknown at this time. Various policies were implemented by federal, state and local governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused many people to remain at home and forced the closure of or limitations on certain businesses, as well as suspended elective procedures by health care facilities. While some of these restrictions have been eased across the U.S. since the beginning of the pandemic, some restrictions remain in place, and many state and local governments are re-imposing certain restrictions due to the increasing rates of COVID-19 cases and new variants, such as Delta and Omicron. The virus disproportionately impacts older adults, especially those with chronic illnesses, which describes many of our patients.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we took the following actions to ensure the safety of our employees and their families and to address the physical, mental and social health of our patients:
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Created a COVID-19 Response Team as of March 2020 that is supported by team members from across our organization to ensure a coordinated response to the pandemic;
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Re-opened all of our corporate offices as of summer 2021, which were temporarily closed since March 2020, with the expectation that our corporate work force will continue to work remotely at least part-time;
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Transitioned much of our center-based care to be delivered by our providers virtually through newly developed telehealth capabilities, including video and telephone from March through June 2020 but have transitioned our business back to a more normal operating cadence as of July 2020, including seeing a larger proportion of our patients via in-
center visits (with a corresponding reduction in telehealth visits) while maintaining stringent safety protocols to minimize the potential transmission of COVID-19. We continue to leverage our telehealth capabilities as a means of interacting with our patients to the extent an in-person visit is not required or preferred;
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Made operational changes to the staffing and operations of our centers, which remain open as “essential” businesses, to minimize potential exposure to and transmission of COVID-19;
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Temporarily delayed planned openings of new centers from March through August 2020 but have refocused our efforts on driving growth to our business through patient outreach and as of August 2020, we resumed opening new centers consistent with our pre-COVID operations;
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Temporarily halted community outreach and other marketing initiatives which drive new patients to our platform from March through June 2020 but recommenced marketing initiatives as of the third quarter of 2020 albeit with less frequency compared to periods before March 2020;
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Acquired and deployed significantly greater amounts of personal protective equipment (“PPE”) to ensure the safety of our employees and patients;
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Created a program called “COVID Care” to actively monitor our patients for suspected COVID-19 infections with the goal of managing those symptoms to keep our patients safely out of the hospital unless and until necessary due to the potential infection risks in the hospital environment;
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Redeployed our contracted and employed drivers, who typically transport patients to our centers, to deliver food from food pantries to our patients to address food supply issues or challenges;
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Provided free rapid COVID-19 tests to all members of the Chicago community;
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Launched an effort in January 2021 to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers (both employees of Oak Street Health and non-employees), our patients and other eligible members of our communities. While this work is critically important for our communities, we also expect our agile vaccination efforts will result in greater brand awareness and loyalty and incremental patient growth; and
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Administered more than 190,000 total COVID-19 vaccine doses as of December 31, 2021.
COVID-19 has impacted both our per-patient capitated revenue due to lower risk scores for new patients as compared to historical risk scores and our medical claims expense for the year-ended December 31, 2021. Although our risk scores for existing Oak Street Health patients have been consistent with our historical experience, new patients in 2021 had lower risk scores due to a lack of availability of care in 2020 as the healthcare system was inaccessible to non-Oak Street Health patients for several months in 2020, due to local COVID-19 restrictions. As we were able to more completely and accurately document both current and new patients' health conditions in 2021, we expect that risk scores will increase to reflect the true severity of these patients' conditions, which we would further expect to result in increased revenue for our 2022 fiscal year. It is unknown to us at present how significantly, if at all, this patient risk score dynamic might impact our business in 2022.
We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering impact on the economy, our patients and prospective patients and our business. Whereas the progress in mass vaccination programs in the U.S. had prompted state and local governments to lift many of the restrictions on commercial activity, certain restrictions have been reimposed in recent months as a result of the recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta and Omicron variants. This resurgence, as well as any future variants of the coronavirus entering the U.S., could prompt a return to tighter restrictions in certain areas of the country. Furthermore, pandemic-related labor shortages remain unresolved and could continue for an extended period of time. Therefore, uncertainty remains regarding the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon our financial condition and future results of operations.
As we are financially responsible for essentially all of the healthcare costs associated with our at-risk patients whether we provide that care or a third party provides that care, we suspect that the healthcare costs of patients infected with COVID-19 will be greater than had COVID-19 not occurred. It is impossible, however, to know what other healthcare issues these patients may have encountered in their pre-COVID-19 lives and whether the COVID-19 costs are or will be greater or lesser than the costs these patients would otherwise incur. Additionally, because of the extraordinary measures taken by local governments in our markets particularly in the second quarter of 2020, all of our patients had more limited access to healthcare services, including healthcare specialists such as cardiologists or orthopedists, to schedule both inpatient and outpatient surgeries, and to some extent hospital care. Beginning in late March 2020 and extending through most of the second quarter of 2020, our patients who were not infected with COVID-19 incurred
lower healthcare costs than we would have otherwise expected, which will result in lower medical claims expense that we incur. From the second half of 2020 through 2021, we did experience an increase in medical costs to levels above historical norms. We believe that a portion of the increase in medical costs was related to care delayed from 2020 and delivered in 2021. In November 2021, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 began to spread quickly throughout the United States, including markets in which we operate. As we have the least amount of medical claims data for the last month of the reporting period, which was the period in which the Omicron variant had the greatest impact, we have relied on our COVID experience to-date to estimate the potential costs of the Omicron variant. We also expect to incur incremental costs in 2022 related to the Omicron variant, although it is too early for us to estimate the magnitude of these costs and offsets to those costs, if any, related to deferred or avoided care.
Because of the COVID-19 related volatility in medical cost data in 2020 and 2021 and the surge in COVID-19 cases at the end of 2021, we do not believe that these periods can serve as a reliable basis for estimating our 2022 performance. Given these factors, per-patient medical costs may be greater in 2022 than the levels we experienced in our recent historical results. Furthermore, given the time it takes for medical claims to be submitted to MA plans, adjudicated, and sent to us, we believe it will be several quarters before we will be able to accurately calculate the impact on medical claims expense from the COVID-19 pandemic. We do believe, however, that the impact on per-patient revenue and medical claims related to COVID-19 that we expect to experience will not have a materially detrimental effect on our long-term financial performance.
The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, future results of operations and financial condition will depend on future factors that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 including the impact of new variants of the virus, the actions taken to contain it or treat its impact and the economic impact on our markets. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the scope and duration of stay-at-home practices and business closures and restrictions, government-imposed or recommended suspensions of elective procedures, and expenses required for supplies and personal protective equipment. Because of these and other uncertainties, we cannot estimate the length or severity of the impact of the pandemic on our business. Furthermore, because of our business model, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be fully reflected in our results of operations and overall financial condition until future periods. We will continue to closely evaluate and monitor the nature and extent of these potential impacts to our business, results of operations and liquidity.
See “Risk Factors” for further discussion of the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business.
Intellectual Property and Licenses
This filing includes our trademarks and service marks, such as “Oak Street Health” and “RubiconMD”, which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of us or our subsidiaries. This filing also contains trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights of other companies, such as “Humana,” “Meridian/WellCare,” and “Cigna HealthSpring,” which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this filing may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names.
Our continued growth and success depend, in part, on our ability to protect our intellectual property and internally developed technology, including Canopy. We primarily protect our intellectual property through a combination of copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, intellectual property licenses and other contractual rights (including confidentiality, non-disclosure and assignment-of-invention agreements with our employees, independent contractors, consultants and companies with which we conduct business). Based upon our experience providing care in 129 centers across 19 states as of December 31, 2021, we continuously evaluate the needs of our providers and the tools that Canopy can provide and make improvements and add new features based on those needs. Although we do not currently hold a patent for Canopy, we continually assess the most appropriate methods of protecting our intellectual property and may decide to pursue available protections in the future.
These intellectual property rights and procedures may not, however, prevent others from competing with us. We may be unable to obtain, maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights, and assertions by third parties that we violate their intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Risk Factors-Risks Related to Our Business-If we are unable to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection for our technology or if the scope of our intellectual property protection is not sufficiently broad, others may be able to develop and commercialize technology substantially similar to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our technology may be adversely affected” and “Risk Factors-Risks Related to Our Business-Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”
Seasonal Variations in Business
Our business experiences some variability depending upon the time of year. We experience the largest portion of our at-risk patient growth during the first quarter, when plan enrollment selections made during the prior Annual Enrollment Period (“AEP”) take effect. While we also add patients throughout the year, including during Special Enrollment Periods when certain eligible individuals can enroll in MA midyear, we would expect to see approximately half of our at-risk patient growth occur in connection with the annual enrollment period. In addition, in January of each year, CMS revises the risk adjustment factor for each patient based upon health conditions documented in the prior year, leading to an overall increase in per-patient revenue. As the year progresses, our per-patient revenue declines as new patients join us typically with less complete or accurate documentation (and therefore lower risk-adjustment scores) and patient mortality disproportionately impacts our higher-risk (and therefore greater revenue) patients.
Medical costs will vary seasonally depending on a number of factors, but most significantly the weather. Certain illnesses, such as the influenza virus, are far more prevalent during colder months of the year, which will result in an increase in medical expenses during these time periods. We would therefore expect to see higher levels of per-patient medical costs in the first and fourth quarters. Medical costs also depend upon the number of business days in a period. See the summary of quarterly results (unaudited) in Note 18, Quarterly Financial Information, to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part IV, Item 15 below.
Working Capital Practices
The Company uses various techniques to maintain working capital. The Company has historically financed its operations through private placements of our equity securities, payments received from various payors, through the issuance of convertible notes and our IPO. For additional information, see Liquidity and Capital Resources section in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7, below.
Competitive Conditions
The U.S. healthcare industry is highly competitive. We compete with large and medium-sized local and national providers of primary care services, such as ChenMed, Cano Health, OneMedical and health system affiliated practices, for, among other things, contracts with payors, recruitment of physicians and other medical and non-medical personnel and individual patients. Our principal competitors for patients and payor contracts vary considerably in type and identity by market. Because of the low barriers of entry into the primary care business and the ability of physicians to own primary care centers and/or also be medical directors for their own centers, competition for growth in existing and expanding markets is not limited to large competitors with substantial financial resources. There have also been increasing indications of interest from non-traditional providers and others to enter the primary care space and/or develop innovative technologies or business activities that could be disruptive to the industry. For example, payors have and may continue to acquire primary care and other provider assets. Our growth strategy and business could be adversely affected if we are not able to continue to penetrate existing markets, successfully expand into new markets, maintain or establish new relationships with payors, recruit qualified physicians or if we experience significant patient attrition to our competitors. See “Risk Factors-Risks Related to Our Business-The healthcare industry is highly competitive.”
We believe the principal competitive factors for serving the healthcare market for adults on Medicare include: patient experience, quality of care, health outcomes, total cost of care, brand identity and trust in that brand. We believe we compete favorably on these factors.
Government Regulations
Our operations and those of our affiliated physician practice organizations are subject to extensive federal, state and local governmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations require us to meet various standards relating to, among other things, billings and reports to government payment programs, primary care centers and equipment, dispensing of pharmaceuticals, management of centers, personnel qualifications, maintenance of proper records, and quality assurance programs and patient care. If any of our operations or those of our affiliated physicians are found to violate applicable laws or regulations, we could suffer severe consequences that would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and stock price, including:
• suspension or termination of our participation in government and/or private payment programs;
• refunds of amounts received in violation of law or applicable payment program requirements dating back to the applicable statute of limitation periods;
• loss of our licenses required to operate healthcare facilities or administer pharmaceuticals in the states in which we operate;
• criminal or civil liability, fines, damages or monetary penalties for violations of healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Civil Monetary Penalties Law of the Social Security Act, Stark Law, the FCA and/or state analogs to these federal enforcement authorities, or other regulatory requirements;
• enforcement actions by governmental agencies and/or state law claims for monetary damages by patients who believe their health information has been used, disclosed or not properly safeguarded in violation of federal or state patient privacy laws, including the regulations implementing HIPAA and the Privacy Act;
• mandated changes to our practices or procedures that significantly increase operating expenses or decrease our revenue;
• imposition of and compliance with corporate integrity agreements that could subject us to ongoing audits and reporting requirements as well as increased scrutiny of our billing and business practices which could lead to potential fines, among other things;
• termination of various relationships and/or contracts related to our business, including joint venture arrangements, contracts with payors, real estate leases and provider employment arrangements;
• changes in and reinterpretation of rules and laws by a regulatory agency or court, such as state corporate practice of medicine laws, that could affect the structure and management of our business and its affiliated physician practice corporations;
• negative adjustments to government payment models including, but not limited to, Medicare Parts A, B and C and Medicaid; and
• harm to our reputation, which could negatively impact our business relationships, the terms of payor contracts, our ability to attract and retain patients and physicians, our ability to obtain financing and our access to new business opportunities, among other things.
We expect that our industry will continue to be subject to substantial regulation, the scope and effect of which are difficult to predict. Our activities could be subject to investigations, audits and inquiries by various government and regulatory agencies and private payors with whom we contract at any time in the future. Adverse findings from such investigations and audits could bring severe consequences that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and stock price. In addition, private payors could require pre-payment audits of claims, which can negatively affect cash flow, or terminate contracts for repeated deficiencies.
There is no requirement in the states in which we operate for a risk-bearing provider to register as an insurance company, and we have not registered as such in any of the states in which we operate.
Federal Anti-Kickback Statute
The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service, for which payment may be made under federal and state healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
Federal criminal penalties for the violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute include imprisonment, fines and exclusion of the provider from future participation in the federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute are punishable by imprisonment for up to ten years, fines of up to $100,000 per kickback or both. Larger fines can be imposed upon corporations under the provisions of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the Alternate Fines Statute. Individuals and entities convicted of violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute are subject to mandatory exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs for a minimum of five years. Civil penalties for violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute include up to $100,000 in monetary penalties per violation, repayments of up to three times the total payments between the parties to the arrangement and suspension from future participation in Medicare and Medicaid. Court decisions have held that the statute may be violated even if only one purpose of remuneration is to induce referrals. The ACA amended the federal Anti-Kickback Statute to clarify the intent that is required to prove a violation. Under the statute as amended, the defendant does not need to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute or have the specific intent to violate it. In addition, the ACA amended the federal Anti-Kickback Statute to provide that any claims for items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute are considered false or fraudulent for purposes of the FCA.
The federal Anti-Kickback Statute includes statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors that protect certain arrangements. These exceptions and safe harbors are voluntary. Business transactions and arrangements that are structured to comply fully with an applicable safe harbor do not violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. However, transactions and arrangements that do not satisfy all elements of a relevant safe harbor do not necessarily violate the law. When an arrangement does not satisfy a safe harbor, the arrangement must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in light of the parties’ intent and the arrangement’s potential for abuse. Arrangements that do not satisfy a safe harbor may be subject to greater scrutiny by enforcement agencies.
We enter into several arrangements that could potentially implicate the Anti-Kickback Statute if requisite intent was present, such as:
• Joint ventures. We operate certain of our centers under joint ventures with managed care plans or other healthcare providers. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, these joint ventures represented an immaterial portion of our total revenues. Although we do not expressly seek to enter into new joint ventures, it is possible that the payor landscape in certain markets we may attempt to enter in the future may make entering into additional joint ventures attractive. Our relationships with payors may not fully satisfy a safe harbor. Although failure to comply with a safe harbor does not render an arrangement illegal under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, an arrangement that does not operate within a safe harbor may be subject to increased scrutiny and the Office of Inspector General (the “OIG”) of HHS has warned in the past that certain joint venture relationships have a potential for abuse. Joint ventures that fall outside the safe harbors are evaluated on a case-by-case basis under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. In this regard, we have endeavored to structure our joint ventures to satisfy as many elements of the safe harbor for investments in small entities as we believe are commercially reasonable. For example, we believe that these investments are offered and made by us on a fair market value basis and provide returns to the investors in proportion to their actual investment in the venture. However, since the arrangements may not satisfy all of the requirements of an applicable safe harbor, these arrangements could be subject to scrutiny on the ground that they are intended to induce patient referrals.
• Lease arrangements. We lease space for certain of our centers from one of our payor partners. We endeavor to structure these arrangements to comply with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbor for space rentals in all material respects.
• Discounts. Our centers sometimes acquire certain items and services at a discount that may be reimbursed by a federal healthcare program. We endeavor to structure our vendor contracts that include discount or rebate provisions to comply with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbor for discounts.
• Sales forces and patient recruitment. The OIG has expressed concern regarding the use of non-employed sales forces to recruit or facilitate the recruiting of patients or referrals, especially when the sales agent is compensated in a manner that provides rewards or incentives on a volume or value basis. Accordingly, commissions or per-patient based compensation methodologies are closely scrutinized by federal agencies. We employ our own sales force and attempt to meet the Anti-Kickback Safe Harbor for Bona Fide Employment; however, in limited instances we use external companies to assist with certain aspects of these efforts and attempt to structure to meet the Personal Services Safe Harbour. In doing so, we believe that these arrangements do not violate the Anti-Kickback Statute or other applicable laws. Additionally, the provision of free or discounted items, services or other renumeration in connection with patient recruitment has been scrutinized by OIG. We attempt to structure any offer or actual transfer of renumeration to prospective or current patients in a manner consistent with applicable exceptions and guidance issued by OIG. On November 1, 2021, the Company received a civil investigative demand (“CID”) from the United States Department of Justice. According to the CID, the Department of Justice is investigating whether the Company may have violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3722. The CID requests certain documents and information related to the Company’s relationships with third-party marketing agents and related to the Company’s provision of free transportation to federal health care beneficiaries and requests information and documents related to such matters. We are cooperating with the Department of Justice and are in the process of producing information and documentation in response to the CID. We are currently unable to predict the outcome of this investigation or whether litigation is probable.
• As a result of this CID, January 10, 2022, plaintiff Reginald T. Allison, commenced a purported securities class action in the Northern District of Illinois, against Oak Street Health, Inc., Michael Pykosz, our CEO, and Timothy Cook, our CFO, alleging that we, and such executive officers, made false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about our business, operations and prospects related to matters that are the subject of the CID. Regardless of the outcomes, either of these matters has the potential to have an adverse impact on us due to any related defense and settlement costs, diversions of management resources and other factors.
If any of our business transactions or arrangements, including those described above, were found to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, we could face, among other things, criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including possible exclusion from
participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other state and federal healthcare programs. Any findings that we have violated these laws could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and stock price.
Risk Bearing Provider Regulation
Certain of the states where we currently operate or may choose to operate in the future regulate the operations and financial condition of risk bearing providers like us and our affiliated providers. These regulations can include capital requirements, licensing or certification, governance controls and other similar matters. While these regulations have not had a material impact on our business to date, as we continue to expand, these rules may require additional resources and capitalization and add complexity to our business.
Stark Law
The Stark Law prohibits a physician who has a financial relationship, or who has an immediate family member who has a financial relationship, with entities providing Designated Health Services (“DHS”) from referring Medicare patients to such entities for the furnishing of DHS, unless an exception applies. Although uncertainty exists, federal agencies and at least one court have taken the position that the Stark Law also applies to Medicaid. DHS is defined to include clinical laboratory services, physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, radiology services including magnetic resonance imaging, computerized axial tomography scans, and ultrasound services, radiation therapy services and supplies, durable medical equipment and supplies, parenteral and enteral nutrients, equipment, and supplies, prosthetics, orthotics and prosthetic devices and supplies, home health services, outpatient prescription drugs, inpatient and outpatient hospital services and outpatient speech-language pathology services. The types of financial arrangements between a physician and an entity providing DHS that trigger the self-referral prohibitions of the Stark Law are broad and include direct and indirect ownership and investment interests and compensation arrangements. The Stark Law prohibits any entity providing DHS that has received a prohibited referral from presenting, or causing to be presented, a claim or billing for the services arising out of the prohibited referral. Similarly, the Stark Law prohibits an entity from “furnishing” a DHS to another entity in which it has a financial relationship when that entity bills for the service. The Stark Law also prohibits self-referrals within an organization by its own physicians, although broad exceptions exist that cover employed physicians and those referring DHS that are ancillary to the physician’s practice to the physician group. The prohibition applies regardless of the reasons for the financial relationship and the referral. Unlike the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law is a strict liability violation where unlawful intent need not be demonstrated.
If the Stark Law is implicated, the financial relationship must fully satisfy a Stark Law exception. If an exception is not satisfied, then the parties to the arrangement could be subject to sanctions. Sanctions for violation of the Stark Law include denial of payment for claims for services provided in violation of the prohibition, refunds of amounts collected in violation of the prohibition, a civil penalty of up to $15,000 for each service arising out of the prohibited referral, a civil penalty of up to $100,000 against parties that enter into a scheme to circumvent the Stark Law prohibition, civil assessment of up to three times the amount claimed and potential exclusion from the federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Amounts collected on claims related to prohibited referrals must be reported and refunded generally within 60 days after the date on which the overpayment was identified. Furthermore, Stark Law violations and failure to return overpayments in a timely manner can form the basis for False Claims Act (“FCA”) liability, as discussed below.
If CMS or other regulatory or enforcement authorities determine that claims have been submitted for referrals by us that violate the Stark Law, we would be subject to the penalties described above. In addition, it might be necessary to restructure existing compensation agreements with our physicians. Any such penalties and restructuring or other required actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Fraud and Abuse under State Law
Some states in which we operate centers have laws prohibiting physicians from holding financial interests in various types of medical facilities to which they refer patients. Some of these laws could potentially be interpreted broadly as prohibiting physicians who hold shares of our publicly traded stock or are physician owners from referring patients to our centers if the centers perform services for their patients or do not otherwise satisfy an exception to the law. States also have laws similar to or stricter than the federal Anti-Kickback Statute that may affect our ability to receive referrals from physicians with whom we have financial relationships. Some state anti-kickback laws also include civil and criminal penalties. Some of these laws include exemptions that may be applicable to our physician relationships or for financial interests limited to shares of publicly traded stock. Some, however, may include no explicit exemption for certain types of agreements and/or relationships entered into with physicians. If these laws are interpreted to apply to physicians who hold equity interests in our centers or to physicians who hold our publicly traded stock, and for which no applicable exception exists, we may be required to terminate or restructure our relationships with these physicians and could be subject to criminal, civil and administrative sanctions, refund requirements and exclusions from government healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and stock price.
Similarly, states have beneficiary inducement prohibitions and consumer protection laws that may be triggered by the offering of inducements, incentives and other forms of remuneration to patients and prospective patients. Violations range from civil to criminal and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Corporate Practice of Medicine and Fee-Splitting
The laws and regulations relating to our operations vary from state to state and many states prohibit general business corporations, such as us, from practicing medicine, controlling physicians’ medical decisions or engaging in some practices such as splitting professional fees with physicians. We currently contract with affiliated physician-owned professional corporations who provide healthcare services that are required to be provided by licensed healthcare professionals. Pursuant to the MSA, we provide a comprehensive suite of administrative services to those professional corporations in exchange for the payment by such professional corporations of a management fee. While we believe that we are in substantial compliance with state laws prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting, other parties may assert that, despite the way we are structured, we could be engaged in the corporate practice of medicine or unlawful fee-splitting. Were such allegations to be asserted successfully before the appropriate judicial or administrative forums, we could be subject to adverse judicial or administrative penalties, certain contracts could be determined to be unenforceable and we may be required to restructure our contractual arrangements. The laws of other states do not prohibit non-physician entities from employing physicians to practice medicine but may retain a ban on some types of fee-splitting arrangements.
Violations of the corporate practice of medicine vary by state and may result in physicians being subject to disciplinary action, as well as to forfeiture of revenues from payors for services rendered. For lay entities, violations may also bring both civil and, in more extreme cases, criminal liability for engaging in medical practice without a license. Some of the relevant laws, regulations and agency interpretations in states with corporate practice of medicine restrictions have been subject to limited judicial and regulatory interpretation. In limited cases, courts have required management services companies to divest or reorganize structures deemed to violate corporate practice restrictions. Moreover, state laws are subject to change. Any allegations or findings that we have violated these laws could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Telehealth Regulations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth services increased dramatically. There are a myriad of state and federal regulations relating to telehealth, including licensure of the professional involved, locations of services, modality, privacy, establishment of a provider/patient relationship and recordkeeping. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS has made several changes in the manner in which Medicare will pay for telehealth visits, many of which relax previous requirements, including site requirements for both the providers and patients, telehealth modality requirements and others. State law applicable to telehealth, particularly licensure requirements, has also been relaxed in many jurisdictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These relaxed regulations have allowed us to continue operating our business and delivering care to our patients predominantly through telehealth modalities. It is unclear which, if any, of these changes will remain in place permanently and which will be rolled-back following the COVID-19 pandemic. If regulations change to restrict our ability to or prohibit us from delivering care through telehealth modalities, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
The False Claims Act
The federal FCA is a means of policing false bills or false requests for payment in the healthcare delivery system. Among other things, the FCA authorizes the imposition of up to three times the government’s damages and significant per claim civil penalties on any “person” (including an individual, organization or company) who, among other acts:
• knowingly presents or causes to be presented to the federal government a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;
• knowingly makes, uses or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim;
• knowingly makes, uses or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay the government, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the federal government; or
• conspires to commit the above acts.
In addition, amendments to the FCA and Social Security Act impose severe penalties for the knowing and improper retention of overpayments collected from government payors. Under these provisions, within 60 days of identifying and quantifying an overpayment, a provider is required to notify CMS or the Medicare Administrative Contractor of the overpayment and the reason for it and return the overpayment. An overpayment impermissibly retained could subject us to liability under the FCA, exclusion from government healthcare programs and penalties under the federal Civil Monetary Penalty statute. As a result of these provisions, our procedures for identifying and processing overpayments may be subject to greater scrutiny.
The penalties for a violation of the FCA range from $5,500 to $11,000 (adjusted for inflation) for each false claim, plus up to three times the amount of damages caused by each false claim, which can be as much as the amounts received directly or indirectly from the government for each such false claim. On December 13, 2021, the DOJ issued a final rule announcing adjustments to FCA penalties, under which the per claim range increases to a range from $11,803 to $23,603 per claim.
The federal government has used the FCA to prosecute a wide variety of alleged false claims and fraud allegedly perpetrated against Medicare and state healthcare programs, including but not limited to coding errors, billing for services not rendered, the submission of false cost or other reports, billing for services at a higher payment rate than appropriate, billing under a comprehensive code as well as under one or more component codes included in the comprehensive code, billing for care that is not considered medically necessary and false reporting of risk-adjusted diagnostic codes to MA plans. The ACA provides that claims tainted by a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute are false for purposes of the FCA. Some courts have held that filing claims or failing to refund amounts collected in violation of the Stark Law can form the basis for liability under the FCA. In addition to the provisions of the FCA, which provide for civil enforcement, the federal government can use several criminal statutes to prosecute persons who are alleged to have submitted false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal government. Any allegations or findings that we have violated the FCA could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
As discussed above, on November 1, 2021, the Company received a civil investigative demand (“CID”) from the United States Department of Justice. According to the CID, the Department of Justice is investigating whether the Company may have violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3722. The CID requests certain documents and information related to the Company’s relationships with third-party marketing agents and related to the Company’s provision of free transportation to federal health care beneficiaries and requests information and documents related to such matters. We are cooperating with the Department of Justice and are in the process of producing information and documentation in response to the CID. We are currently unable to predict the outcome of this investigation or whether litigation is probable.
In addition to the FCA, the various states in which we operate have adopted their own analogs of the FCA. States are becoming increasingly active in using their false claims laws to police the same activities listed above, particularly with regard to Medicaid fee-for-service and Managed Medicaid programs.
Civil Monetary Penalties Statute
The Civil Monetary Penalties Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a, authorizes the imposition of civil monetary penalties, assessments and exclusion against an individual or entity based on a variety of prohibited conduct, including, but not limited to:
• presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors that the individual or entity knows or should know are for an item or service that was not provided as claimed or is false or fraudulent;
• offering remuneration to a federal health care program beneficiary that the individual or entity knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary to order or receive health care items or services from a particular provider;
• arranging contracts with an entity or individual excluded from participation in the federal health care programs;
• violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute;
• making, using or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim for payment for items and services furnished under a federal health care program;
• making, using or causing to be made any false statement, omission or misrepresentation of a material fact in any application, bid or contract to participate or enroll as a provider of services or a supplier under a federal health care program; and
• failing to report and return an overpayment owed to the federal government.
Substantial civil monetary penalties may be imposed under the federal Civil Monetary Penalty Statute and may vary depending on the underlying violation. In addition, an assessment of not more than three times the total amount claimed for each item or service may also apply and a violator may be subject to exclusion from federal and state health care programs.
We could be exposed to a wide range of allegations to which the federal Civil Monetary Penalty Statute would apply. We perform monthly checks on our employees, affiliated providers and certain affiliates and vendors using government databases to confirm that these individuals have not been excluded from federal programs. However, should an individual become excluded and we fail to detect it, a federal agency could require us to refund amounts attributable to all claims or services performed or sufficiently linked to an excluded individual. Likewise, our patient programs, which can include enhancements, incentives and additional care coordination not otherwise covered under traditional Medicare, could be alleged to be intended to influence the patient’s choice in obtaining services or the amount or types of services sought. Thus, we cannot foreclose the possibility that we will face allegations subject to the Civil Monetary Penalty Statute with the potential for a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Privacy and Security
The federal regulations promulgated under the authority of HIPAA require us to provide certain protections to patients and their health information. The HIPAA privacy and security regulations extensively regulate the use and disclosure of “protected health information” (“PHI”) and require covered entities, which include healthcare providers and their business associates, to implement and maintain administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the security of such information. Additional security requirements apply to electronic PHI. These regulations also provide patients with substantive rights with respect to their health information.
The HIPAA privacy and security regulations also require us to enter into written agreements with certain contractors, known as business associates, to whom we disclose PHI. Covered entities may be subject to penalties for, among other activities, failing to enter into a business associate agreement where required by law or as a result of a business associate violating HIPAA, if the business associate is found to be an agent of the covered entity and acting within the scope of the agency. Business associates are also directly subject to liability under certain HIPAA privacy and security regulations. In instances where we act as a business associate to a covered entity, there is the potential for additional liability beyond our status as a covered entity.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (“HHS OCR”) also has proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule that have the potential to impact patients, covered entities, and business associates. Certain of the proposed changes are focused on the patient right of access requirements and processes, while other proposed changes would impact how covered entities may share information and would relax the requirements for providers to document how their Notice of Privacy Practices is provided to patients. It is unclear when HHS OCR will issue final regulations.
Covered entities must notify affected individuals of breaches of unsecured PHI without unreasonable delay but no later than 60 days after discovery of the breach by a covered entity or its agents. Reporting must also be made to the HHS Office for Civil Rights and, for breaches of unsecured PHI involving more than 500 residents of a state or jurisdiction, to the media. All impermissible uses or disclosures of unsecured PHI are presumed to be breaches unless the covered entity or business associate establishes that there is a low probability the PHI has been compromised. Various state laws and regulations may also require us to notify affected individuals in the event of a data breach involving personal information without regard to the probability of the information being compromised. We have had no data breaches during the years 2019- 2021.
Violations of HIPAA by providers like us, including, but not limited to, failing to implement appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards, have resulted in enforcement actions and in some cases triggered settlement payments or civil monetary penalties. Penalties for impermissible use or disclosure of PHI were increased by the HITECH Act by imposing tiered penalties of more than $50,000 (as adjusted) per violation and up to $1.5 million (as adjusted) per year for identical violations. In addition, HIPAA provides for criminal penalties of up to $250,000 and ten years in prison, with the severest penalties for obtaining and disclosing PHI with the intent to sell, transfer or use such information for commercial advantage, personal gain or malicious harm. Further, state attorneys general may bring civil actions seeking either injunction or damages in response to violations of the HIPAA privacy and security regulations that threaten the privacy of state residents. There can be no assurance that we will not be the subject of an investigation (arising out of a reportable breach incident, audit or otherwise) alleging non-compliance with HIPAA regulations in our maintenance of PHI.
Under the 21st Century Cures Act, Congress authorized the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) to engage in rulemaking that would drive interoperability, prohibit information blocking, and provide timely access to health information through standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) to seamlessly coordinate care, improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care. CMS also finalized regulations under their authority to regulate Medicare and Medicaid
managed care plans, qualified health plans offered on the federally facilitated Exchange, and hospitals that improve patient access to their health information and encourage provider-to-provider and payor-to-payor exchanges of health information that are designed to reduce the burden on payors and providers. In October 2020, ONC published an Interim Final Rule that extended the applicability date for the Information Blocking provisions until April 2021. The Interim Final Rule also laid out a compliance timeline that extends through December 31, 2023.
Compliance with changes in privacy and information security laws and with rapidly evolving industry standards may result in our incurring significant expense due to increased investment in technology and the development of new operational processes. Further, to the extent we fail to comply with one or more federal and/or state privacy and security requirements or if we are found to be responsible for the non-compliance of our vendors, we could be subject to substantial fines or penalties, damage to our reputation, as well as third-party claims which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, capital resources and liquidity.
Healthcare reform
In March 2010, significant reforms to the United States health care system were enacted through Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act (collectively the “ACA”). Although many of the provisions of the ACA took effect immediately, and other provisions continue to be delayed and/or subsequently repealed, the reforms could continue to have an impact on our business in a number of ways. We cannot predict how employers, private payors or persons buying insurance might react to federal and state healthcare reform legislation, whether already enacted or enacted in the future, nor can we predict what form many of these regulations will take before implementation.
Other aspects of the 2010 healthcare reform laws may also affect our business, including provisions that impact the Medicare and Medicaid programs. These and other provisions of the ACA remain subject to ongoing uncertainty due to developing regulations and clarifications, including those described above, as well as continuing political and legal challenges at both the federal and state levels. Since 2016, various administrative and legislative initiatives have been implemented that have had adverse impacts on the ACA and its programs. For example, in October 2017, the federal government announced that cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers would end, effective immediately, unless Congress appropriated the funds. In December 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which: (i) eliminated the penalty under the ACA’s individual mandate for individuals who fail to obtain a qualifying health insurance plan; (ii) repealed the health insurance tax, which applied to most fully insured plans, beginning in 2021; and (iii) repealed the so-called Cadillac Tax, which imposed an excise tax of 40% on premiums for employer-sponsored individuals and families that exceed a certain minimum threshold. Moreover, in February 2018, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act (the “BBA”) which, among other things, repealed the Independent Payment Advisory Board that was established by the ACA and intended to reduce the rate of growth in Medicare spending by extending sequestration cuts to Medicare payments through fiscal year 2027. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020 subsequently extended Medicare sequestration cuts through the fiscal year 2030. While certain provisions of the BBA increased the scope of benefits available under MA for certain chronically ill federal health care program beneficiaries beginning in 2020, the ultimate impact of such changes cannot be predicted.
The ACA has also been the subject of continuing legal challenges. Most recently, a collection of 20 state governors and state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the Northern District of Texas seeking to enjoin the entire ACA following the elimination of the individual mandate penalty. In March of 2020 the United States Supreme Court granted cert in the case and heard oral arguments on November 10, 2020. On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing and reversed the Fifth Circuit’s judgment in respect to standing, vacated the Fifth Circuit’s judgment and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss the case.
While there may be significant changes to the healthcare environment in the future, the specific changes and their timing are not yet apparent. As a result, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the future with respect to the exchanges and other core aspects of the current health care marketplace. Future elections may create conditions for Congress to adopt new federal coverage programs that may disrupt our current commercial payor revenue streams. While specific changes and their timing are not yet apparent, such changes could lower our reimbursement rates or increase our expenses. Any failure to successfully implement strategic initiatives that respond to future legislative, regulatory, and executive changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
CMS and state Medicaid agencies also routinely adjust the risk adjustment factor which is central to payment under MA and Managed Medicaid programs in which we participate. The monetary “coefficient” values associated with diseases that we manage in our population are subject to change by CMS and state agencies. Such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Other regulations
Our operations are subject to various state hazardous waste and non-hazardous medical waste disposal laws. These laws do not classify as hazardous most of the waste produced from medical services. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require employers to provide workers who are occupationally subject to blood or other potentially infectious materials with prescribed protections. These regulatory requirements apply to all healthcare facilities, including primary care centers, and require employers to make a determination as to which employees may be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials and to have in effect a written exposure control plan. In addition, employers are required to provide or employ hepatitis B vaccinations, personal protective equipment and other safety devices, infection control training, post-exposure evaluation and follow-up, waste disposal techniques and procedures and work practice controls. Employers are also required to comply with various record-keeping requirements.
Federal and state law also governs the dispensing of controlled substances by physicians. For example, the Prescription Drug Marketing Act governs the distribution of drug samples. Physicians are required to report relationships they have with the manufacturers of drugs, medical devices and biologics through the Open Payments Program database. Any allegations or findings that we or our providers have violated any of these laws or regulations could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, while none of the states in which we currently operated have required it, certain states in which we may desire to do business in the future have certificate of need programs regulating the establishment or expansion of healthcare facilities, including primary care centers. These regulations can be complex and time-consuming. Any failure to comply with such regulatory requirements could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Human Capital Management
Employees and Culture
As of December 31, 2021, the Company employed approximately 4,800 employees, including approximately 500 primary care providers. None of our employees are represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good. Based on an internal survey of all of our primary care providers as of June 30, 2019, 95% of our primary care providers would recommend Oak Street Health as a great place to work.
Our team has a steadfast commitment to executing on the mission and vision of our business. To achieve our goals, we strive to create an “Oaky” culture centered around creating an unmatched patient experience, driving clinical excellence, taking ownership, fostering innovation and radiating positive energy. Our unique combination of talent and healthcare experience across a number of professional settings, as well as our team’s commitment to our “Oaky” culture, underpins our success in all that we do.
Talent Management and Engagement
Our focused approach to recruiting and developing talent helps us attract outstanding physicians, nurse practitioners, other Care Team members and regional leaders in order to continue to grow and scale our business. We believe that this approach has supported the creation of a strong pipeline of top tier talent for leadership roles within our company and provides a differentiated value proposition for our providers. We have created multiple programs (i.e. Executive Women in Leadership) to help us attract best-in-class teams and provide the necessary training to foster professional development. In recent years we have added a variety of training and development programs, including regional leadership development, in-house provider recruitment and a medical scribe program. We believe we have demonstrated a consistent ability to attract and retain top clinical talent given our unique value proposition to physicians and nurse practitioners. Further, we reward our employees with what we believe they need to succeed, including competitive salaries, performance- based bonus plans, Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 15% discount and a 401K with a 4% company match. Our team members also have a deep understanding of the communities in which our patients live, as we strive to hire from within the local community.
Employee Health and Wellbeing
We also offer competitive benefits such as flexible health benefit options, a Health Savings Account plan, protection for the unexpected with Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment insurance, Short- and Long- Term Disability and backup childcare days, tax favored benefits through Flexible Spending Accounts and Commuter Assistance. Finally, to support our employees’ overall well-being, we offer an Employee Assistance Program.
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion
We recognize the importance of having a diverse and inclusive environment as part of our mission of transforming healthcare. We embrace and encourage diversity, equality and inclusion (“DE&I”) and strive to continuously improve. To rebuild healthcare as it should be, we have set the following DE&I goals: 1) Build a diverse and empowered team at all levels of the organization; 2) Advance health equity for patients through outcomes and patient experience; and 3) Improve communities through local investment, job creation and service. We publish an annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Oak Street Health report (“DE&I annual report”) to further transparency and accountability on our progress towards these goals. To date, we have furthered our goals by hiring our first Director of DE&I, launching the Executive Women in Leadership program for women in senior director and above roles, providing employees with training in topics such as cultural sensitivity and sexual harassment, seeking employee input on how to make Oak Street Health a more inclusive place to work and establishing a number of People Resource Groups (PRGs) focused on fostering diversity, inclusion and belonging within Oak Street Health (with two added in 2021). In addition, we have endorsed a pledge to collect, stratify and review the race, ethnicity, language and sex data for at least 50% of our patient populations in the next three years and have implemented a Capital Expenditure Diversity Spending program with the intent of monitoring and promoting Oak Street Health’s spend with diversity-owned companies in expansion-related capital expenditures.
The following data comes from the DE&I annual report, which contained data for all Oak Street Health team members as of September 2021. The Oak Street Health team is racially diverse: 35% of the Oak Street team identifies as Black or African American, 20% as Hispanic/Latino, 6% as Asian, 29% as White and 3% as more than one race. This diversity is reflective of the communities we serve. Additionally, 75% of our employees identify as female, which is in-line with the healthcare workforce overall. This information is self-reported by over 3,800 employees, as of September 30, 2021. Additionally, 75% of our providers identify as female versus the United States physician workforce of 43%.
Community Engagement
We make a concerted effort to invest and reinvest dollars to uplift the neighborhoods surrounding our 125+ centers, from supporting local civic engagement efforts and other initiatives to the revitalization of the areas where we build our community clinics. With each center we’ve built, we’ve invested into the built environment of the local community, providing both jobs to community members as well as vital healthcare access and safe community spaces for seniors to gather, interact, and advance their lives. Ultimately, we strive to be a pillar of our community that serves the needs of all, from hosting events and activities in our community rooms (such as exercise, cooking, computer and painting classes) to serving as trusted, safe community spaces. We are particularly proud of how we’ve leveraged our deep community relationships to step up as a cross-sector community leader in times of need, such as during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we delivered food and medication to patients and community members in need and championed equitable testing and vaccination efforts.
General Corporate Information
Oak Street Health, Inc. was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on October 22, 2019. Our principal executive offices are located at 30 W. Monroe Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, Illinois 60603. Our telephone number is (312) 733-9730. Our website address is www.oakstreethealth.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this filing, and you should not consider any information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website as part of this filing. We are a holding company, and all of our business operations are conducted through our subsidiaries and affiliated medical groups.
Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and, if applicable, all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge on or through our web site, http://www.oakstreethealth.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. The SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov, contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
In addition to the other information in this report and our other filings with the SEC, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, which could materially and adversely affect our business operations, financial condition and results of operations. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that affect us.
Summary of Risk Factors
The following is a summary of the risk factors our business faces. The list below is not exhaustive, and investors should read this “Risk Factors” section in full. Some of the risks we face include:
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our history of net losses and our ability to achieve or maintain profitability in an environment of increasing expenses;
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the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or any other pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease in the United States or worldwide on our business, financial condition and results of operations;
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the effect of our relatively limited operating history on investors’ ability to evaluate our current business and future prospects;
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the viability of our growth strategy and our ability to realize expected results;
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our ability to manage our growth effectively, execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service and patient satisfaction and adequately address competitive challenges;
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our ability to attract new patients;
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the dependence of our revenues and operations on a limited number of key payors;
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the potential adverse impact of legal proceedings and litigation;
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the risk of termination or non-renewal of the Medicare Advantage contracts held by the health plans with which we contract, or the termination or non-renewal of our contracts with those plans;
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the impact on our business from changes in the payor mix of our patients and potential decreases in our reimbursement rates;
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our ability to compete in the healthcare industry;
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our ability to timely enroll new physicians and other providers in governmental healthcare programs before we can receive reimbursement for their services;
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the impact on our business of reductions in Medicare reimbursement rates or changes in the rules governing the Medicare program;
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our dependence on reimbursements by third-party payors and payments by individuals;
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our assumption under most of our agreements with health plans of some or all of the risk that the cost of providing services will exceed our compensation;
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the impact on our business of renegotiation, non-renewal or termination of capitation agreements with health plans;
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the impact on our results from operations from Medicare’s risk adjustment payment system;
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risks associated with estimating the amount of revenues and refund liabilities that we recognize under our risk agreements with health plans;
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the impact on our business of security breaches, loss of data or other disruptions causing the compromise of sensitive information or preventing us from accessing critical information;
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the impact on our business of disruptions in our disaster recovery systems or management continuity planning;
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the impact of reductions in the quality ratings of the health plans we serve;
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the risk of our agreements with the physician equity holder of our practices being deemed invalid;
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our ability to maintain and enhance our reputation and brand recognition;
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our ability to effectively invest in, implement improvements to and properly maintain the uninterrupted operation and data integrity of our information technology and other business systems;
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our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection for our technology;
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the potential adverse impact of claims by third parties that we are infringing on or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights;
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risks associated with existing securities class action litigation;
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our ability to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, know-how and other internally developed information;
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the impact of any restrictions on our use of or ability to license data or our failure to license data and integrate third-party technologies; and
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other risk factors listed in this “Risk Factors” section.
Risks Related to Our Business
We have a history of net losses, we anticipate increasing expenses in the future, and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.
We have incurred net losses on an annual basis since our inception. We incurred net losses of $(409.4) million, $(188.0) million and $(107.9) million, for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We expect our aggregate costs will increase substantially in the foreseeable future and our losses will continue as we expect to invest heavily in increasing our patient base, expanding our operations, hiring additional employees and operating as a public company. These investments may be more costly than we expect, and if we do not achieve the benefits anticipated from these investments, or if the realization of these benefits is delayed, they may not result in increased revenues or growth in our business. If our growth rate were to decline significantly or become negative, it could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
To date, we have financed our operations principally from the sale of our equity, revenue from our patient services and the incurrence of indebtedness. Our net cash flow from operations was negative for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019. We may not generate positive cash flow from operations or profitability in any given period, and our limited operating history may make it difficult for investors to evaluate our current business and our future prospects. Additionally, if we are not able to achieve or maintain positive cash flow in the long term, we may require additional financing, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all and/or which would be dilutive to our shareholders. If we are unable to successfully address these risks and challenges as we encounter them, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability could negatively impact the value of our common stock.
The COVID-19 pandemic, or any other pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease in the United States or worldwide, could adversely affect our business.
We face a wide variety of risks related to health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks, especially of infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and its variants. Since first reported in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the global health and economic environment, including millions of confirmed cases and deaths, business slowdowns or shutdowns, labor shortages, supply chain challenges, changes in government spending and requirements, regulatory challenges, inflationary pressures and market volatility. Although we have, to date, managed to continue most of our operations, we cannot predict the future course of events nor can we assure that this global pandemic, including its economic impact, will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.
Our operations have been and, we expect, will continue to be further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic likely will continue to impact our workforce, including staffing levels (as a result of illnesses, quarantine, isolation and absenteeism) and adjusted work locations and schedules; our facilities and access to them; those with whom we do business and on whom we rely to continue our operations; travel restrictions; and, overall, our ability to perform as required, at cost and on schedule, and to achieve and increase efficiencies. The pandemic may require us to continue to take extraordinary measures to protect the health and well-being of our employees. We have incurred and will continue to incur additional costs which may not be fully recoverable. If, going forward, significant portions of our workforce are unable to work effectively, or we are otherwise unable to maintain our level of operations, staffing and performance, we can expect facility closures, work slowdowns or stoppages, and adverse impacts on our overall performance, operations and financial results. The macroeconomic impacts of the pandemic, including a tightened labor market and government requirements, including those related to vaccinations, will also likely continue to affect our company. They may further affect our ability to hire, develop and retain our talented and diverse workforce, to maintain performance levels (especially cost and schedule), and to maintain our corporate culture. We expect to continue to incur additional costs as a result of the COVID-19
outbreak, including to protect the health and well-being of our employees, to respond to government requirements, and as a result of impacts on operations and performance, including staffing and schedule, which costs we may not be fully able to recover. We are and may be subject to additional regulatory requirements, enforcement actions and litigation, again with costs and liabilities that are not fully recoverable or insured.
The continued pandemic has impacted and may continue to impact the company’s supply chains. If our suppliers have increased challenges with their workforce (including as a result of illness, absenteeism, reactions to health and safety or government requirements), facility closures, timely access to necessary components, materials and other supplies at reasonable prices, access to capital, and access to fundamental support services (such as shipping and transportation), they may be unable to provide the agreed-upon goods and services in a timely, compliant and cost-effective manner. We have incurred and may in the future incur additional costs and delays in our business, including as a result of higher prices, schedule delays or the need to identify and develop alternative suppliers.
It is not currently possible to reliably project the direct impact of COVID-19 on our operating revenues and expenses, particularly as new variants present unknown factors. Key factors include the duration and extent of the outbreak in our service areas as well as societal and governmental responses. Patients may continue to be reluctant to seek necessary care given the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic. This could have the effect of deferring healthcare costs that we will need to incur to later periods and may also affect the health of patients who defer treatment, which may cause our costs to increase in the future. Further, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may experience slowed growth or a decline in new patient demand. We also may experience increased internal and third-party medical costs as we provide care for patients suffering from COVID-19. This increase in costs may be particularly significant given the number of our patients who are under capitation agreements. Further, we may face increased competition due to changes to our competitors’ products and services, including modifications to their terms, conditions, and pricing that could materially adversely impact our business, results of operations, and overall financial condition in future periods.
If the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, especially in regions where we have offices or centers, our business activities originating from affected areas could be adversely affected. Disruptive activities could include business closures in impacted areas, reinstating restrictions on our employees’ and service providers’ ability to travel, impacts to productivity if our employees or their family members experience health issues, and potential delays in hiring and onboarding of new employees. We may take further actions that alter our business operations as may be required by local, state, or federal authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees. Such measures could negatively affect our sales and marketing efforts, sales cycles, employee productivity, or customer retention, any of which could harm our financial condition and business operations.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we may not be able to document the health conditions of our patients as completely as we have in the past. Medicare pays capitation using a “risk adjustment model,” which compensates providers based on the health status (acuity) of each individual patient. Payors with higher acuity patients receive more, and those with lower acuity patients receive less. Medicare requires that a patient’s health issues be documented annually regardless of the permanence of the underlying causes. Historically, this documentation was required to be completed during an in-person visit with a patient. As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, Medicare is allowing documentation for conditions identified during video visits with patients. However, given the disruption caused by COVID-19, it is unclear whether we will be able to document the health conditions of our patients as comprehensively as we did during in-person patient visits prior to COVID-19, which may adversely impact our revenue in future periods.
Also, under the CARES Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services distributed grants to healthcare providers to offset the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic related expenses and lost revenues, also known as the Provider Relief Funds. Grants received are subject to the terms and conditions of the program, including that such funds may only be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and will reimburse only for health care related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recipients are not required to repay these funds, provided that they attest to and comply with certain terms and conditions, including not using the funds to reimburse expenses or losses that other sources are obligated to reimburse. As of the date of this filing, we have received $11.2 million in grants from the Provider Relief Funds. We will continue to monitor our compliance with the terms and conditions of the Provider Relief Funds, including demonstrating that the distributions received have been used for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. If we are unable to attest to or comply with current or future terms and conditions our ability to retain some or all of the distributions received may be impacted.
The COVID-19 pandemic could also cause our third-party data center hosting facilities and cloud computing platform providers, which are critical to our infrastructure, to shut down their business, experience security incidents that impact our business, delay or disrupt performance or delivery of services, or experience interference with the supply chain of hardware required by their systems and services, any of which could materially adversely affect our business. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in our employees and those of many of our vendors working from home and conducting work via the internet, and if the network and infrastructure of internet providers becomes overburdened by increased usage or is otherwise unreliable or unavailable, our employees’, and our customers’ and vendors’ employees’, access to the internet to conduct business could be negatively impacted.
Limitations on access or disruptions to services or goods provided by or to some of our suppliers and vendors upon which our platform and business operations relies, could interrupt our ability to provide our platform, decrease the productivity of our workforce, and significantly harm our business operations, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our platform and the other systems or networks used in our business may experience an increase in attempted cyber-attacks, targeted intrusion, ransomware, and phishing campaigns seeking to take advantage of shifts to employees working remotely using their household or personal internet networks and to leverage fears promulgated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of any of these unauthorized attempts could substantially impact our platform, the proprietary and other confidential data contained therein or otherwise stored or processed in our operations, and ultimately our business. Any actual or perceived security incident also may cause us to incur increased expenses to improve our security controls and to remediate security vulnerabilities.
The extent and continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business will depend on certain developments, including: the duration and spread of the outbreak and virus variants; government responses to the pandemic including responses to state budget shortfalls; the impact on our customers and our sales cycles; the availability, effectiveness and receipt of vaccines by our patients and our employees; the impact on customer, industry, or employee events; and the effect on our partners and supply chains, all of which continue to be uncertain and are difficult to fully predict. Because of our business model, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be fully reflected in our results of operations and overall financial condition until future periods.
To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, including but not limited to those relating to cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities, interruptions or delays due to third-parties, or our ability to raise additional capital or generate sufficient cash flows necessary to fulfill our obligations under our existing indebtedness or to expand our operations.
Our relatively limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects.
Our relatively limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and plan for our future growth. We opened our first center in Chicago in 2013, with all of our growth occurring in recent years. We entered into our first fully capitated agreements with health plans in 2016, and we have limited experience managing contracts with full risk. We have encountered and will continue to encounter significant risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by new and growing companies in rapidly changing industries, such as determining appropriate investments for our limited resources, competition from other providers, acquiring and retaining patients, hiring, integrating, training and retaining skilled personnel, determining prices for our services, unforeseen expenses and challenges in forecasting accuracy. Although we have successfully expanded our centers’ footprint outside of the Midwest and intend to continue to expand into new geographical locations, we cannot provide assurance that any new centers we open or new geographical locations we enter will be successful. If we are unable to increase our patient enrollment, successfully manage our third-party medical costs or successfully expand into new patient services, our revenues and our ability to achieve and sustain profitability would be impaired. Additional risks include our ability to effectively manage growth, process, store, protect and use personal data in compliance with governmental regulation, contractual obligations and other legal obligations related to privacy and security and manage our obligations as a provider of healthcare services under Medicare and Medicaid. If our assumptions regarding these and other similar risks and uncertainties, which we use to plan our business, are incorrect or change as we gain more experience operating our business or due to changes in our industry, or if we do not address these challenges successfully, our operating and financial results could differ materially from our expectations and our business could suffer.
We expect to continue to increase our headcount and to hire more physicians, nurses and other specialized medical personnel in the future as we grow our business and open new centers. We will need to continue to hire, train and manage additional qualified information technology, operations and marketing staff, and improve and maintain our technology and information systems to properly manage our growth. If our new hires perform poorly, or if we are unsuccessful in hiring, training, managing and integrating these new employees, or if we are not successful in retaining our existing employees, our business may be adversely affected.
Our growth strategy may not prove viable, and we may not realize expected results.
Our business strategy is to grow rapidly by expanding our network of primary care centers and is significantly dependent on opening new centers in our existing markets, expanding into new geographical locations, recruiting new patients and partnering or contracting with payors, existing medical practices or other healthcare providers to provide primary care services. We seek growth opportunities both organically and through alliances with payors or other primary care providers. Our ability to grow organically depends upon a number of factors, including recruiting new patients, entering into contracts with additional payors, identifying appropriate facilities, obtaining leases, completing internal buildouts of new facilities within proposed timelines and budgets and hiring care teams and other employees. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in pursuing our growth strategy. If we fail to evaluate and execute new business opportunities properly, we may not achieve anticipated benefits and may incur increased costs.
Our growth strategy involves a number of risks and uncertainties, including that:
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we may not be able to successfully enter into contracts with local payors on terms favorable to us or at all. In addition, we compete for payor relationships with other potential players, some of whom may have greater resources than we do. This competition may intensify due to the ongoing consolidation in the healthcare industry, which may increase our costs to pursue such opportunities;
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we may not be able to recruit or retain a sufficient number of new patients to execute our growth strategy, and we may incur substantial costs to recruit new patients and we may be unable to recruit a sufficient number of new patients to offset those costs;
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we may not be able to hire sufficient numbers of physicians and other staff and may fail to integrate our employees, particularly our medical personnel, into our care model;
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when expanding our business into new states, we may be required to comply with laws and regulations that may differ from states in which we currently operate; and
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depending upon the nature of the local market, we may not be able to implement our business model in every local market that we enter, which could negatively impact our revenues and financial condition.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully capitalize on growth opportunities, which may negatively impact our business model, revenues, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service and patient satisfaction or adequately address competitive challenges.
We have experienced and may continue to experience, rapid growth and organizational change, which has placed, and may continue to place, significant demands on our management and our operational and financial resources. Additionally, our organizational structure may become more complex as we improve our operational, financial and management controls, as well as our reporting systems and procedures. We may require significant capital expenditures and the allocation of valuable management resources to grow and change in these areas. We must effectively increase our headcount and continue to effectively train and manage our employees. We will be unable to manage our business effectively if we are unable to alleviate the strain on resources caused by growth in a timely and successful manner. If we fail to effectively manage our anticipated growth and change, the quality of our services may suffer, which could negatively affect our brand and reputation and harm our ability to attract and retain patients and employees.
In addition, as we expand our business, it is important that we continue to maintain a high level of patient service and satisfaction. As our patient base continues to grow, we will need to expand our medical, patient services and other personnel, and our network of partners, to provide personalized patient service. If we are not able to continue to provide high quality medical care with high levels of patient satisfaction, our reputation, as well as our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
If we are unable to attract new patients, our revenue growth will be adversely affected.
To increase our revenues, our business strategy is to expand the number of primary care centers in our network. In order to support such growth, we must continue to recruit and retain a sufficient number of new patients. We are focused on the Medicare-eligible population and face competition from other primary healthcare providers in the recruitment of Medicare-eligible potential patients. If we are unable to convince the Medicare- eligible population of the benefits of our Oak Street Platform or if potential or existing patients prefer the care provider model of one of our competitors, we may not be able to effectively implement our growth strategy, which depends on our ability to grow organically and attract new patients. In addition, our growth strategy is dependent on patients electing to move from fee-for-service to capitation arrangements and selecting us as their primary care provider under their MA plan. Plan enrollment selections for MA are made during an annual enrollment period from November into December of each year; therefore, our ability to grow our patient population with capitation arrangements is dependent in part on our ability to successfully recruit MA patients during the annual enrollment period and to convince MA patients to select us as their primary care provider and not subsequently change that election. Our inability to recruit new patients and retain existing patients, particularly those under capitation arrangements, would harm our ability to execute our growth strategy and may have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial position.
Our revenues and operations are dependent upon a limited number of key payors.
Our operations are dependent on a concentrated number of payors with whom we contract to provide services to patients. We generally manage our payor contracts on a state-by-state basis, entering into a separate contract in each state with the local affiliate of the relevant payor such that no one local payor contract accounts for a majority of our revenues. When aggregating the revenues associated with each payor through its local affiliates, however, Humana, WellCare/ Meridian and Cigna HealthSpring accounted for a total of approximately 62%, 71% and 80% of our capitated revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and Humana alone accounted for approximately 36%, 45% and 57% of our capitated revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We believe that a majority of our revenues will continue to be derived from a limited number of key payors; they may terminate their contracts with us or our physicians credentialed by them upon the occurrence of certain events. The sudden loss of any of our payor partners or the renegotiation of any of our payor contracts could adversely affect our operating results. In the ordinary course of business, we engage in active discussions and renegotiations with payors in respect of the services we provide and the terms of our payor agreements. As the payors’ businesses respond to market dynamics and financial pressures, and as payors make strategic business decisions in respect of the lines of business they pursue and programs in which they participate, certain of our payors may seek to renegotiate or terminate their agreements with us. These discussions could result in reductions to the fees and changes to the scope of services contemplated by our original payor contracts and consequently could negatively impact our revenues, business and prospects.
Because we rely on a limited number of payors for a significant portion of our revenues, we depend on the creditworthiness of these payors. Our payors are subject to a number of risks including reductions in payment rates from governmental programs, higher than expected health care costs and lack of predictability of financial results when entering new lines of business, particularly with high-risk populations. If the financial condition of our payor partners declines, our credit risk could increase. Should one or more of our significant payor partners declare bankruptcy, be declared insolvent or otherwise be restricted by state or federal laws or regulation from continuing in some or all of their operations, this could adversely affect our ongoing revenues, the collectability of our accounts receivable, our bad debt reserves and our net income.
Although we have long-term contracts with many payors, these contracts may be terminated before their term expires for various reasons, such as changes in the regulatory landscape and poor performance by us, subject to certain conditions. Certain of our contracts are terminable immediately upon the occurrence of certain events. Certain of our contracts may be terminated immediately by the partner if we lose applicable licenses, go bankrupt, lose our liability insurance or receive an exclusion, suspension or debarment from state or federal government authorities. Additionally, if a payor were to lose applicable licenses, go bankrupt, lose liability insurance, become insolvent, file for bankruptcy or receive an exclusion, suspension or debarment from state or federal government authorities, our contract with such payor could in effect be terminated. In addition, certain of our contracts may be terminated immediately if we become insolvent or file for bankruptcy. If any of our contracts with our payors is terminated, we may not be able to recover all fees due under the terminated contract, which may adversely affect our operating results.
We may be subject to legal proceedings and litigation, including intellectual property and privacy disputes, which are costly to defend and could materially harm our business and results of operations.
We may be party to lawsuits and legal proceedings in the normal course of business. These matters are often expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. We may face allegations, lawsuits and regulatory inquiries, audits and investigations regarding data privacy, security, labor and employment, consumer protection and intellectual property infringement, including claims related to privacy, patents, publicity, trademarks, copyrights and other rights. We may also face allegations or litigation related to our acquisitions, securities issuances or business practices, including public disclosures about our business. Litigation and regulatory proceedings may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict. Certain of these matters may include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages and include claims for injunctive relief. Additionally, our litigation costs could be significant. Adverse outcomes with respect to litigation or any of these legal proceedings may result in significant settlement costs or judgments, penalties and fines, or require us to modify our services or require us to stop serving certain patients or geographies, all of which could negatively impact our geographical expansion and revenue growth. We may also become subject to periodic audits, which would likely increase our regulatory compliance costs and may require us to change our business practices, which could negatively impact our revenue growth. Managing legal proceedings, litigation and audits, even if we achieve favorable outcomes, is time-consuming and diverts management’s attention from our business.
The results of regulatory proceedings, litigation, claims, and audits cannot be predicted with certainty, and determining reserves for pending litigation and other legal, regulatory and audit matters require significant judgment. There can be no assurance that our expectations will prove correct, and even if these matters are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and the market price of our common stock.
We also may be subject to lawsuits under the False Claims Act (the “FCA”) and comparable state laws for submitting allegedly fraudulent or otherwise inappropriate bills for services to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. These lawsuits, which may be initiated by government authorities as well as private party relators, can involve significant monetary damages, fines, attorney fees and the award of bounties to private plaintiffs who successfully bring these suits, as well as to the government programs. In recent years,
government oversight and law enforcement have become increasingly active and aggressive in investigating and taking legal action against potential fraud and abuse.
On November 1, 2021, we received a civil investigative demand (“CID”) from the United States Department of Justice. According to the CID, the Department of Justice is investigating whether the Company may have violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3722. The CID requests certain documents and information related to the Company’s relationships with third-party marketing agents and related to the Company’s provision of free transportation to federal health care beneficiaries and requests information and documents related to such matters. We are cooperating with the Department of Justice in response to the CID. We are currently unable to predict the outcome of this investigation or whether qui tam or other litigation is probable. Regardless of the outcome, this inquiry has the potential to have an adverse impact on us due to any related defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors. Additionally, on January 10, 2022, plaintiff Reginald T. Allison, commenced a purported securities class action in the Northern District of Illinois, against Oak Street Health, Inc., Michael Pykosz, our CEO, and Timothy Cook, our CFO, alleging that we, and such executive officers, made false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about our business, operations and prospects related to the matters inquired about in the CID.
Furthermore, our business exposes us to potential medical malpractice, professional negligence or other related actions or claims that are inherent in the provision of healthcare services. These claims, with or without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs, and could place a significant strain on our financial resources, divert the attention of management from our core business, harm our reputation and adversely affect our ability to attract and retain patients, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Although we maintain third-party professional liability insurance coverage, it is possible that claims against us may exceed the coverage limits of our insurance policies. Even if any professional liability loss is covered by an insurance policy, these policies typically have substantial deductibles for which we are responsible.
Professional liability claims in excess of applicable insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any professional liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could result in an increase of our professional liability insurance premiums. Insurance coverage varies in cost and can be difficult to obtain, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain insurance coverage in the future on terms acceptable to us or at all. If our costs of insurance and claims increase, then our earnings could decline.
The termination or non-renewal of the Medicare Advantage contracts held by the health plans with which we contract, or the termination or non-renewal of our contracts with those plans, could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and our operations.
In addition to contracting directly with CMS to participate in Medicare, we also contract with other health plans to provide capitated care services with respect to certain of their MA and commercial members. Our contracts with Humana to provide capitated care services for their members accounted for approximately 36%, 45% and 57% of our capitated revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. If a plan with which we contract for these services loses its Medicare contracts with CMS, receives reduced or insufficient government reimbursement under the Medicare program, decides to discontinue its MA and/or commercial plans, decides to contract with another company to provide capitated care services to its members, or decides to directly provide care, our contract with that plan could be at risk and we could lose revenue. In addition, certain of our contracts with health plans are terminable without cause. If any of these contracts were terminated, certain patients covered by such plans may choose to shift to another primary care provider within their health plan’s network. Moreover, our inability to maintain our agreements with health plans, in particular with key payors such as Humana, with respect to their MA members or to negotiate favorable terms for those agreements in the future, could result in the loss of patients and could have a material adverse effect on our profitability and business.
Changes in the payor mix of patients and potential decreases in our reimbursement rates as a result of consolidation among plans could adversely affect our revenues and results of operation.
The amounts we receive for services provided to patients are determined by a number of factors, including the payor mix of our patients and the reimbursement methodologies and rates utilized by our patients’ plans.
Reimbursement rates are generally higher for capitation agreements than they are under fee-for-service arrangements, and capitation agreements provide us with an opportunity to capture any additional surplus we create by investing in preventive care to keep a particular patient’s third-party medical expenses low. Under a capitation plan such as MA, we receive a fixed fee PPPM for services. Under a fee-for-service payor arrangement, we collect fees directly from the payor as services are provided. Fee-for-service arrangements accounted for approximately 0.6%, 0.6%, and 1.1% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Capitation arrangements accounted for approximately 98%, 96%, and 97% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. A significant decrease in the number of capitation arrangements could adversely affect our revenues and results of operation.
The healthcare industry has also experienced a trend of consolidation, resulting in fewer but larger payors that have significant bargaining power, given their market share. Payments from payors are the result of negotiated rates. These rates may decline based on renegotiations and larger payors have significant bargaining power to negotiate higher discounted fee arrangements with healthcare providers. As a result, payors increasingly are demanding discounted fee structures or the assumption by healthcare providers of all or a portion of the financial risk related to paying for care provided through capitation agreements.
The healthcare industry is highly competitive.
We compete directly with national, regional and local providers of healthcare for patients and physicians. There are many other companies and individuals currently providing healthcare services, many of which have been in business longer and/or have substantially more resources. Since there are virtually no substantial capital expenditures required for providing healthcare services, there are few financial barriers to entry in the healthcare industry. Other companies could enter the healthcare industry in the future and divert some or all of our business. Our ability to compete successfully varies from location to location and depends on a number of factors, including the number of competing primary care facilities in the local market and the types of services available at those facilities, our local reputation for quality care of patients, the commitment and expertise of our medical staff, our local service offerings and community programs, the cost of care in each locality, and the physical appearance, location, age and condition of our facilities. If we are unable to attract patients to our centers, our revenues and profitability will be adversely affected. Some of our competitors may have greater recognition and be more established in their respective communities than we are and may have greater financial and other resources than we have. Competing primary care providers may also offer larger facilities or different programs or services than we do, which, combined with the foregoing factors, may result in our competitors being more attractive to our current patients, potential patients and referral sources. Furthermore, while we budget for routine capital expenditures at our facilities to keep them competitive in their respective markets, to the extent that competitive forces cause those expenditures to increase in the future, our financial condition may be negatively affected. In addition, our relationships with governmental and private third-party payors are not exclusive and our competitors have established or could seek to establish relationships with such payors to serve their covered patients. Additionally, as we expand into new geographies, we may encounter competitors with stronger relationships or recognition in the community in such new geography, which could give those competitors an advantage in obtaining new patients. Individual physicians, physician groups and companies in other healthcare industry segments, including those with which we have contracts, and some of which have greater financial, marketing and staffing resources, may become competitors in providing health care services, and this competition may have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial position.
New physicians and other providers must be properly enrolled in governmental healthcare programs before we can receive reimbursement for their services, and there may be delays in the enrollment process.
Each time a new physician joins us, we must enroll the physician under our applicable group identification number for Medicare and Medicaid programs and for certain managed care and private insurance programs before we can receive reimbursement for services the physician renders to beneficiaries of those programs. The estimated time to receive approval for the enrollment is sometimes difficult to predict. These practices result in delayed reimbursement that may adversely affect our cash flows.
With respect to Medicare, providers can retrospectively bill Medicare for services provided 30 days prior to the effective date of the enrollment. In addition, the enrollment rules provide that the effective date of the enrollment will be the later of the date on which the enrollment application was filed and approved by the Medicare contractor, or the date on which the provider began providing services. If we are unable to properly enroll physicians and other applicable healthcare professionals within the 30 days after the provider begins providing services, we will be precluded from billing Medicare for any services which were provided to a Medicare beneficiary more than 30 days prior to the effective date of the enrollment. With respect to Medicaid, new enrollment rules and whether a state will allow providers to retrospectively bill Medicaid for services provided prior to submitting an enrollment application varies by state. Failure to timely enroll providers could reduce our physician services segment total revenues and have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of operations of our physician services segment.
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the “ACA”), as currently structured, added additional enrollment requirements for Medicare and Medicaid, which have been further enhanced through implementing regulations and increased enforcement scrutiny. Every enrolled provider must revalidate its enrollment at regular intervals and must update the Medicare contractors and many state Medicaid programs with significant changes on a timely basis. If we fail to provide sufficient documentation as required to maintain our enrollment, Medicare and Medicaid could deny continued future enrollment or revoke our enrollment and billing privileges.
The requirements for enrollment, licensure, certification, and accreditation may include notification or approval in the event of a transfer or change of ownership or certain other changes. Other agencies or payors with which we have contracts may have similar requirements, and some of these processes may be complex. Failure to provide required notifications or obtain necessary approvals may result in the delay or inability to complete an acquisition or transfer, loss of licensure, lapses in reimbursement, or other penalties. While we make reasonable efforts to substantially comply with these requirements, we cannot assure you that the agencies that administer these programs or have awarded us contracts will not find that we have failed to comply in some material respects. A finding of non-compliance and any resulting payment delays, refund demands or other sanctions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Reductions in Medicare reimbursement rates or changes in the rules governing the Medicare program could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We receive the majority of our revenues from Medicare, either directly or through MA plans, and revenues from Medicare accounted for 98%, 96% and 97% of our revenues for each of the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. In addition, many private payors base their reimbursement rates on the published Medicare rates or are themselves reimbursed by Medicare for the services we provide. As a result, our results of operations are, in part, dependent on government funding levels for Medicare programs, particularly MA programs. Any changes that limit or reduce MA or general Medicare reimbursement levels, such as reductions in or limitations of reimbursement amounts or rates under programs, reductions in funding of programs, expansion of benefits without adequate funding, elimination of coverage for certain benefits, or elimination of coverage for certain individuals or treatments under programs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
The Medicare program and its reimbursement rates and rules are subject to frequent change. These include statutory and regulatory changes, rate adjustments (including retroactive adjustments), administrative or executive orders and government funding restrictions, all of which may materially adversely affect the rates at which Medicare reimburses us for our services. Budget pressures often lead the federal government to reduce or place limits on reimbursement rates under Medicare. Implementation of these and other types of measures has in the past and could in the future result in substantial reductions in our revenues and operating margins. For example, due to the federal sequestration, an automatic 2% reduction in Medicare spending took effect beginning in April 2013. The CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020, designed to provide financial support and resources to individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, temporarily suspended these reductions from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022 and reduced the reduction to 1% from April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022, and extended the sequester by one year, through 2030.
Each year, CMS issues a final rule to establish the MA benchmark payment rates for the following calendar year. Any reduction to MA rates impacting us that is greater than the industry average rate may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. The final impact of the MA rates can vary from any estimate we may have and may be further impacted by the relative growth of our MA patient volumes across markets as well as by the benefit plan designs submitted. It is possible that we may underestimate the impact of the MA rates on our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, our MA revenues may continue to be volatile in the future, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
In addition, CMS often changes the rules governing the Medicare program, including those governing reimbursement. Changes that could adversely affect our business include:
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administrative or legislative changes to base rates or the bases of payment;
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limits on the services or types of providers for which Medicare will provide reimbursement;
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changes in methodology for patient assessment and/or determination of payment levels;
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the reduction or elimination of annual rate increases; or
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an increase in co-payments or deductibles payable by beneficiaries.
Recent legislative, judicial and executive efforts to enact further healthcare reform legislation have caused the future state of the exchanges, other reforms under the ACA, and many core aspects of the current U.S. health care system to be unclear. While specific changes and their timing are not yet apparent, enacted reforms and future legislative, regulatory, judicial, or executive changes, particularly any changes to the MA program, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Among the important statutory changes that are being implemented by CMS include provisions of the IMPACT Act. This law imposes a stringent timeline for implementing benchmark quality measures and data metrics across post-acute care providers. The enactment also mandates specific actions to design a unified payment methodology for post-acute providers. CMS is in the process of promulgating regulations to implement provisions of this enactment. Depending on the final details, the costs of implementation could be significant.
The failure to meet implementation requirements could expose providers to fines and payment reductions.
Changes to the political environment may increase the likelihood of legislative or regulatory changes that would impact us, such as changes to the healthcare regulatory landscape. Examples of such potential changes also could include, among other things, legislative developments or administrative decisions such as moving to a universal health insurance or “single payor” system whereby health insurance is provided to all Americans by the government, the availability of a “public health insurance option” similar to Medicare, government programs that impact access to Medicaid expansion or impact funding provided to families to purchase plans through the health insurance exchanges or changes to the eligibility age for Medicare beneficiaries. These or similar changes could have the impact of decreasing our revenues, increasing our expenses or having other material adverse effects on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. The timing of legislative or executive action related to these potential initiatives, if any, remains uncertain, particularly in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and as such, considerable uncertainty exists surrounding the continued development of healthcare reform measures and/or other potential changes at the federal and/or state level to laws, regulations and other requirements that govern our business.
We have made and continue to make substantial investments in value-based care and building our care capabilities, but there can be no assurances that value-based care initiatives or any other legislation or government programs that align with our strategy and investments will be enacted or continued and will not be modified in a manner that is disadvantageous to our business model. Irrespective of whether such initiatives exist, there can be no assurances that we will be able to successfully execute on the required strategic initiatives that would allow us to provide a competitive and successful value-based care program on the broad scale, and in the desired time frame. Additionally, the ultimate longevity and terms and conditions of any such payment structures or other initiatives remain unclear. For example, as described above, on February 24, 2022, CMMI announced the transition of the Direct Contracting Model to the ACO REACH Model at the end of 2022.
There is also uncertainty regarding both MA payment rates and beneficiary enrollment, which, if reduced, would reduce our overall revenues and net income. For example, although the Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) predicted in 2010 that MA participation would drop substantially by 2020, the CBO has more recently predicted, without taking into account potential future reforms, that enrollment in MA (and other contracts covering Medicare Parts A and B) could reach 31 million by 2027. Although MA enrollment increased by approximately 5.6 million, or by 50%, between the enactment of the ACA in 2010 and 2015, there can be no assurance that this trend will continue. Further, fluctuation in MA payment rates is evidenced by CMS’s annual announcement of the expected average change in revenue from the prior year: for 2021, CMS announced an average increase of 1.7%; for 2020, 2.5% and 3.4% for 2019. Uncertainty over MA enrollment and payment rates present a continuing risk to our business.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (“KFF”), MA enrollment continues to be highly concentrated among a few payors, both nationally and in local regions. In 2018, the KFF reported that three payors together accounted for more than half of MA enrollment and seven firms accounted for approximately 75% of the lives. Consolidation among MA plans in certain regions, or the Medicare program’s failure to attract additional plans to participate in the MA program, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Reductions in reimbursement rates or the scope of services being reimbursed could have a material, adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations or even result in reimbursement rates that are insufficient to cover our operating expenses. Additionally, any delay or default by the government in making Medicare reimbursement payments could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We primarily depend on reimbursements by third-party payors, as well as payments by individuals, which could lead to delays and uncertainties in the reimbursement process.
The reimbursement process is complex and can involve lengthy delays. Although we recognize revenues when we provide services to our patients, we may from time-to-time experience delays in receiving the associated capitation payments or, for our patients on fee-for-service arrangements, the reimbursement for the service provided. In addition, third-party payors may disallow, in whole or in part, requests for reimbursement based on determinations that the patient is not eligible for coverage, certain amounts are not reimbursable under plan coverage or were for services provided that were not medically necessary or additional supporting documentation is necessary. Retroactive adjustments may change amounts realized from third-party payors. As described below, we are subject to audits by such payors, including governmental audits of our Medicare claims, and may be required to repay these payors if a finding is made that we were incorrectly reimbursed. Delays and uncertainties in the reimbursement process may adversely affect accounts receivable, increase the overall costs of collection and cause us to incur additional borrowing costs. Third-party payors are also increasingly focused on controlling healthcare costs, and such efforts, including any revisions to reimbursement policies, may further complicate and delay our reimbursement claims.
In addition, certain of our patients are covered under health plans that require the patient to cover a portion of their own healthcare expenses through the payment of copayments or deductibles. We may not be able to collect the full amounts due with respect to these payments that are the patient’s financial responsibility, or in those instances where physicians provide services to uninsured individuals. To the extent permitted by law, amounts not covered by third-party payors are the obligations of individual
patients for which we may not receive whole or partial payment. Any increase in cost shifting from third-party payors to individual patients, including as a result of high deductible plans for patients, increases our collection costs and reduces overall collections. We have a financial assistance policy in which we assess patients for financial hardship and other criteria that are used to make a good-faith determination of financial need. If a patient is deemed to meet these criteria, we will waive or reduce that patient’s obligation to pay copayments, coinsurance or deductible amounts owed for the services we provide to them. If we were to experience a substantial increase in the number of patients qualifying for such waivers or reductions or in the volume of patient receivables deemed uncollectible, our costs could increase significantly, and we may not be able to offset such additional costs with sufficient revenue.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS has made several changes in the manner in which Medicare will pay for telehealth visits, many of which relax previous requirements, including site requirements for both the providers and patients, telehealth modality requirements and others. State law applicable to telehealth, particularly licensure requirements, has also been relaxed in many jurisdictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These relaxed regulations have allowed us to continue operating our business and delivering care to our patients predominantly through telehealth modalities. It is unclear which, if any, of these changes will remain in place permanently and which will be rolled-back following the COVID-19 pandemic. If regulations change to restrict our ability to or prohibit us from delivering care through telehealth modalities, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
Under most of our agreements with health plans, we assume some or all of the risk that the cost of providing services will exceed our compensation.
Approximately 98%, 96% and 97% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, is derived from fixed fees paid by health plans under capitation agreements with us. While there are variations specific to each agreement, we generally contract with health plans to receive a fixed fee per month for professional services and assume the financial responsibility for the healthcare expenses of our patients. This type of contract is referred to as a “capitation” contract. To the extent that patients require more care than is anticipated and/or the cost of care increases, aggregate fixed compensation amounts, or capitation payments, may be insufficient to cover the costs associated with treatment. If medical costs and expenses exceed estimates, except in very limited circumstances, we will not be able to increase the fee received under these risk agreements during their then-current terms and we could suffer losses with respect to such agreements.
Changes in our anticipated ratio of medical expenses to revenues can significantly impact our financial results.
Accordingly, the failure to adequately predict and control medical costs and expenses and to make reasonable estimates and maintain adequate accruals for incurred but not reported claims, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Additionally, the Medicare expenses of our patients may be outside of our control in the event that patients take certain actions that increase such expenses, such as unnecessary hospital visits.
Historically, our medical costs and expenses as a percentage of revenues have fluctuated. Factors that may cause medical expenses to exceed estimates include:
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the health status of patients and higher levels of hospitalization;
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higher than expected utilization of new or existing healthcare services or technologies;
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an increase in the cost of healthcare services and supplies, whether as a result of inflation or otherwise;
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changes to mandated benefits or other changes in healthcare laws, regulations and practices;
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increased costs attributable to specialist physicians, hospitals and ancillary providers;
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changes in the demographics of our patients and medical trends;
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contractual or claims disputes with providers, hospitals or other service providers within and outside a health plan’s network;
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the occurrence of catastrophes, major epidemics or acts of terrorism; and
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the reduction of health plan premiums.
Renegotiation, non-renewal or termination of capitation agreements with health plans could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Under most of our capitation agreements with health plans, the health plan is generally permitted to modify the benefit and risk obligations and compensation rights from time to time during the terms of the agreements. If a health plan exercises its right to amend its benefit and risk obligations and compensation rights, we are generally allowed a period of time to object to such amendment. If we so object, under some of the risk agreements, the relevant health plan may terminate the applicable agreement upon 90 to 180 days written notice. If we enter into capitation contracts with unfavorable economic terms, or a capitation contract is amended to include unfavorable terms, we could suffer losses with respect to such contract. Since we do not negotiate with CMS or any health plan regarding the benefits to be provided under their MA plans, we often have just a few months to familiarize ourselves with each new annual package of benefits we are expected to offer. Depending on the health plan at issue and the amount of revenue associated with the health plan’s capitation agreement, the renegotiated terms or termination could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Medicare’s risk adjustment payment system makes our revenues and profitability difficult to predict and could result in material adverse impacts to our adjustments to our results of operations.
CMS has implemented a risk adjustment payment system for Medicare health plans to improve the accuracy of payments and establish appropriate compensation for Medicare plans that enroll and treat less healthy Medicare beneficiaries. CMS’s risk adjustment model bases a portion of the total CMS reimbursement payments on various clinical and demographic factors, including hospital inpatient diagnoses, diagnosis data from hospital outpatient facilities and physician visits, gender, age and Medicaid eligibility. CMS requires that all managed care companies capture, collect and report the necessary diagnosis code information to CMS, which information is subject to review and audit for accuracy by CMS. This risk adjustment payment system has an indirect impact on the payments we received from our contracted Medicare Advantage payers. Although we, and the payers with which we contract, have auditing and monitoring processes in place to collect and provide accurate risk adjustment data to CMS for these purposes, that program may not be sufficient to ensure accuracy. If the risk adjustment data submitted by us or our payers incorrectly overstates the health risk of our patients, we might be required to return to the payer or CMS, overpayments and/or be subject to penalties or sanctions, or if the data incorrectly understates the health risk of our members, we might be underpaid for the care that we must provide to our patients, any of which could harm our reputation and have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition. CMS may also change the way that they measure risk and the impact on any such changes on our business are uncertain.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, risk adjustment scores may also fall as a result of reduced data collection, decreased patient visits or delayed medical care and limitations on payments for certain telehealth services. As a result of the variability of factors affecting our patients’ risk scores, the actual payments we receive from our payers, after all adjustments, could be materially more or less than our estimates. Consequently, our estimate of our patients’ aggregate member risk scores for any period may result in favorable or unfavorable adjustments to our Medicare premium revenues, which may affect our profitability.
There are significant risks associated with estimating the amount of revenues that we recognize under our risk agreements with health plans, and if our estimates of revenues are materially inaccurate, it could impact the timing and the amount of our revenue recognition or have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
There are significant risks associated with estimating the amount of revenues that we recognize under our risk agreements with health plans in a reporting period. The billing and collection process is complex due to ongoing insurance coverage changes, geographic coverage differences, differing interpretations of contract coverage and other payor issues, such as ensuring appropriate documentation. Determining applicable primary and secondary coverage for our patients, together with the changes in patient coverage that occur each month, requires complex, resource-intensive processes. Errors in determining the correct coordination of benefits may result in refunds to payors. Revenues associated with Medicare and Medicaid programs are also subject to estimating risk related to the amounts not paid by the primary government payor that will ultimately be collectible from other government programs paying secondary coverage, the patient’s commercial health plan secondary coverage or the patient. Collections, refunds and payor retractions typically continue to occur for up to three years and longer after services are provided. If our estimates of revenues are materially inaccurate, it could impact the timing and the amount of our revenues recognition and have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions could compromise sensitive information related to our business or our patients, or prevent us from accessing critical information and expose us to liability, which could adversely affect our business and our reputation.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, store, use and disclose sensitive data, including protected health information (“PHI”), and other types of personal data or personally identifiable information (“PII”) relating to our employees, patients and others.
We also process and store, and use third-party service providers to process and store, sensitive information, including intellectual property, confidential information and other proprietary business information. We manage and maintain such sensitive data and information utilizing a combination of on-site systems, managed data center systems and cloud-based computing center systems.
We are highly dependent on information technology networks and systems, including the internet, to securely process, transmit and store this sensitive data and information. Security breaches of this infrastructure, including physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, attacks by hackers and similar breaches, and employee or contractor error, negligence or malfeasance, can create system disruptions, shutdowns or unauthorized disclosure or modifications of such sensitive data or information, causing PHI or other PII to be accessed or acquired without authorization or to become publicly available. We utilize third-party service providers for important aspects of the collection, storage, processing and transmission of employee, user and patient information, and other confidential and sensitive information, and therefore rely on third parties to manage functions that have material cybersecurity risks. Because of the sensitivity of the PHI, other PII and other sensitive information we and our service providers collect, store, transmit, and otherwise process, the security of our technology platform and other aspects of our services, including those provided or facilitated by our third- party service providers, are important to our operations and business strategy. We take certain administrative, physical and technological safeguards to address these risks, such as by requiring contractors and other third- party service providers who handle this PHI, other PII and other sensitive information for us to enter into agreements that contractually obligate them to use reasonable efforts to safeguard such PHI, other PII, and other sensitive information. Measures taken to protect our systems, those of our contractors or third-party service providers, or the PHI, other PII, or other sensitive information we or contractors or third-party service providers process or maintain, may not adequately protect us from the risks associated with the collection, storage, processing and transmission of such sensitive data and information. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by security breaches. Despite our implementation of security measures, cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent. As a result, we or our third-party service providers may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate protective measures.
A security breach or privacy violation that leads to disclosure or unauthorized use or modification of, or that prevents access to or otherwise impacts the confidentiality, security, or integrity of, patient information, including PHI or other PII, or other sensitive information we or our contractors or third-party service providers maintain or otherwise process, could harm our reputation, compel us to comply with breach notification laws, cause us to incur significant costs for remediation, fines, penalties, notification to individuals and for measures intended to repair or replace systems or technology and to prevent future occurrences, potential increases in insurance premiums, and require us to verify the accuracy of database contents, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue. If we are unable to prevent or mitigate such security breaches or privacy violations or implement satisfactory remedial measures, or if it is perceived that we have been unable to do so, our operations could be disrupted, we may be unable to provide access to our systems, and we could suffer a loss of patients, and we may as a result suffer loss of reputation, adverse impacts on patient and investor confidence, financial loss, governmental investigations or other actions, regulatory or contractual penalties, and other claims and liability. In addition, security breaches and other inappropriate access to, or acquisition or processing of, information can be difficult to detect, and any delay in identifying such incidents or in providing any notification of such incidents may lead to increased harm.
Any such breach or interruption of our systems or those of any of our third-party service providers could compromise our networks or data security processes and sensitive information could be made inaccessible or could be accessed by unauthorized parties, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such interruption in access, improper access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy of member information or other personal information, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (the “HITECH Act”), and their implementing regulations (collectively known as “HIPAA”), and regulatory penalties. Unauthorized access, loss or dissemination could also disrupt our operations, including our ability to perform our services, access patient health information, collect, process, and prepare company financial information, provide information about our current and future services and engage in other patient and clinician education and outreach efforts. Any such breach could also result in the compromise of our trade secrets and other proprietary information, which could adversely affect our business and competitive position. While we maintain insurance covering certain security and privacy damages and claim expenses, we may not carry insurance or maintain coverage sufficient to compensate for all liability and in any event, insurance coverage would not address the reputational damage that could result from a security incident.
Disruptions in our disaster recovery systems or management continuity planning could limit our ability to operate our business effectively.
Our information technology systems facilitate our ability to conduct our business. While we have disaster recovery systems and business continuity plans in place, any disruptions in our disaster recovery systems or the failure of these systems to operate as expected could, depending on the magnitude of the problem, adversely affect our operating results by limiting our capacity to effectively monitor and control our operations. Despite our implementation of a variety of security measures, our information technology systems could be subject to physical or electronic break-ins, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering or any
weather-related disruptions where our headquarters is located. In addition, in the event that a significant number of our management personnel were unavailable in the event of a disaster, our ability to effectively conduct business could be adversely affected.
Reductions in the quality ratings of the health plans we serve could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
As a result of the ACA, the level of reimbursement each health plan receives from CMS is dependent, in part, upon the quality rating of the Medicare plan. Such ratings impact the percentage of any cost savings rebate and any bonuses earned by such health plan. Since a significant portion of our revenue is expected to be calculated as a percentage of CMS reimbursements received by these health plans with respect to our patients, reductions in the quality ratings of a health plan that we serve could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Given each health plan’s control of its plans and the many other providers that serve such plans, we believe that we will have limited ability to influence the overall quality rating of any such plan. The Balanced Budget Act passed in February 2018 implemented certain changes to prevent artificial inflation of star ratings for MA plans offered by the same organization. In addition, CMS has terminated plans that have had a rating of less than three stars for three consecutive years, whereas MA plans with five stars are permitted to conduct enrollment throughout almost the entire year. Because low quality ratings can potentially lead to the termination of a plan that we serve, we may not be able to prevent the potential termination of a contracting plan or a shift of patients to other plans based upon quality issues which could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
If our agreements or arrangements with certain of our licensed physicians who hold shares in our physician entities are deemed invalid under state law, including laws against the corporate practice of medicine, or federal law, or are terminated as a result of changes in state law, or if there is a change in accounting standards by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or the interpretation thereof affecting consolidation of entities, it could have a material adverse effect on our consolidation of total revenues derived from such practices.
Our financial statements are consolidated in accordance with applicable accounting standards and include the accounts of our majority-owned subsidiaries and certain non-owned associated and managed practices. Such consolidation for accounting and/or tax purposes does not, is not intended to, and should not be deemed to, imply or provide us any control over the medical or clinical affairs of such practices. In the event of a change in accounting standards promulgated by FASB or in interpretation of its standards, or if there is an adverse determination by a regulatory agency or a court, or a change in state or federal law relating to the ability to maintain present agreements or arrangements with such practices, we may not be permitted to continue to consolidate the total revenues of such practices.
If we are not able to maintain and enhance our reputation and brand recognition, including through the maintenance and protection of trademarks, our business and results of operations will be harmed.
We believe that maintaining and enhancing our reputation and brand recognition is critical to our relationships with both patients and payors and to our ability to attract new patients. The promotion of our brand may require us to make substantial investments and we anticipate that, as our market becomes increasingly competitive, these marketing initiatives may become increasingly difficult and expensive. Our marketing activities may not be successful or yield increased revenue, and to the extent that these activities yield increased revenue, the increased revenue may not offset the expenses we incur and our results of operations could be harmed. In addition, any factor that diminishes our reputation or that of our management, including failing to meet the expectations of or provide quality medical care for our patients, or any adverse publicity or litigation involving or surrounding us, one of our centers or our management, could make it substantially more difficult for us to attract new patients. Similarly, because our existing patients often act as references for us with prospective new patients, any existing patient that questions the quality of our care could impair our ability to secure additional new patients. In addition, negative publicity resulting from any adverse government payor audit could injure our reputation. If we do not successfully maintain and enhance our reputation and brand recognition, our business may not grow and we could lose our relationships with patients, which would harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names that we own or license may be challenged, infringed, circumvented, declared generic, lapsed or determined to be infringing on or dilutive of other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights in these trademarks and trade names, which we need in order to build name recognition with patients, payors and other partners. In addition, third parties may in the future file for registration of trademarks similar or identical to our trademarks. If they succeed in registering or developing common law rights in such trademarks, and if we are not successful in challenging such third-party rights, we may not be able to use these trademarks to commercialize our technologies in certain relevant jurisdictions. If we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, we may not be able to compete effectively and our brand recognition, reputation and results of operations may be adversely affected.
Our business depends on our ability to effectively invest in, implement improvements to and properly maintain the uninterrupted operation and data integrity of our information technology and other business systems.
Our business is highly dependent on maintaining effective information systems as well as the integrity and timeliness of the data we use to serve our patients, support our care teams and operate our business. Because of the large amount of data that we collect and manage, it is possible that hardware failures or errors in our systems could result in data loss or corruption or cause the information that we collect to be incomplete or contain inaccuracies that our partners regard as significant. If our data were found to be inaccurate or unreliable due to fraud or other error, or if we, or any of the third-party service providers we engage, were to fail to maintain information systems and data integrity effectively, we could experience operational disruptions that may impact our patients and care teams and hinder our ability to provide services, establish appropriate pricing for services, retain and attract patients, manage our patient risk profiles, establish reserves, report financial results timely and accurately and maintain regulatory compliance, among other things.
Our information technology strategy and execution are critical to our continued success. We must continue to invest in long-term solutions that will enable us to anticipate patient needs and expectations, enhance the patient experience, act as a differentiator in the market and protect against cybersecurity risks and threats. Our success is dependent, in large part, on maintaining the effectiveness of existing technology systems and continuing to deliver and enhance technology systems that support our business processes in a cost-efficient and resource-efficient manner. Increasing regulatory and legislative changes will place additional demands on our information technology infrastructure that could have a direct impact on resources available for other projects tied to our strategic initiatives. In addition, recent trends toward greater patient engagement in health care require new and enhanced technologies, including more sophisticated applications for mobile devices. Connectivity among technologies is becoming increasingly important. We must also develop new systems to meet current market standards and keep pace with continuing changes in information processing technology, evolving industry and regulatory standards and patient needs. Failure to do so may present compliance challenges and impede our ability to deliver services in a competitive manner. Further, because system development projects are long-term in nature, they may be more costly than expected to complete and may not deliver the expected benefits upon completion. Our failure to effectively invest in, implement improvements to and properly maintain the uninterrupted operation and data integrity of our information technology and other business systems could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flow.
If we are unable to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection for our technology or if the scope of our intellectual property protection is not sufficiently broad, others may be able to develop and commercialize technology substantially similar to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our technology may be adversely affected.
Our business depends on internally developed technology and content, including software, databases, confidential information and know-how, the protection of which is crucial to the success of our business. We rely on a combination of trademark, trade-secret, and copyright laws and confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property rights in our internally developed technology and content. We may, over time, increase our investment in protecting our intellectual property through additional trademark, patent and other intellectual property filings that could be expensive and time-consuming. Effective trademark, trade- secret and copyright protection is expensive to develop and maintain, both in terms of initial and ongoing registration requirements and the costs of defending our rights. These measures, however, may not be sufficient to offer us meaningful protection. Additionally, we do not currently hold a patent or other registered or applied for intellectual property protection for Canopy. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property and other rights, particularly with respect to Canopy, our competitive position and our business could be harmed, as third parties may be able to commercialize and use technologies and software products that are substantially the same as ours without incurring the development and licensing costs that we have incurred. Any of our owned or licensed intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, infringed or misappropriated, our trade secrets and other confidential information could be disclosed in an unauthorized manner to third parties, or our intellectual property rights may not be sufficient to permit us to take advantage of current market trends or otherwise to provide us with competitive advantages, which could result in costly redesign efforts, discontinuance of certain offerings or other competitive harm.
Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly. From time to time, we seek to analyze our competitors’ services, and may in the future seek to enforce our rights against potential infringement. However, the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to prevent infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property. We may not be able to detect unauthorized use of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights. Any inability to meaningfully protect our intellectual property rights could result in harm to our ability to compete and reduce demand for our technology. Moreover, our failure to develop and properly manage new intellectual property could adversely affect our market positions and business opportunities. Also, some of our services rely on technologies and software developed by or licensed from third parties, and we may not be able to maintain our relationships with such third parties or enter into similar relationships in the future on reasonable terms or at all.
Uncertainty may result from changes to intellectual property legislation and from interpretations of intellectual property laws by applicable courts and agencies. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to obtain and maintain the intellectual property
rights necessary to provide us with a competitive advantage. Our failure to obtain, maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our commercial success depends on our ability to develop and commercialize our services and use our internally developed technology without infringing the intellectual property or proprietary rights of third parties. Intellectual property disputes can be costly to defend and may cause our business, operating results and financial condition to suffer. As the market for healthcare in the United States expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that there may be patents issued to third parties that relate to our technology of which we are not aware or that we must challenge to continue our operations as currently contemplated. Whether merited or not, we may face allegations that we, our partners or parties indemnified by us have infringed or otherwise violated the patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property rights of third parties. Such claims may be made by competitors seeking to obtain a competitive advantage or by other parties. Additionally, in recent years, individuals and groups have begun purchasing intellectual property assets for the purpose of making claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies like ours. We may also face allegations that our employees have misappropriated the intellectual property or proprietary rights of their former employers or other third parties. It may be necessary for us to initiate litigation to defend ourselves in order to determine the scope, enforceability and validity of third-party intellectual property or proprietary rights, or to establish our respective rights. We may not be able to successfully settle or otherwise resolve such adversarial proceedings or litigation. If we are unable to successfully settle future claims on terms acceptable to us we may be required to engage in or to continue claims, regardless of whether such claims have merit, that can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and financial resources and can be costly to evaluate and defend. Results of any such litigation are difficult to predict and may require us to stop commercializing or using our technology, obtain licenses, modify our services and technology while we develop non-infringing substitutes or incur substantial damages, settlement costs or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or providing the affected services. If we require a third-party license, it may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, and we may have to pay substantial royalties, upfront fees or grant cross-licenses to intellectual property rights for our services. We may also have to redesign our services so they do not infringe third-party intellectual property rights, which may not be possible or may require substantial monetary expenditures and time, during which our technology may not be available for commercialization or use. Even if we have an agreement to indemnify us against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable to uphold its contractual obligations. If we cannot or do not obtain a third-party license to the infringed technology at all, license the technology on reasonable terms or obtain similar technology from another source, our revenue and earnings could be adversely impacted.
From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business with respect to intellectual property. We are not currently subject to any claims from third parties asserting infringement of their intellectual property rights. Some third parties may be able to sustain the costs of complex litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Moreover, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any legal proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations. Assertions by third parties that we violate their intellectual property rights could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to securities class action litigation. If an unfavorable ruling were to occur, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on us.
On January 10, 2022, plaintiff Reginald T. Allison, commenced a purported securities class action in the Northern District of Illinois, against Oak Street Health, Inc., Michael Pykosz, our CEO, and Timothy Cook, our CFO, alleging that we, and such executive officers made false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about our business, operations and prospects. We and the individuals dispute these claims and intend to defend the matter vigorously.
This lawsuit and any future lawsuits to which we may become a party are subject to inherent uncertainties and will likely be expensive and time-consuming to investigate, defend and resolve, and will divert our management’s attention and financial and other resources. The outcome of litigation is necessarily uncertain, and we could be forced to expend significant resources in the defense of this and other suits, and we may not prevail. Any litigation to which we are a party may result in an onerous or unfavorable judgment that may not be reversed upon appeal, or in payments of substantial monetary damages or fines, or we may decide to settle this or other lawsuits on similarly unfavorable terms, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or stock price. See Item 3. “Legal Proceedings” below for additional information regarding the class action.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary and internally developed information, the value of our technology could be adversely affected.
We may not be able to protect our trade secrets, know-how and other internally developed information, including in relation to the Canopy platform, adequately. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect this internally developed information and technology, our employees, consultants and other parties (including independent contractors and companies with which we conduct business) may unintentionally or willfully disclose our information or technology to competitors. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally disclosed or obtained and is using any of our internally developed information or technology is difficult, expensive and time- consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary information. We rely, in part, on non-disclosure, confidentiality and assignment-of-invention agreements with our employees, independent contractors, consultants and companies with which we conduct business to protect our trade secrets, know-how and other intellectual property and internally developed information. These agreements may not be self-executing, or they may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for such breach. Moreover, third parties may independently develop similar or equivalent proprietary information or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets, know-how and other internally developed information.
Any restrictions on our use of, or ability to license, data, or our failure to license data and integrate third-party technologies, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend upon licenses from third parties for some of the technology and data used in Canopy, our technology platform, and for the platform upon which Canopy is built and operates. We expect that we may need to obtain additional licenses from third parties in the future in connection with the development of our services. In addition, we obtain a portion of the data that we use from government entities, public records and from our partners for specific partner engagements. We believe that we have all rights necessary to use the data that is incorporated into our services. We cannot, however, assure you that our licenses for information will allow us to use that information for all potential or contemplated applications. In addition, our ability to continue to offer integrated healthcare to our patients depends on maintaining Canopy, which is partially populated with data disclosed to us by our partners with their consent. If these partners revoke their consent for us to maintain, use, de-identify and share this data, consistent with applicable law, our data assets could be degraded.
In the future, data providers could withdraw their data from us or restrict our usage for any reason, including if there is a competitive reason to do so, if legislation is passed restricting the use of the data or if judicial interpretations are issued restricting use of the data that we currently use to support our services. In addition, data providers could fail to adhere to our quality control standards in the future, causing us to incur additional expense to appropriately utilize the data. If a substantial number of data providers were to withdraw or restrict their data, or if they fail to adhere to our quality control standards, and if we are unable to identify and contract with suitable alternative data suppliers and integrate these data sources into our service offerings, our ability to provide appropriate services to our patients would be materially adversely impacted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We also integrate into our internally developed applications and use third-party software to support our technology infrastructure. Some of this software is proprietary and some is open source software. These technologies may not be available to us in the future on commercially reasonable terms or at all and could be difficult to replace once integrated into our own internally developed applications. Most of these licenses can be renewed only by mutual consent and may be terminated if we breach the terms of the license and fail to cure the breach within a specified period of time. Our inability to obtain, maintain or comply with any of these licenses could delay development until equivalent technology can be identified, licensed and integrated, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Most of our third-party licenses are non-exclusive and our competitors may obtain the right to use any of the technology covered by these licenses to compete directly with us. Our use of third-party technologies exposes us to increased risks, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the integration of new technology into our solutions, the diversion of our resources from development of our own internally developed technology and our inability to generate revenue from licensed technology sufficient to offset associated acquisition and maintenance costs. In addition, if our data suppliers choose to discontinue support of the licensed technology in the future, we might not be able to modify or adapt our own solutions.
Our use of “open source” software could adversely affect our ability to offer our services and subject us to possible litigation.
We may use open source software in connection with our services. Companies that incorporate open source software into their technologies have, from time to time, faced claims challenging the use of open source software and/or compliance with open source license terms. As a result, we could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software or claiming noncompliance with open source licensing terms. Some open source software licenses require users who distribute software containing open source software to publicly disclose all or part of the source code to such software and/or make available any
derivative works of the open source code, which could include valuable proprietary code of the user, on unfavorable terms or at no cost. While we monitor the use of open source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our internally developed source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, such use could inadvertently occur, in part because open source license terms are often ambiguous. Any requirement to disclose our internally developed source code or pay damages for breach of contract could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could help our competitors develop services that are similar to or better than ours.
We depend on our senior management team and other key employees, and the loss of one or more of these employees or an inability to attract and retain other highly skilled employees could harm our business.
Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our senior management team and other key employees. We rely on our leadership team in the areas of operations, provision of medical services, information technology and security, marketing, and general and administrative functions. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, which could disrupt our business. Our employment agreements with our executive officers and other key personnel do not require them to continue to work for us for any specified period and, therefore, they could terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss of one or more of the members of our senior management team, or other key employees, could harm our business. In particular, the loss of the services of our co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Pykosz, could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our strategic objectives. Changes in our executive management team may also cause disruptions in, and harm to, our business.
Our primary care centers are concentrated in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas , and we may not be able to successfully establish a presence in new geographic markets.
A substantial portion of our revenue is driven by our primary care centers in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas . As a result, our exposure to many of the risks described herein are not mitigated by a diversification of geographic focus. Furthermore, due to the concentration of our operations in these states, our business may be adversely affected by economic conditions that disproportionately affect these states as compared to other states. To continue to expand our operations to other regions of the United States, we will have to devote resources to identifying and exploring such perceived opportunities. Thereafter, we will have to, among other things, recruit and retain qualified personnel, develop new primary care centers and establish new relationships with physicians and other healthcare providers. In addition, we would be required to comply with laws and regulations of states that may differ from the ones in which we currently operate and could face competitors with greater knowledge of such local markets. We anticipate that further geographic expansion will require us to make a substantial investment of management time, capital and/or other resources. There can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to successfully expand our operations in any new geographic markets.
Our overall business results may suffer from an economic downturn.
During periods of high unemployment, governmental entities often experience budget deficits as a result of increased costs and lower than expected tax collections. These budget deficits at federal, state and local government entities have decreased, and may continue to decrease, spending for health and human service programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and similar programs, which represent significant payor sources for our centers. Other risks we face during periods of high unemployment include potential declines in the population covered under capitation agreements, potential increases in the uninsured and underinsured populations and further difficulties in our collecting patient co-payment and deductible receivables.
We must attract and retain highly qualified personnel in order to execute our growth plan.
Competition for highly qualified personnel is intense, especially for physicians and other medical professionals who are experienced in providing care services to older adults. We have, from time to time, experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining employees with appropriate qualifications. Many of the companies and healthcare providers with which we compete for experienced personnel have greater resources than we have. If we hire employees from competitors or other companies or healthcare providers, their former employees may attempt to assert that these employees or we have breached certain legal obligations, resulting in a diversion of our time and resources. If we fail to attract new personnel or fail to retain and motivate our current personnel, our business and future growth prospects could be harmed.
Our management team has limited experience managing a public company.
Most members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage us as a public company that is subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We lease all of our facilities and may experience risks relating to lease termination, lease expense escalators, lease extensions and special charges.
We currently lease or license all of our centers, including a significant minority that are leased from Humana. Our leases are typically on terms ranging from 2 to 20 years. Each of our lease or license agreements provides that the lessor may terminate the lease, subject to applicable cure provisions, for a number of reasons, including the defaults in any payment of rent, taxes or other payment obligations, the breach of any other covenant or agreement in the lease or, for centers leased from Humana, the termination of our payor contracts with Humana. Termination of certain of our lease agreements could result in a cross-default under our debt agreements or other lease agreements. If a lease agreement is terminated, there can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into a new lease agreement on similar or better terms or at all.
Our lease obligations often include annual fixed rent escalators ranging between 2% and 3% or variable rent escalators based on a consumer price index. These escalators could impact our ability to satisfy certain obligations and financial covenants. If the results of our operations do not increase at or above the escalator rates, it would place an additional burden on our results of operations, liquidity and financial position.
As we continue to expand and have leases or licenses with different start dates, it is likely that some number of our leases and licenses will expire each year. Our lease or license agreements often provide for renewal or extension options. There can be no assurance that these rights will be exercised in the future or that we will be able to satisfy the conditions precedent to exercising any such renewal or extension. In addition, if we are unable to renew or extend any of our leases or licenses, we may lose all of the facilities subject to that master lease agreement. If we are not able to renew or extend our leases or licenses at or prior to the end of the existing lease terms, or if the terms of such options are unfavorable or unacceptable to us, our business, financial condition and results of operation could be adversely affected.
Leasing facilities pursuant to binding lease or license agreements may limit our ability to exit markets. For instance, if one facility under a lease or license becomes unprofitable, we may be required to continue operating such facility or, if allowed by the landlord to close such facility, we may remain obligated for the lease payments on such facility. We could incur special charges relating to the closing of such facility, including lease termination costs, impairment charges and other special charges that would reduce our profits and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our failure to pay the rent or otherwise comply with the provisions of any of our lease agreements could result in an “event of default” under such lease agreement and also could result in a cross default under other lease agreements and agreements for our indebtedness. Upon an event of default, remedies available to our landlords generally include, without limitation, terminating such lease agreement, repossessing and reletting the leased properties and requiring us to remain liable for all obligations under such lease agreement, including the difference between the rent under such lease agreement and the rent payable as a result of reletting the leased properties, or requiring us to pay the net present value of the rent due for the balance of the term of such lease agreement. The exercise of such remedies would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.
If certain of our suppliers do not meet our needs, if there are material price increases on supplies, if we are not reimbursed or adequately reimbursed for drugs we purchase or if we are unable to effectively access new technology or superior products, it could negatively impact our ability to effectively provide the services we offer and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We have significant suppliers that may be the sole or primary source of products critical to the services we provide, or to which we have committed obligations to make purchases, sometimes at particular prices. If any of these suppliers do not meet our needs for the products they supply, including in the event of a product recall, shortage or dispute, and we are not able to find adequate alternative sources, if we experience material price increases from these suppliers that we are unable to mitigate, or if some of the drugs that we purchase are not reimbursed or not adequately reimbursed by commercial or government payors, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, the technology related to the products critical to the services we provide is subject to new developments which may result in superior products. If we are not able to access superior products on a cost-effective basis or if suppliers are not able to fulfill our requirements for such products, we could face patient attrition and other negative consequences which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our corporate culture has contributed to our success, and if we cannot maintain this culture as we grow, we could lose the innovation, creativity and teamwork fostered by our culture and our business may be harmed.
We believe that our culture has been and will continue to be a critical contributor to our success. We expect to continue to hire aggressively as we expand, and we believe our corporate culture has been crucial in our success and our ability to attract highly skilled personnel. If we do not continue to develop our corporate culture or maintain and preserve our core values as we grow and evolve, we may be unable to foster the innovation, curiosity, creativity, focus on execution, teamwork and the facilitation of critical knowledge
transfer and knowledge sharing we believe we need to support our growth. Moreover, liquidity available to our employee securityholders could lead to disparities of wealth among our employees, which could adversely impact relations among employees and our culture in general. Our anticipated headcount growth and our transition from a private company to a public company may later result in a change to our corporate culture, which could harm our business.
Competition for physicians and nurses, shortages of qualified personnel or other factors could increase our labor costs and adversely affect our revenue, profitability and cash flows.
Our operations are dependent on the efforts, abilities and experience of our physicians and clinical personnel. We compete with other healthcare providers, primarily hospitals and other facilities, in attracting physicians, nurses and medical staff to support our centers, recruiting and retaining qualified management and support personnel responsible for the daily operations of each of our centers and in contracting with payors in each of our markets. In some markets, the lack of availability of clinical personnel, such as nurses and mental health professionals, has become a significant operating issue facing all healthcare providers, which has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This shortage may require us to continue to enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain qualified personnel or to contract for more expensive temporary personnel. We also depend on the available labor pool of semi-skilled and unskilled workers in each of the markets in which we operate.
If our labor costs increase, we may not be able to raise rates to offset these increased costs. Because a significant percentage of our revenue consists of fixed, prospective payments, our ability to pass along increased labor costs is limited. In particular, if labor costs rise at an annual rate greater than our net annual consumer price index basket update from Medicare, our results of operations and cash flows will likely be adversely affected.
Any union activity at our facilities that may occur in the future could contribute to increased labor costs. Certain proposed changes in federal labor laws and the National Labor Relations Board’s modification of its election procedures could increase the likelihood of employee unionization attempts. Although none of our employees are currently represented by a collective bargaining agreement, to the extent a significant portion of our employee base unionizes, it is possible our labor costs could increase materially. Our failure to recruit and retain qualified management and medical personnel, or to control our labor costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
Our revenues and profits could be diminished if we fail to retain and attract the services of key primary care physicians.
Key primary care physicians with large patient enrollment could retire, become disabled, terminate their provider contracts, get lured away by a competing independent physician association or medical group, or otherwise become unable or unwilling to continue practicing medicine or continue working with our practices. As a result, patients who have been served by such physicians could choose to enroll with competitors’ physician organizations or could seek medical care elsewhere, which could reduce our revenues and profits. Moreover, we may not be able to attract new physicians to replace the services of terminating physicians or to service our growing membership.
We have employment contracts with physicians and other health professionals in many states. Some of these contracts include provisions preventing these physicians and other health professionals from competing with us both during and after the term of our contract with them. The law governing non-compete agreements and other forms of restrictive covenants varies from state to state. Some jurisdictions prohibit us from using non-competition covenants with our professional staff. Other states are reluctant to strictly enforce non-compete agreements and restrictive covenants applicable to physicians and other healthcare professionals. There can be no assurance that our non-compete agreements related to physicians and other health professionals will be found enforceable if challenged in certain states. In such event, we would be unable to prevent physicians and other health professionals formerly employed by us from competing with us, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our patients.
Our records and submissions to a health plan may contain inaccurate or unsupportable information regarding risk adjustment scores of members, which could cause us to overstate or understate our revenues and subject us to various penalties.
The claims and encounter records that we submit to health plans may impact data that support the Medicare Risk Adjustment Factor (“RAF”) scores attributable to members. These RAF scores determine, in part, the revenue to which the health plans and, in turn, we are entitled for the provision of medical care to such members. The data submitted to CMS by each health plan is based, in part, on medical charts and diagnosis codes that we prepare and submit to the health plans. Each health plan generally relies on us and our affiliated physicians to appropriately document and support such RAF data in our medical records. Each health plan also relies on us and our affiliated physicians to appropriately code claims for medical services provided to members. Erroneous claims and erroneous encounter records and submissions could result in inaccurate revenue and risk adjustment payments, which may be subject to correction or retroactive adjustment in later periods. This corrected or adjusted information may be reflected in financial statements for periods subsequent to the period in which the revenue was recorded. We might also need to refund a portion of the revenue that we
received, which refund, depending on its magnitude, could damage our relationship with the applicable health plan and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Additionally, CMS audits MA plans for documentation to support RAF-related payments for members chosen at random. The Medicare Advantage plans ask providers to submit the underlying documentation for members that they serve. It is possible that claims associated with members with higher RAF scores could be subject to more scrutiny in a CMS or plan audit. There is a possibility that a Medicare Advantage plan may seek repayment from us should CMS make any payment adjustments to the Medicare Advantage plan as a result of its audits. The plans also may hold us liable for any penalties owed to CMS for inaccurate or unsupportable RAF scores provided by us or our affiliated physicians. In addition, we could be liable for penalties to the government under the FCA that range from $5,500 to $11,000 (adjusted for inflation) for each false claim, plus up to three times the amount of damages caused by each false claim, which can be as much as the amounts received directly or indirectly from the government for each such false claim. On December 13, 2021, the DOJ issued a final rule announcing adjustments to FCA penalties, under which the per claim range increased to a range from $11,803 to $23,607 per claim.
CMS has indicated that payment adjustments, such as Risk Adjustment Data Validation (“RADV”) audits, will not be limited to RAF scores for the specific MA enrollees for which errors are found but may also be extrapolated to the entire MA plan subject to a particular CMS contract. CMS has described its audit process as plan-year specific and stated that it will not extrapolate audit results for plan years prior to 2011. Because CMS has not stated otherwise, there is a risk that payment adjustments made as a result of one plan year’s audit would be extrapolated to prior plan years after 2011. Plans could then seek to retroactively recoup these amounts from us.
There can be no assurance that a health plan will not be randomly selected or targeted for review by CMS or that the outcome of such a review will not result in a material adjustment in our revenue and profitability, even if the information we submitted to the plan is accurate and supportable.
A failure to accurately estimate incurred but not reported medical expense could adversely affect our results of operations.
Patient care costs include estimates of future medical claims that have been incurred by the patient but for which the provider has not yet billed. These claim estimates are made utilizing actuarial methods and are continually evaluated and adjusted by management, based upon our historical claims experience and other factors, including an independent assessment by a nationally recognized actuarial firm. Adjustments, if necessary, are made to medical claims expense and capitated revenue when the assumptions used to determine our claims liability change and when actual claim costs are ultimately determined.
Due to the inherent uncertainties associated with the factors used in these estimates and changes in the patterns and rates of medical utilization, materially different amounts could be reported in our financial statements for a particular period under different conditions or using different, but still reasonable, assumptions. It is possible that our estimates of this type of claim may be inadequate in the future. In such event, our results of operations could be adversely impacted. Further, the inability to estimate these claims accurately may also affect our ability to take timely corrective actions, further exacerbating the extent of any adverse effect on our results of operations.
Negative publicity regarding the managed healthcare industry generally could adversely affect our results of operations or business.
Negative publicity regarding the managed healthcare industry generally, or the Medicare Advantage program in particular, may result in increased regulation and legislative review of industry practices that further increase our costs of doing business and adversely affect our results of operations or business by:
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requiring us to change our products and services;
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increasing the regulatory, including compliance, burdens under which we operate, which, in turn, may negatively impact the manner in which we provide services and increase our costs of providing services;
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adversely affecting our ability to market our products or services through the imposition of further regulatory restrictions regarding the manner in which plans and providers market to Medicare Advantage enrollees; or
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adversely affecting our ability to attract and retain patients.
State and federal efforts to reduce Medicaid spending could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Certain of our patients are dual-eligible, meaning their coverage comes from both Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, a very small portion of our patients (under 2%) are fully covered by Medicaid. As a result, -a small portion of our revenue comes from Medicaid, accounting for approximately 2%, 2% and 3% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program purchasing healthcare services for the low income and indigent as well as certain higher-income individuals with significant health needs. Under broad federal criteria, states establish rules for eligibility, services and payment. Medicaid is a state-administered program financed by both state funds and matching federal funds. Medicaid spending has increased rapidly in recent years, becoming a significant component of state budgets. This, combined with slower state revenue growth, has led both the federal government and many states to institute measures aimed at controlling the growth of Medicaid spending, and in some instances reducing aggregate Medicaid spending.
For example, a number of states have adopted or are considering legislation designed to reduce their Medicaid expenditures, such as financial arrangements commonly referred to as provider taxes. Under provider tax arrangements, states collect taxes from healthcare providers and then use the revenue to pay the providers as a Medicaid expenditure, which allows the states to then claim additional federal matching funds on the additional reimbursements. Current federal law provides for a cap on the maximum allowable provider tax as a percentage of the provider’s total revenue. There can be no assurance that federal law will continue to provide matching federal funds on state Medicaid expenditures funded through provider taxes, or that the current caps on provider taxes will not be reduced. Any discontinuance or reduction in federal matching of provider tax-related Medicaid expenditures could have a significant and adverse effect on states’ Medicaid expenditures, and as a result could have an adverse effect on our business.
In addition, CMS has recently approved demonstration waivers for the Indiana Medicaid program that, among other things, imposes work or community engagement and income-based premiums on certain adult Medicaid beneficiaries, and similar waivers may be applied in other states. Also, as part of the movement to repeal, replace or modify the ACA and as a means to reduce the federal budget deficit, there are renewed congressional efforts to move Medicaid from an open-ended program with coverage and benefits set by the federal government to one in which states receive a fixed amount of federal funds, either through block grants or per capita caps, and have more flexibility to determine benefits, eligibility or provider payments. If those changes are implemented, we cannot predict whether the amount of fixed federal funding to the states will be based on current payment amounts, or if it will be based on lower payment amounts, which would negatively impact those states that expanded their Medicaid programs in response to the ACA.
We expect these state and federal efforts to continue for the foreseeable future. The Medicaid program and its reimbursement rates and rules are subject to frequent change at both the federal and state level. These include statutory and regulatory changes, rate adjustments (including retroactive adjustments), administrative or executive orders and government funding restrictions, all of which may materially adversely affect the rates at which our services are reimbursed by state Medicaid plans.
Our primary care centers may be negatively impacted by weather and other factors beyond our control.
Our results of operations may be adversely impacted by adverse conditions affecting our centers, including severe weather events such as tornadoes and widespread winter storms, public health concerns such as contagious disease outbreaks, violence or threats of violence or other factors beyond our control that cause disruption of patient scheduling, displacement of our patients, employees and Care Teams, or force certain of our centers to close temporarily. In certain geographic areas, we have a large concentration of centers that may be simultaneously affected by adverse weather conditions or other events. Our future operating results may be adversely affected by these and other factors that disrupt the operation of our centers.
As a result of being a public company, we are obligated to develop and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting in order to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act. These internal controls may not be determined to be effective or our independent registered public accountants may issue an adverse opinion on these controls now that we are no longer an emerging growth company, all of which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.
As a result of becoming a public company, we are subject to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX) which requires, among other things, that companies maintain disclosure controls and procedures to ensure timely disclosure of material information, and that management review the effectiveness of those controls on a quarterly basis. The process of designing and implementing internal control over financial reporting required to comply with this requirement is time- consuming, costly and complicated. If during the evaluation and testing process we identify one or more other material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, our management will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. In addition, if we fail to achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed. Because we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 1012 (the “JOBS Act”) with our transition to large accelerated filer status as of December 31, 2021, we are also now subject to Section 404(b) of SOX, which requires that our independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, among other additional requirements. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and to help prevent fraud, and our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance requirements. These rules and regulations also increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. Our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition and could cause a decline in the trading price of our common stock.
If we are not able to implement the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with adequate compliance, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue an adverse opinion due to ineffective internal controls over financial reporting, and we may be subject to sanctions or investigation by regulatory authorities, such as the SEC. As a result, there could be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. In addition, we may be required to incur costs in improving our internal control system and the hiring of additional personnel. Any such action could negatively affect our results of operations and cash flows.
The requirements of being a public company, particularly now that we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business.
As a public company, we incur legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE and other applicable securities rules and regulations.
We anticipate that costs and compliance initiatives will increase as a result of the fact that we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” In particular, we are now, or will be, subject to certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that had not been applicable to us as an emerging growth company. These requirements include: (i) compliance with the auditor attestation requirements in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting; (ii) compliance with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements; (iii) full disclosure and analysis obligations regarding executive compensation; and (vi) compliance with regulatory requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the applicable regulations in a timely manner, if at all.
Compliance with these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources. We have made, and will continue to make, changes to our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and accounting systems to meet our reporting obligations as a public company. However, the measures we take may not be sufficient to satisfy our obligations as a public company. In addition, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. These additional obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our indebtedness and liabilities could limit the cash flow available for operations, expose us to risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In March 2021, we issued $920.0 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes in a private offering exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. In the future, we may incur additional indebtedness to meet financing needs. Our indebtedness could have significant negative consequences for our security holders and our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things:
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increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;
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limiting our ability to obtain additional financing;
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in the event special interest accrues on the Convertible Senior Notes, requiring the dedication of a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness, which will reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes;
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limiting our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business; and
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placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with competitors that are less leveraged than us or have better access to capital.
Our business may not generate sufficient funds, and we may otherwise be unable to maintain sufficient cash reserves, to pay amounts due under the Convertible Senior Notes or any additional indebtedness that we may incur. In addition, any future indebtedness that we may incur may contain restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to operate our business, raise capital or make payments under our indebtedness. If we fail to comply with these covenants or to make payments under our indebtedness when due, then we would be in default under that indebtedness, which could, in turn, result in that indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full.
The conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Senior Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
In the event the conditions to convert the notes are satisfied, holders will be entitled to convert their notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert their notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.
Conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes may dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders or may otherwise depress the price of our common stock.
The conversion of some or all of the notes may dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders. Upon conversion of the notes, we have the option to pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of our common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock. If we elect to settle our conversion obligation in shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, any sales in the public market of our common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.
The capped call transactions may affect the value of the Convertible Senior Notes and our common stock.
In connection with the pricing of the notes, we entered into capped call transactions with one or more of the purchasers or their affiliates and/or other financial institutions (the “option counterparties”). The capped call transactions are expected generally to reduce potential dilution to our common stock upon conversion of any notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap. In connection with establishing their initial hedges of the capped call transactions, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates purchased shares of our common stock and/or entered into various derivative transactions with respect to our common stock. This activity could have increased (or reduced the size of any decrease in) the market price of our common stock or the notes at that time.
The option counterparties and/or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the notes (and are likely to do so on each exercise date for the capped call transactions, which are expected to occur on each trading day during the 40 trading day period beginning on the 41st scheduled trading day prior to the maturity date of the notes, or following any termination of any portion of the capped call transactions in connection with any repurchase, redemption or early conversion of the notes). This activity could cause a decrease or avoid an increase in the market price of our common stock. We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the option counterparties will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the capped call transactions.
The option counterparties are financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that any or all of them might default under the capped call transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. Past global economic conditions have resulted in the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions. If an option counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under the capped call transactions with such option counterparty. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, an increase in our exposure will be correlated to an increase in the market price and in the volatility of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by an option counterparty, we may suffer more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurance as to the financial stability or viability of the option counterparties.
Certain provisions in the indenture governing the Convertible Senior Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover attempt of us.
Certain provisions in the indenture governing the Convertible Senior Notes may make it more difficult or expensive for a third party to acquire us. For example, the indenture governing the notes will require us, subject to certain exemptions, to repurchase the notes for cash upon the occurrence of a fundamental change and, in certain circumstances, to increase the conversion rate for a holder that converts its notes in connection with a make-whole fundamental change. A takeover of us may trigger the requirement that we repurchase the notes and/or increase the conversion rate, which could make it more costly for a potential acquirer to engage in such takeover. Such additional costs may have the effect of delaying or preventing a takeover of us that would otherwise be beneficial to investors.
Our growth strategy is partially dependent upon our ability to identify and successfully complete acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic partnerships and alliances.
A significant element of our growth strategy is to identify, pursue and successfully complete and integrate acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic partnerships and alliances that either expand or complement our existing operations. Acquisitions and other strategic transactions involve numerous risks, including difficulties in successfully integrating the operations and personnel, navigating the necessary regulatory approval requirements, distraction of management from overseeing, and disruption of, our existing operations, difficulties in entering markets or lines of business in which we have no or limited direct prior experience, the possible loss of key employees and customers, and difficulties in achieving the synergies we anticipated. Any failure to select suitable opportunities at fair prices, conduct appropriate due diligence, acquire and successfully integrate the acquired company, including particularly when acquired businesses operate in new geographic markets or areas of business, could materially and adversely impact our growth strategies, financial condition and results of operations.
These transactions may also cause us to significantly increase our interest expense, leverage and debt service requirements if we incur additional debt to pay for an acquisition or investment, issue common stock that would dilute our current stockholders’ percentage ownership or incur asset write-offs and restructuring costs and other related expenses that could have a material adverse impact on our operating results. Acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic investments also involve numerous other risks, including potential exposure to assumed litigation and unknown environmental and other liabilities, as well as undetected internal control, regulatory or other issues, or additional costs not anticipated at the time the transaction was completed.
We may be unable to identify, purchase or integrate desirable acquisition targets, future acquisitions may be unsuccessful, and we may not realize the anticipated cost savings, revenue enhancements or other synergies from such acquisitions.
We have in the past and plan to in the future to investigate and acquire strategic businesses with the potential to be accretive to earnings, increase our market penetration, brand strength and its market position or enhancement of our existing product and service offerings. There can be no assurance that we will identify or successfully complete transactions with suitable acquisition candidates in the future. Additionally, if we were to undertake a substantial acquisition, the acquisition may need to be financed in part through additional financing through public offerings or private placements of debt or equity securities or through other arrangements. There is no assurance that the necessary acquisition financing will be available to us on acceptable terms if and when required. Acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, which could adversely affect our operating results. We may also unknowingly inherit liabilities from acquired businesses or assets that arise after the acquisition and that are not adequately covered by indemnities. In addition, if an acquired business fails to meet our expectations, its operating results, business and financial position may suffer.
We have a substantial amount of goodwill which could, in the future, become impaired and result in material non-cash charges to our results of operations.
As of December 31, 2021 we had $152.9 million of goodwill on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We evaluate this goodwill for impairment annually during the fourth quarter, or more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change that could more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset below its carrying value. As part of this impairment analysis, we determine fair value for each reporting unit using both the income and market approaches. Estimated fair values could change if, for example, there are changes in the business climate, changes in the competitive environment, adverse legal or regulatory actions or developments, changes in capital structure, cost of debt and equity, capital expenditure levels, operating cash flows or market capitalization, whether due to COVID-19 or otherwise. There can be no assurance that impairments will not occur, and any impairment may have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Regulation
If we fail to adhere to all of the complex government laws and regulations that apply to our business, we could suffer severe consequences that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and stock price.
Our operations are subject to extensive federal, state and local government laws and regulations, such as:
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Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rules and regulations;
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federal and state anti-kickback laws, which prohibits the knowing and willful offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of any bribe, kickback, rebate or other remuneration for referring an individual, in return for ordering, leasing, purchasing or recommending or arranging for or to induce the referral of an individual or the ordering, purchasing or leasing of items or services covered, in whole or in part, by any federal healthcare program, such as Medicare and Medicaid;
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the Self-Referral Law and analogous state self-referral prohibition statutes, which, subject to limited exceptions, prohibits physicians from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients to an entity for the provision of certain “designated health services” if the physician or a member of such physician’s immediate family has a direct or indirect financial relationship (including an ownership interest or a compensation arrangement) with an entity, and prohibit the entity from billing Medicare or Medicaid for such “designated health services”;
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the FCA and associated regulations, that imposes civil and criminal liability on individuals or entities that knowingly submit false or fraudulent claims for payment to the government or knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement in order to have a false claim paid, including qui tam or whistleblower suits;
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the Civil Monetary Penalty statute and associated regulations, which authorizes the government agent to impose civil money penalties, an assessment, and program exclusion for various forms of fraud and abuse involving the Medicare and Medicaid programs;
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federal and state laws regarding the collection, use and disclosure of patient health information (e.g., HIPAA) and the storage, handling, shipment, disposal and/or dispensing of pharmaceuticals and blood products and other biological materials and many other applicable state and federal laws and requirements;
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federal and state laws regarding the use of telehealth;
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state and federal statutes and regulations that govern workplace health and safety;
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federal and state laws and policies that require healthcare providers to maintain licensure, certification or accreditation to enroll and participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, to report certain changes in their operations to the agencies that administer these programs and, in some cases, to re-enroll in these programs when changes in direct or indirect ownership occur; and
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federal and state laws pertaining to the provision of services by nurse practitioners and physician assistants certain settings, physician supervision of those services, and reimbursement requirements that depend on the types of services provided and documented and relationships between physician supervisors and nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
In addition to the above laws, Medicare and Medicaid regulations, manual provisions, local coverage determinations, national coverage determinations and agency guidance also impose complex and extensive requirements upon healthcare providers. Moreover, the various laws and regulations that apply to our operations are often subject to varying interpretations and additional laws and regulations potentially affecting providers continue to be promulgated that may impact us. A violation or departure from any of the legal requirements implicated by our business may result in, among other things, government audits, lower reimbursements, significant fines and penalties, the potential loss of certification, recoupment efforts or voluntary repayments.
These legal requirements are civil, criminal and administrative in nature depending on the law or requirement.
We endeavor to comply with all legal requirements. We further endeavor to structure all of our relationships with physicians and providers to comply with state and federal anti-kickback physician and Stark laws and other applicable healthcare laws. We utilize considerable resources to monitor laws and regulations and implement necessary changes. However, the laws and regulations in these
areas are complex, changing and often subject to varying interpretations. As a result, there is no guarantee that we will be able to adhere to all of the laws and regulations that apply to our business, and any failure to do so could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and reputation. For example, if an enforcement agency were to challenge the level of compensation that we pay our medical directors or the number of medical directors whom we engage, or otherwise challenge these arrangements, we could be required to change our practices, face criminal or civil penalties, pay substantial fines or otherwise experience a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and reputation as a result. Similarly, we may face penalties under the FCA, the federal Civil Monetary Penalty statute or otherwise related to failure to report and return overpayments within 60 days of when the overpayment is identified and quantified. These obligations to report and return overpayments could subject our procedures for identifying and processing overpayments to greater scrutiny. We have made investments in resources to decrease the time it takes to identify, quantify and process overpayments, and may be required to make additional investments in the future.
Additionally, the federal government has used the FCA to prosecute a wide variety of alleged false claims and fraud allegedly perpetrated against Medicare, Medicaid and other federally funded health care programs. Moreover, amendments to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute in the ACA make claims tainted by anti-kickback violations potentially subject to liability under the FCA, including qui tam or whistleblower suits. The penalties for a violation of the FCA range from $5,500 to $11,000 (adjusted for inflation) for each false claim plus three times the amount of damages caused by each such claim which generally means the amount received directly or indirectly from the government. On December 13, 2021, the DOJ issued a final rule announcing adjustments to FCA penalties, under which the per claim range increases to a range from $11,803 to $23,607 per claim. Given the high volume of claims processed by our various operating units, the potential is high for substantial penalties in connection with any alleged FCA violations.
In addition to the provisions of the FCA, which provide for civil enforcement, the federal government can use several criminal statutes to prosecute persons who are alleged to have submitted false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal government.
If any of our operations are found to violate these or other government laws or regulations, we could suffer severe consequences that would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and stock price, including:
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suspension or termination of our participation in government payment programs;
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refunds of amounts received in violation of law or applicable payment program requirements dating back to the applicable statute of limitation periods;
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loss of our required government certifications or exclusion from government payment programs;
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loss of our licenses required to operate healthcare facilities or administer pharmaceuticals in the states in which we operate;
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criminal or civil liability, fines, damages or monetary penalties for violations of healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Civil Monetary Penalties Law, Stark Law and FCA, or other failures to meet regulatory requirements;
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enforcement actions by governmental agencies and/or state law claims for monetary damages by patients who believe their PHI has been used, disclosed or not properly safeguarded in violation of federal or state patient privacy laws, including HIPAA and the Privacy Act of 1974;
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mandated changes to our practices or procedures that significantly increase operating expenses;
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imposition of and compliance with corporate integrity agreements that could subject us to ongoing audits and reporting requirements as well as increased scrutiny of our billing and business practices which could lead to potential fines, among other things;
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termination of various relationships and/or contracts related to our business, including joint venture arrangements, medical director agreements, real estate leases and consulting agreements with physicians; and
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harm to our reputation which could negatively impact our business relationships, affect our ability to attract and retain patients and physicians, affect our ability to obtain financing and decrease access to new business opportunities, among other things.
We are, and may in the future be, a party to various lawsuits, demands, claims, qui tam suits, governmental investigations and audits (including investigations or other actions resulting from our obligation to self-report suspected violations of law) and other legal matters, any of which could result in, among other things, substantial financial penalties or awards against us, mandated refunds, substantial payments made by us, required changes to our business practices, exclusion from future participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs and possible criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and materially harm our reputation.
We may in the future be subject to investigations and audits by state or federal governmental agencies and/ or private civil qui tam complaints filed by relators and other lawsuits, demands, claims and legal proceedings, including investigations or other actions resulting from our obligation to self-report suspected violations of law.
Responding to subpoenas, investigations and other lawsuits, claims and legal proceedings as well as defending ourselves in such matters will continue to require management’s attention and cause us to incur significant legal expense. Negative findings or terms and conditions that we might agree to accept as part of a negotiated resolution of pending or future legal or regulatory matters could result in, among other things, substantial financial penalties or awards against us, substantial payments made by us, harm to our reputation, required changes to our business practices, exclusion from future participation in the Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs and, in certain cases, criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us. It is possible that criminal proceedings may be initiated against us and/or individuals in our business in connection with investigations by the federal government.
We, our affiliated physicians and the facilities in which we operate are subject to various federal, state and local licensing and certification laws and regulations and accreditation standards and other laws, relating to, among other things, the adequacy of medical care, equipment, privacy of patient information, telehealth, physician relationships, personnel and operating policies and procedures. Failure to comply with these licensing, certification and accreditation laws, regulations and standards could result in our services being found non-reimbursable or prior payments being subject to recoupment, requirements to make significant changes to our operations and can give rise to civil or, in extreme cases, criminal penalties. We routinely take the steps we believe are necessary to retain or obtain all requisite licensure and operating authorities. While we have made reasonable efforts to substantially comply with federal, state and local licensing and certification laws and regulations and standards as we interpret them, we cannot assure you that agencies that administer these programs will not find that we have failed to comply in some material respects.
If we are unable to effectively adapt to changes in the healthcare industry, including changes to laws and regulations regarding or affecting the U.S. healthcare reform, our business may be harmed.
Due to the importance of the healthcare industry in the lives of all Americans, federal, state, and local legislative bodies frequently pass legislation and promulgate regulations relating to healthcare reform or that affect the healthcare industry. As has been the trend in recent years, it is reasonable to assume that there will continue to be increased government oversight and regulation of the healthcare industry in the future. We cannot assure our shareholders as to the ultimate content, timing or effect of any new healthcare legislation or regulations, nor is it possible at this time to estimate the impact of potential new legislation or regulations on our business. It is possible that future legislation enacted by Congress or state legislatures, or regulations promulgated by regulatory authorities at the federal or state level, could adversely affect our business or could change the operating environment of our primary care centers. It is possible that the changes to the Medicare, Medicaid or other governmental healthcare program reimbursements may serve as precedent to possible changes in other payors’ reimbursement policies in a manner adverse to us. Similarly, changes in private payor reimbursements could lead to adverse changes in Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental healthcare programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
While we believe that we have structured our agreements and operations in material compliance with applicable healthcare laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully address changes in the current regulatory environment. We believe that our business operations materially comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations. However, some of the healthcare laws and regulations applicable to us are subject to limited or evolving interpretations, and a review of our business or operations by a court, law enforcement or a regulatory authority might result in a determination that could have a material adverse effect on us. Furthermore, the healthcare laws and regulations applicable to us may be amended or interpreted in a manner that could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
Our use, disclosure, and other processing of personally identifiable information, including health information, is subject to HIPAA and other federal and state privacy and security regulations, and our failure to comply with those regulations or to adequately secure the information we hold could result in significant liability or reputational harm and, in turn, a material adverse effect on our patient base and revenue.
Numerous state and federal laws and regulations govern the collection, dissemination, use, privacy, confidentiality, security, availability, integrity, and other processing of PHI and PII. These laws and regulations include HIPAA. HIPAA establishes a set of
national privacy and security standards for the protection of PHI by health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and certain healthcare providers, referred to as covered entities, and the business associates with whom such covered entities contract for services.
HIPAA requires covered entities, such as ourselves, and their business associates to develop and maintain policies and procedures with respect to PHI that is used or disclosed, including the adoption of administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect such information. HIPAA also implemented the use of standard transaction code sets and standard identifiers that covered entities must use when submitting or receiving certain electronic healthcare transactions, including activities associated with the billing and collection of healthcare claims.
The HHS OCR also has proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule that have the potential to impact patients, covered entities, and business associates. Certain of the proposed changes are focused on the patient right of access requirements and processes, while other proposed changes would impact how covered entities may share information and would relax the requirements for providers to document how their Notice of Privacy Practices is provided to patients. It is unclear when HHS OCR will issue final regulations.
HIPAA imposes mandatory penalties for certain violations. Penalties for violations of HIPAA and its implementing regulations start at $120 per violation and are not to exceed $60,226 per violation, subject to a cap of $1.81 million for violations of the same standard in a single calendar year. However, a single breach incident can result in violations of multiple standards. HIPAA also authorizes state attorneys general to file suit on behalf of their residents. Courts may award damages, costs and attorneys’ fees related to violations of HIPAA in such cases. While HIPAA does not create a private right of action allowing individuals to sue us in civil court for violations of HIPAA, its standards have been used as the basis for duty of care in state civil suits such as those for negligence or recklessness in the misuse or breach of PHI.
In addition, HIPAA mandates that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) conduct periodic compliance audits of HIPAA covered entities and business associates for compliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Standards. It also tasks HHS with establishing a methodology whereby harmed individuals who were the victims of breaches of unsecured PHI may receive a percentage of the Civil Monetary Penalty fine paid by the violator.
HIPAA further requires that patients be notified of any unauthorized acquisition, access, use or disclosure of their unsecured PHI that compromises the privacy or security of such information, with certain exceptions related to unintentional or inadvertent use or disclosure by employees or authorized individuals. HIPAA specifies that such notifications must be made “without unreasonable delay and in no case later than 60 calendar days after discovery of the breach.” If a breach affects 500 patients or more, it must be reported to HHS without unreasonable delay, and HHS will post the name of the breaching entity on its public web site. Breaches affecting 500 patients or more in the same state or jurisdiction must also be reported to the local media. If a breach involves fewer than 500 people, the covered entity must record it in a log and notify HHS at least annually.
In addition to HIPAA, numerous other federal and state laws and regulations protect the confidentiality, privacy, availability, integrity and security of PHI and other types of PII, including the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. State statutes and regulations vary from state to state, and these laws and regulations in many cases are more restrictive than, and may not be preempted by, HIPAA and its implementing rules. These laws and regulations are often uncertain, contradictory, and subject to changed or differing interpretations, and we expect new laws, rules and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, and information security to be proposed and enacted in the future. In the event that new data security laws are implemented, we may not be able to timely comply with such requirements, or such requirements may not be compatible with our current processes. Changing our processes could be time consuming and expensive, and failure to timely implement required changes could subject us to liability for non-compliance. Some states may afford private rights of action to individuals who believe their PII has been misused. This complex, dynamic legal landscape regarding privacy, data protection, and information security creates significant compliance issues for us and potentially restricts our ability to collect, use and disclose data and exposes us to additional expense, adverse publicity and liability.
Under the 21st Century Cures Act, Congress authorized the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) to engage in rulemaking that would drive interoperability, prohibit information blocking, and provide timely access to health information through standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) to seamlessly coordinate care, improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care. CMS also finalized regulations under their authority to regulate Medicare and Medicaid managed care plans, qualified health plans offered on the federally facilitated Exchange, and hospitals that improve patient access to their health information and encourage provider-to-provider and payor-to-payor exchanges of health information that are designed to reduce the burden on payors and providers. ONC published an Interim Final Rule that extended the applicability date for the Information Blocking provisions until April 2021. The Interim Final Rule also laid out a compliance timeline that extends through December 31, 2023.
While we have implemented data privacy and security measures in an effort to comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection, some PHI and other PII or confidential information is transmitted to us by third parties, who may not implement adequate security and privacy measures, and it is possible that laws, rules and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, or information security may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices or those of third parties who transmit PHI and other PII or confidential information to us. If we or these third parties are found to have violated such laws, rules or regulations, it could result in government-imposed fines, orders requiring that we or these third parties change our or their practices, or criminal charges, which could adversely affect our business. Complying with these various laws and regulations could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices, systems and compliance procedures in a manner adverse to our business.
We also publish statements to our patients and partners that describe how we handle and protect PHI. If federal or state regulatory authorities or private litigants consider any portion of these statements to be untrue, we may be subject to claims of deceptive practices, which could lead to significant liabilities and consequences, including, without limitation, costs of responding to investigations, defending against litigation, settling claims, and complying with regulatory or court orders. Any of the foregoing consequences could seriously harm our business and our financial results. Any of the foregoing consequences could have a material adverse impact on our business and our financial results.
Laws regulating the corporate practice of medicine could restrict the manner in which we are permitted to conduct our business, and the failure to comply with such laws could subject us to penalties or require a restructuring of our business.
Some states have laws that prohibit business entities, such as us, from practicing medicine, employing physicians to practice medicine, exercising control over medical decisions by physicians or engaging in certain arrangements, such as fee-splitting, with physicians (such activities generally referred to as the “corporate practice of medicine”). In some states these prohibitions are expressly stated in a statute or regulation, while in other states the prohibition is a matter of judicial or regulatory interpretation. All of the states in which we currently operate generally prohibit the corporate practice of medicine, and other states may as well.
Penalties for violations of the corporate practice of medicine vary by state and may result in physicians being subject to disciplinary action, as well as to forfeiture of revenues from payors for services rendered. For lay entities, violations may also bring both civil and, in more extreme cases, criminal liability for engaging in medical practice without a license.
Some of the relevant laws, regulations and agency interpretations in states with corporate practice of medicine restrictions have been subject to limited judicial and regulatory interpretation. Moreover, state laws are subject to change. Regulatory authorities and other parties may assert that, despite the management agreements and other arrangements through which we operate, we are engaged in the prohibited corporate practice of medicine or that our arrangements constitute unlawful fee-splitting. If this were to occur, we could be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, our agreements could be found legally invalid and unenforceable (in whole or in part) or we could be required to restructure our contractual arrangements. In markets where the corporate practice of medicine is prohibited, we have historically operated by maintaining long-term management contracts with multiple associated professional organizations which, in turn, employ or contract with physicians to provide those professional medical services required by the enrollees of the payors with which the professional organizations contract. Under these management agreements, Oak Street Health MSO, LLC performs only non-medical administrative services, does not represent that it offers medical services and does not exercise influence or control over the practice of medicine by the physicians or the associated physician groups with which it contracts. In the event of certain of our licensed physicians who hold shares in our physician groups death or disability or upon certain other triggering events, we maintain the right to direct the transfer of the ownership of the professional organizations to another licensed physician.
In addition to the above management arrangements, we have certain contractual rights relating to the orderly transfer of equity interests in our physician practices through succession agreements and other arrangements with their physician equity holders. Such equity interests cannot, however, be transferred to or held by us or by any non-professional organization. Accordingly, neither we nor our direct subsidiaries directly own any equity interests in any of our physician practices. In the event that any of the physician owners of our practices fail to comply with the management arrangement, if any management arrangement is terminated and/or we are unable to enforce our contractual rights over the orderly transfer of equity interests in any of our physician practices, such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
It is possible that a state regulatory agency or a court could determine that our agreements with physician equity holders of our practices and the way we carry out these arrangements as described above, either independently or coupled with the management services agreements with such associated physician practices, are in violation of prohibitions on the corporate practice of medicine. As a result, these arrangements could be deemed invalid, potentially resulting in a loss of revenues and an adverse effect on results of operations derived from such practices. Such a determination could force a restructuring of our management arrangements with the affected practices, which might include revisions of the management services agreements, including a modification of the management fee and/or establishing an alternative structure that would permit us to contract with a physician network without violating prohibitions on the corporate practice of medicine. There can be no assurance that such a restructuring would be feasible, or
that it could be accomplished within a reasonable time frame without a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
If our agreements or arrangements with certain of our licensed physicians who hold shares in our physician groups or our affiliated physician groups are deemed invalid under state corporate practice of medicine and similar laws or federal law, or are terminated as a result of changes in state law, it could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
There are various state laws, including in the states in which we operate, regulating the corporate practice of medicine that prohibit us from directly owning certain types of healthcare entities. These prohibitions are intended to prevent unlicensed persons from interfering with or inappropriately influencing a physician’s professional judgment. Corporate practice of medicine regulations and other similar laws may also prevent fee-splitting, or the sharing of professional service income with non-professional or business interests. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws vary significantly from state to state. Although we have structured our agreements and arrangements with our affiliated physician groups to avoid breaching corporate practice of medicine regulations, such as having our nominee shareholder hold shares in the physician groups, we cannot guarantee that these agreements and arrangements will not be held to be invalid under state laws prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine. If these agreements and arrangements were deemed to be invalid, a significant portion of our revenues could be affected, which may result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, these agreements and arrangements may not be as effective in providing control as direct ownership. Any changes to Federal or state law that prohibited such agreements or arrangements could also have a material adverse effect upon our results of operations and financial condition.
If we lost the services of certain of our licensed physicians who hold shares in our physician groups for any reason, the contractual arrangements with our VIEs could be in jeopardy.
Because of regulations preventing the corporate practice of medicine, many of our affiliated physician practice groups are wholly owned or primarily owned by our nominee shareholder as our nominee shareholders. Although we retain the right to direct the transfer of these ownership arrangements to another licensed physician, if our nominee shareholder died, was incapacitated or otherwise was no longer affiliated with us, there could be a material adverse effect on the relationship between us and each of those variable interest entities (“VIEs”) and, therefore, our business as a whole could be adversely affected.
The contractual arrangements we have with our VIEs is not as secure as direct ownership of such entities.
Because of laws prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine, we enter into contractual arrangements to manage certain of our affiliated physician practice groups, which allows us to consolidate those groups with OSH MSO for financial reporting purposes. If we were to hold such groups directly, we would be able to exercise our rights as an equity holder directly to effect changes in the boards of directors of those entities, which could effect changes at the management and operational level. In contrast, under our current contractual arrangements with our physician groups, we may not be able to directly change the members of the boards of directors of these entities and would have to rely on the entities and the entities’ equity holders to perform their obligations in order to exercise our control over the entities. If any of these affiliated entities or their equity holders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements.
We face inspections, reviews, audits and investigations under federal and state government programs and contracts. These audits could have adverse findings that may negatively affect our business, including our results of operations, liquidity, financial condition and reputation.
As a result of our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, we are subject to various governmental inspections, reviews, audits and investigations to verify our compliance with these programs and applicable laws and regulations. Payors may also reserve the right to conduct audits. We also periodically conduct internal audits and reviews of our regulatory compliance. An adverse inspection, review, audit or investigation could result in:
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refunding amounts we have been paid pursuant to the Medicare or Medicaid programs or from payors;
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state or federal agencies imposing fines, penalties and other sanctions on us;
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temporary suspension of payment for new patients to the facility or agency;
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decertification or exclusion from participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs or one or more payor networks;
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self-disclosure of violations to applicable regulatory authorities;
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damage to our reputation;
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the revocation of a facility’s or agency’s license; and
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loss of certain rights under, or termination of, our contracts with payors.
We have in the past and will likely in the future be required to refund amounts we have been paid and/or pay fines and penalties as a result of these inspections, reviews, audits and investigations. If adverse inspections, reviews, audits or investigations occur and any of the results noted above occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Furthermore, the legal, document production and other costs associated with complying with these inspections, reviews, audits or investigations could be significant.
Our income tax treatment has changed as a result of the restructuring transactions undertaken immediately prior to our IPO and our future effective income tax rates could be subject to volatility.
Prior to the IPO, we conducted our business as Oak Street Health, LLC. Oak Street Health, LLC was classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and consequently did not generally pay any U.S. federal, state or local income taxes. Following the IPO, we now operate under Oak Street Health, Inc. and Oak Street Health, Inc. is classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See “Organizational Transactions” within our prior year Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 10, 2021. As a corporation, Oak Street Health, Inc. is subject to U.S. federal, state, and local income taxes with respect to its taxable income.
Oak Street Health, Inc.’s future effective income tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
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changes in tax laws (including statutory changes that increase the applicable U.S. federal corporate tax rate from its current 21%);
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changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
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expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
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structural changes in our business;
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tax effects of equity-based compensation; or
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changes in tax regulations or other interpretations of applicable tax law.
In addition, as a corporation, Oak Street Health, Inc. may be subject to audits by U.S. federal, state and local tax authorities. Outcomes from these audits may adversely affect the operating results and financial condition of Oak Street Health, Inc.
We may incur certain tax liabilities attributable to our pre-IPO investors as a result of the restructuring transactions undertaken immediately prior to our IPO.
In connection with the IPO and related restructuring, the entities through which the investment entities affiliated with General Atlantic LLC (collectively, “General Atlantic”) and Newlight Partners LP (“Newlight” and, together with General Atlantic, the “Lead Sponsors”) and other institutional investors held their ownership interests in Oak Street Health engaged in a series of transactions that resulted in each of these entities becoming wholly owned subsidiaries of Oak Street Health, Inc. As the parent company to these entities, Oak Street Health, Inc. generally succeeded to and, subject to certain rights to be indemnified, is responsible for the tax liabilities of the entities prior to the restructuring and, subject to certain rights to be indemnified, be responsible for costs incurred in defending any audits or other proceedings with respect to such taxes. Any such liabilities for which Oak Street Health, Inc. is responsible could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
We may incur certain tax liabilities attributable to the pre-IPO taxable income or taxable loss of Oak Street Health, LLC.
Prior to the IPO and restructuring, we operated under Oak Street Health, LLC and Oak Street Health, LLC was classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a partnership, prior to the IPO and the restructuring, Oak Street Health, LLC did not directly pay any federal, state or local income taxes with respect to the taxable income shown on its tax returns. Rather, items of
income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit are allocated among its partners and such persons are liable for any of the resulting income taxes.
Pursuant to certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) enacted as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (such provisions, the “Partnership Tax Audit Rules”), partnerships (and not the partners of the partnerships) can be subject to U.S. federal income taxes (and any related interest and penalties) resulting from adjustments made pursuant to an IRS audit or judicial proceedings to the items of income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit shown on the partnership’s tax return (or how such items are allocated among the partners). For example, such an adjustment could include the reduction of a loss allocated in periods prior to the IPO, which in turn increases the taxable income reportable for periods after the IPO. The Partnership Tax Audit Rules apply to Oak Street Health, LLC for each of its taxable years ending after December 31, 2017.
Under the Partnership Tax Audit Rules, a partnership’s liability for taxes can be reduced or avoided in certain circumstances depending on the status or actions of its partners. For example, if partners agree to amend their tax returns and pay the resulting taxes, the partnership’s liability can be reduced. Partnerships can also make elections to “push out” the tax liability resulting from the adjustment to its partners and, as a result, have the partners and not the partnerships pay the income taxes. Under current authority, partnerships that cease to exist can be considered to automatically have made this “push out” election. Whether a partnership ceases to exist is currently based on a determination by the IRS.
Following the IPO and the restructuring, Oak Street Health, Inc. pursued a series of internal reorganizations intended to simplify its entity structure (the “Internal Reorganization”). Following the Internal Reorganization, Oak Street Health, LLC remains in legal existence, but is no longer treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Whether Oak Street Health, LLC has ceased to exist for purposes of the Partnership Tax Audit Rules, and therefore whether Oak Street Health, LLC has automatically made a “push out” election following these transactions, is unclear.
If Oak Street Health, LLC is not treated as ceasing to exist for purposes of the Partnership Tax Audit Rules, it does not appear that Oak Street Health, LLC would be considered to automatically make the “push out” election. Without an automatic or elective “push out” election, if there is an adjustment under the Partnership Tax Audit Rules, the prior partners of Oak Street Health, LLC would not be obligated to file any amended returns to reduce or avoid any tax that would otherwise be imposed on Oak Street Health, LLC, and Oak Street Health, Inc. would economically incur any taxes, interest, or penalties associated with any of these adjustments (including in respect of such allocated tax losses). Any such liabilities for which Oak Street Health, Inc. is responsible could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
If Oak Street Health, LLC is treated as ceasing to exist for purposes of Partnership Tax Audit Rules and is automatically treated as making a “push out election”, or if a “push out election” is voluntarily made, Oak Street Health, Inc. would still economically incur the portion of the taxes resulting from such audit that relate to certain of the entities that were contributed to Oak Street Health, Inc. as part of the Organizational Transactions. Further, whether or not a “push out” election is made or required, Oak Street Health, Inc. would bear the costs of defending any actions to make adjustments to the income tax returns of Oak Street Health, LLC for periods prior to the IPO (including in respect of tax losses allocated prior to the IPO). Any such liabilities for which Oak Street Health, Inc. is economically responsible could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
We will not have control of any IRS audit or related proceeding pursuant to the Partnership Tax Audit Rules.
Under the Partnership Tax Audit Rules, the partnership (including Oak Street Health, LLC) is required to appoint one person (the “partnership representative”) to act on its behalf in connection with IRS audits and related proceedings. Under the Partnership Tax Audit Rules, this person does not need to be a partner of the partnership (including Oak Street Health, LLC). As described above, the partnership representative’s actions, including the partnership representative’s agreement to adjustments of the partnership’s income in settlement of an IRS audit of the partnership, will bind all partners of the partnership, and opt-out rights available to certain partners in connection with certain actions of the tax matters partner under the Partnership Tax Audit Rules for tax years beginning before January 1, 2018 will no longer be available.
The “partnership representative” for Oak Street Health, LLC for the years prior to its ownership by Oak Street Health, Inc. was an individual that was a member of Oak Street Health, LLC prior to the Organizational Transactions and is currently an officer of Oak Street Health, Inc. As a result, Oak Street Health, Inc. may not have any control over any IRS audit or related proceeding with respect to Oak Street Health, LLC. However, as described above, depending on the actions of the person acting as “partnership representative,” Oak Street Health, Inc. may still be held liable for any tax which results from an adjustment made pursuant to an IRS audit or judicial proceedings to the items of income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit shown on Oak Street Health, LLC’s income tax return.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The Lead Sponsors own a large portion of our common stock, and their interests may conflict with ours or yours in the future.
Investment entities affiliated with General Atlantic and Newlight, collectively, beneficially own approximately 42.3% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. While we were previously a controlled company and no longer qualify as such, for so long as the Lead Sponsors continue to own a significant percentage of our stock, the Lead Sponsors will still be able to significantly influence the composition of our Board and the approval of actions requiring shareholder approval. Accordingly, for such period of time, the Lead Sponsors will continue to have significant influence with respect to our management, business plans and policies, including the appointment and removal of our officers, decisions on whether to raise future capital and amending our charter and bylaws, which govern the rights attached to our common stock. In particular, for so long as the Lead Sponsors continue to own a significant percentage of our stock, the Lead Sponsors will be able to cause or prevent a change of control of us or a change in the composition of our Board and could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of us. The concentration of ownership could deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your shares of common stock as part of a sale of us and ultimately might affect the market price of our common stock.
In addition, we are party to the Sponsor Director Nomination Agreement (defined herein) that provides each Lead Sponsor the right to designate: (i) three of the nominees for election to our Board for so long as each beneficially owns at least 20% of our common stock then outstanding; (ii) two of the nominees for election to our Board for so long as each beneficially owns less than 20% but at least 10% of our common stock then outstanding; and (iii) one of the nominees for election to our Board for so long as each beneficially owns less than 10% but at least 5% of our common stock then outstanding. As of the date of this filing, our Lead Sponsors continue to hold more than 47% of our common stock then outstanding. The Lead Sponsors may also assign such right to their affiliates. The Sponsor Director Nomination Agreement also prohibits us from increasing or decreasing the size of our Board without the prior written consent of the Lead Sponsors.
The Lead Sponsors and their affiliates engage in a broad spectrum of activities, including investments in the healthcare industry generally. In the ordinary course of their business activities, the Lead Sponsors and their affiliates may engage in activities where their interests conflict with our interests or those of our other shareholders, such as investing in or advising businesses that directly or indirectly compete with certain portions of our business or are suppliers or customers of ours. Our certificate of incorporation provides that none of the Lead Sponsors, any of their affiliates or any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his director and officer capacities) or its affiliates have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities or similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. The Lead Sponsors also may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. In addition, the Lead Sponsors may have an interest in pursuing acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions that, in its judgment, could enhance its investment, even though such transactions might involve risks to you.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business, particularly now that we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”
As a public company, we incur legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly now that we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business, financial condition and results of operations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. Furthermore, the need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert our management’s attention from implementing our growth strategy, which could prevent us from improving our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have made, and will continue to make, changes to our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and accounting systems to meet our reporting obligations as a public company. However, the measures we take may not be sufficient to satisfy our obligations as a public company. In addition, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. These additional obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could
result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We have invested, and will continue to invest, resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of our management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Provisions of our corporate governance documents could make an acquisition of us more difficult and may prevent attempts by our shareholders to replace or remove our current management, even if beneficial to our shareholders.
In addition to the Lead Sponsors’ beneficial ownership of a combined 42.3% of our common stock, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our shareholders. Among other things, these provisions:
•
allow us to authorize the issuance of undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and the shares of which may be issued without shareholder approval, and which may include supermajority voting, special approval, dividend, or other rights or preferences superior to the rights of shareholders;
•
provide for a classified board of directors with staggered three-year terms;
•
prohibit shareholder action by written consent from and after the date on which the Lead Sponsors beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 40% of our common stock then outstanding;
•
provide that any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our shareholders will require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then- outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class; and
•
establish advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our Board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by shareholders at shareholder meetings, provided, however, that at any time when a Lead Sponsor beneficially owns, in the aggregate, at least 5% of our common stock then outstanding, such advance notice procedure will not apply to that Lead Sponsor.
Our certificate of incorporation contains a provision that provides us with protections similar to Section 203 of the DGCL, and prevents us from engaging in a business combination with a person (excluding the Lead Sponsors and any of their direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons are a party) who acquires at least 15% of our common stock for a period of three years from the date such person acquired such common stock, unless board or shareholder approval is obtained prior to the acquisition. This provision could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company. This provision could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other shareholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us to take other corporate actions you desire, including actions that you may deem advantageous, or negatively affect the trading price of our common stock. In addition, because our Board is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our shareholders to replace current members of our management team.
These and other provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for shareholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our Board or initiate actions that are opposed by our then-current Board, including delay or impede a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. The existence of these provisions could negatively affect the price of our common stock and limit opportunities for you to realize value in a corporate transaction.
Our certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our shareholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws or (4) any other action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that for the avoidance of doubt, the forum selection provision that identifies the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware
as the exclusive forum for certain litigation, including any “derivative action,” will not apply to suits to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our certificate of incorporation further provides that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the provisions of our certificate of incorporation described above. The forum selection clause in our certificate of incorporation may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors and officers and may limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
An active, liquid trading market for our common stock may not be sustained.
Although our common stock is currently listed on the NYSE under the symbol “OSH,” an active trading market for our shares may not be sustained. Accordingly, if an active trading market for our common is not maintained, the liquidity of our common stock, your ability to sell your shares of our common stock when desired and the prices that you may obtain for your shares of common stock will be adversely affected.
Our operating results and stock price may be volatile.
Our quarterly operating results are likely to fluctuate in the future. In addition, securities markets worldwide have experienced, and are likely to continue to experience, significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could subject the market price of our shares to wide price fluctuations regardless of our operating performance. Our operating results and the trading price of our shares may fluctuate in response to various factors, including:
•
market conditions in our industry or the broader stock market;
•
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results;
•
introduction of new solutions or services by us or our competitors;
•
issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
•
sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of our stock;
•
additions or departures of key personnel;
•
regulatory or political developments;
•
litigation and governmental investigations;
•
changing economic conditions;
•
investors’ perception of us;
•
events beyond our control such as weather and war; and
•
any default on our indebtedness.
These and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause our operating results and the market price and demand for our shares to fluctuate substantially. Fluctuations in our quarterly operating results could limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares and may otherwise negatively affect the market price and liquidity of our shares. In addition, in the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. Such a lawsuit was filed against the Company in January 2022. If any of our shareholders brought a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could also divert the time and attention of our management from our business, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
Because we have no current plans to pay regular cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
We do not anticipate paying any regular cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board and will depend on, among other things, our results of
operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that our Board may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is, and may be, limited by covenants of any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur. Therefore, any return on investment in our common stock is solely dependent upon the appreciation of the price of our common stock on the open market, which may not occur.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our shares or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our shares is influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. Moreover, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock, or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.
We may issue shares of preferred stock in the future, which could make it difficult for another company to acquire us or could otherwise adversely affect holders of our common stock, which could depress the price of our common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue one or more series of preferred stock. Our Board has the authority to determine the preferences, limitations and relative rights of the shares of preferred stock and to fix the number of shares constituting any series and the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by our shareholders. Our preferred stock could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to the rights of our common stock. The potential issuance of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change in control of us, discouraging bids for our common stock at a premium to the market price, and materially adversely affect the market price and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
Our principal executive offices are located in Chicago, Illinois where we occupy facilities totaling approximately 35,000 square feet under subleases that expire on September 30, 2022 and October 31, 2025. We use this facility for administration, sales and marketing, technology and development and professional services. We also lease offices elsewhere in the United States, including Charlotte, North Carolina, Downers Grove and Oak Brook, Illinois.
We intend to procure additional space as we add team members and expand geographically. We believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our needs for the immediate future, and that, should it be needed, suitable additional space will be available to accommodate any such expansion of our operations.
As of December 31, 2021, we leased approximately 1,650,000 gross square feet relating to 129 centers located in 19 states, including our corporate offices and some centers that are leased from Humana. See “Risk Factors-Risks Related to Our Business-We lease all of our facilities and may experience risks relating to lease termination, lease expense escalators, lease extensions and special charges.” Our leases typically have terms of 2 to 20 years, and generally provide for renewal or extension options. Our lease obligations often include annual fixed rent escalators ranging between 2% and 3% or variable rent escalators based on a consumer price index. Generally, our leases are “net” leases, which require us to pay all of the cost of insurance, taxes, maintenance and utilities. We generally cannot cancel these leases at our option. For more information on leases, see Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part IV, Item 15, of this Form 10-K.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
On November 1, 2021, the Company received a civil investigative demand (“CID”) from the United States Department of Justice. According to the CID, the Department of Justice is investigating whether the Company may have violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3722. The CID requests certain documents and information related to the Company’s relationships with third-party marketing agents and related to the Company’s provision of free transportation to federal health care beneficiaries and requests information and documents related to such matters. We are cooperating with the Department of Justice in response to the CID. Although we have begun to provide documentation and information requested in the CID, we are still very early in the process. As such, we are currently unable to predict the outcome of this investigation or whether litigation is probable. Regardless of the outcome,
this inquiry has the potential to have an adverse impact on us due to any related defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors.
On January 10, 2022, Reginald T. Allison, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a putative class action lawsuit against the Company and Michael Pykosz, our CEO and Timothy Cook, our CFO in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Case No. 1:22-cv-00149). The complaint alleges that the Company and these executive officers made false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about its business, operations and prospects in violation of Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The plaintiff seeks damages, interest, costs, attorneys’ fees, and other unspecified equitable relief. The case is in the very early stages, and a lead plaintiff has not yet been appointed. We are not yet required to, and have not, filed an answer in this case. The Company intends to vigorously defend this matter. Given the uncertainty of litigation, the preliminary stage of the case, and the legal standards that must be met for, among other things, class certification and success on the merits, the Company cannot estimate the reasonably possible loss or range of loss that may result from this action.
Further information in response to this item is included in Note 9, Commitments and Contingencies, to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part IV, Item 15, of this Form 10-K.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Securities Market Information
Our common stock has been listed on the NYSE under the symbol “OSH” since August 6, 2020. Prior to that, there was no public trading market for our common stock.
Holders of Record
As of February 23, 2022, there were approximately 23 stockholders of record for our common stock. The actual number of stockholders is greater than this number of record holders, and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners, but whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other nominees. This number of holders of record also does not include stockholders whose shares may be held in trust by other entities.
Dividend Policy
We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business and to repay indebtedness and, therefore, we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Additionally, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends on our common stock may be limited by restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to us. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board, subject to compliance with covenants in current and future agreements governing our and our subsidiaries’ indebtedness, and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors that our Board may deem relevant.
Stock Performance Graph
The following performance graph and related information shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section or Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed by us with the SEC, whether made before or after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
The following graph and related information show a comparison of the cumulative total return for our common stock and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (“S&P 500 Index”) between August 6, 2020 (the date our common stock commenced trading on the NYSE) through December 31, 2021. All values assume an initial investment of $100 and reinvestment of any dividends. The comparisons are based on historical data and are not indicative of, nor intended to forecast, the future performance of our common stock.
8/6/2020
8/31/2020
9/30/2020
10/31/2020
11/30/2020
12/31/2020
1/31/2021
2/28/2021
3/31/2021
Oak Street Health, Inc.
$
100.00
$
111.58
$
133.85
$
118.98
$
117.93
$
152.90
$
129.68
$
132.58
$
135.68
S&P 500 Index
$
100.00
$
104.51
$
100.41
$
97.64
$
108.14
$
112.15
$
110.90
$
113.79
$
118.62
4/30/2021
5/31/2021
6/30/2021
7/31/2021
8/31/2021
9/30/2021
10/31/2021
11/30/2021
12/31/2021
Oak Street Health, Inc.
$
154.08
$
150.98
$
146.43
$
159.10
$
116.83
$
106.33
$
118.08
$
77.38
$
82.85
S&P 500 Index
$
124.84
$
125.53
$
128.32
$
131.23
$
135.04
$
128.62
$
137.51
$
136.36
$
142.31
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The information called for by this item regarding equity compensation plans is incorporated by reference to the information set forth in Part III, Item 12 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
There were no unregistered sales of equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2021, except as previously reported.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
None.
Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
On August 10, 2020, we completed the IPO of our common stock pursuant to a Registration Statement (File No. 333-239818) which was declared effective on August 5, 2020. As of December 31, 2021, all proceeds from the IPO have been applied as described in the final prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. Reserved
Not applicable.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ($ in millions)
The following discussion and analysis is intended to help the reader understand our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the description of the Company’s Business in Item 1 above. Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires, the terms “we”, “our” and “the Company” as used herein refer to Oak Street Health, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Oak Street Health, LLC, which is Oak Street Health, Inc.’s predecessor for financial reporting purposes for periods presented prior to August 10, 2020.
In addition to historical data, the discussion contains forward-looking statements about the business, operations and financial performance of the Company based on our current expectations that involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed above in “Forward-Looking Statements,” and Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”
Overview
Oak Street Health, Inc. (collectively referred to as “Oak Street Health,” “OSH,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”) was formed as a Delaware corporation on October 22, 2019 for the purpose of completing a public offering and related restructuring transactions (collectively referred to as the “IPO”) in order to carry on the business of Oak Street Health, LLC (“OSH LLC”) and its affiliates. As the managing member of OSH LLC, Oak Street Health, Inc. operates and controls all of the business affairs of OSH LLC and its affiliates. For further discussion related to the IPO, see Note 1 in Part IV, Item 15. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “OSH.”
Oak Street Health was designed to provide and manage Medicare-eligible patients’ total healthcare through capitated, value-based payments. We created a new care platform because the then existing primary care infrastructure was not built with the capacity to drive significant improvements in cost and quality the current health system needs. We decided to focus on the Medicare market due to its size, growth tailwinds and largely clinically cohesive population. We designed our platform to take risk in managing patients’ health below and agreed-upon baseline cost because we believe there is a meaningful opportunity to produce system-wide cost savings by changing where and how patients’ healthcare is delivered. Our platform’s design has included investments in technology and patient centered, community-based care delivery to create a difference and we believe, better approach to addressing the needs of high-risk Medicare-eligible patients. As of December 31, 2021, the Company operated 129 centers across 19 states, which provided care for approximately 153,500 patients. We, together with our affiliated physician practice organizations, employed approximately 4,800 team members, including approximately 500 primary care providers as of December 31, 2021. Our operations are organized and reported under one segment.
COVID-19 Update on our Business
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization designated COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The rapid spread of COVID-19, including its variants, around the world and throughout the United States has altered the behavior of businesses and people, with significant negative effects on federal, state and local economies, the duration of which is unknown at this time. Various policies were implemented by federal, state and local governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused many people to remain at home and forced the closure of or limitations on certain businesses, as well as suspended elective procedures by health care facilities. While some of these restrictions have been eased across the U.S. since the beginning of the pandemic, some restrictions remain in place, and many state and local governments are re-imposing certain restrictions due to the increasing rates of COVID-19 cases and new variants, such as Delta and Omicron. The virus disproportionately impacts older adults, especially those with chronic illnesses, which describes many of our patients.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we took the following actions to ensure the safety of our employees and their families and to address the physical, mental and social health of our patients:
•
Created a COVID-19 Response Team as of March 2020 that is supported by team members from across our organization to ensure a coordinated response to the pandemic;
•
Re-opened all of our corporate offices as of summer 2021, which were temporarily closed since March 2020, with the expectation that our corporate work force will continue to work remotely at least part-time;
•
Transitioned much of our center-based care to be delivered by our providers virtually through newly developed telehealth capabilities, including video and telephone from March through June 2020 but have transitioned our business back to a more normal operating cadence as of July 2020, including seeing a larger proportion of our
patients via in-center visits (with a corresponding reduction in telehealth visits) while maintaining stringent safety protocols to minimize the potential transmission of COVID-19. We continue to leverage our telehealth capabilities as a means of interacting with our patients to the extent an in-person visit is not required or preferred;
•
Made operational changes to the staffing and operations of our centers, which remain open as “essential” businesses, to minimize potential exposure to and transmission of COVID-19;
•
Temporarily delayed planned openings of new centers from March through August 2020 but have restarted our growth efforts through patient outreach and as of August 2020, we resumed opening new centers consistent with our pre-COVID operations;
•
Temporarily halted community outreach and other marketing initiatives which drive new patients to our platform from March through June 2020 but have recommenced marketing initiatives as of the third quarter of 2020 albeit with less frequency compared to periods before March 2020;
•
Acquired and deployed significantly greater amounts of personal protective equipment (“PPE”) to ensure the safety of our employees and patients;
•
Created a program called “COVID Care” to actively monitor our patients for suspected COVID-19 infections with the goal of managing those symptoms to keep our patients safely out of the hospital unless and until necessary due to the potential infection risks in the hospital environment;
•
Redeployed our contracted and employed drivers, who typically transport patients to our centers, to deliver food from food pantries to our patients to address food supply issues or challenges;
•
Provided free rapid COVID-19 tests to all members of the Chicago community;
•
Launched an effort in January 2021 to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers (both employees of Oak Street Health and non-employees), our patients, and other eligible members of our communities. While this work is critically important for our communities, we also expect our agile vaccination efforts will result in greater brand awareness and loyalty and incremental patient growth; and
•
Administered more than 190,000 total COVID-19 vaccine doses as of December 31, 2021.
COVID-19 has impacted both our per-patient capitated revenue due to lower risk scores for new patients as compared to historical risk scores and our medical claims expense for the year ended December 31, 2021. Although our risk scores for existing Oak Street Health patients have been consistent with our historical experience, new patients in 2021 had lower risk scores due to a lack of availability of care in 2020 as the healthcare system was inaccessible to non-Oak Street Health patients for several months in 2020, due to local COVID-19 restrictions. As we were able to more completely and accurately document both current and new patients’ health conditions in 2021, we expect that risk scores will increase to reflect the true severity of these patients’ conditions, which we would further expect to result in increased revenue for our 2022 fiscal year. It is unknown to us at present how significantly, if at all, this new patient risk score dynamic might impact our business in 2022.
We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering impact on the economy, our patients and prospective patients and our business. Whereas the progress in mass vaccination programs in the U.S. had prompted state and local governments to lift many of the restrictions on commercial activity, certain restrictions have been reimposed in recent months as a result of the recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta and Omicron variants. This resurgence, as well as any future variants of the coronavirus entering the U.S., could prompt a return to tighter restrictions in certain areas of the country. Furthermore, pandemic-related labor shortages remain unresolved and could continue for an extended period of time. Therefore, uncertainty remains regarding the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon our financial condition and future results of operations.
As we are financially responsible for essentially all of the healthcare costs associated with our at-risk patients whether we provide that care or a third party provides that care, we suspect that the healthcare costs of patients infected with COVID-19 will be greater than had COVID-19 not occurred. It is impossible, however, to know what other healthcare issues these patients may have encountered in their pre-COVID-19 lives and whether the COVID-19 costs are or will be greater or lesser than the costs these patients would otherwise incur. Additionally, because of the extraordinary measures taken by local governments in our markets particularly in the second quarter of 2020, all of our patients had more limited access to healthcare services, including healthcare specialists such as cardiologists or orthopedists, to schedule both inpatient and outpatient surgeries, and to some extent hospital care. Beginning in late March 2020 and extending through most of the second quarter of 2020, our patients who were not infected with COVID-19 incurred
lower healthcare costs than we would have otherwise expected, which will result in lower medical claims expense that we incur. From the second half of 2020 through 2021, we did experience an increase in medical costs to levels above historical norms. We believe that a portion of the increase in medical costs was related to care delayed from 2020 and delivered in 2021. In November 2021, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 began to spread quickly throughout the United States, including markets in which we operate. As we have the least amount of medical claims data for the last month of the reporting period, which was the period in which the Omicron variant had the greatest impact, we have relied on our COVID experience to-date to estimate the potential costs of the Omicron variant. We also expect to incur incremental costs in 2022 related to the Omicron variant, although it is too early for us to estimate the magnitude of these costs and offsets to those costs, if any, related to deferred or avoided care.
Because of the COVID-19 related volatility in medical cost data in 2020 and 2021 and the surge in COVID-19 cases at the end of 2021, we do not believe that these periods can serve as a reliable basis for estimating our 2022 performance and do not know what the impact from COVID-19 will be on medical costs. Given these factors, per-patient medical costs may be greater in 2022 than the levels we experienced in our recent historical results. Furthermore, given the time it takes for medical claims to be submitted to Medicare Advantage (“MA”) plans, adjudicated, and sent to us, we believe it will be several quarters before we will be able to accurately calculate the impact on medical claims expense from the COVID-19 pandemic. We do believe, however, that the impact of on per-patient revenue and medical claims related to COVID-19 that we expect to experience will not have a materially detrimental effect on our long-term financial performance.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a material impact on our results from operations, cash flows and financial position for the year ended December 31, 2021. Based upon claims paid to date, our direct costs related to COVID-19 claims were approximately $54.3 million for the period from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021. We expect to incur additional COVID-19 related costs given the volume of positive cases in our markets. Due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates, we cannot estimate any incremental COVID-19 related costs we may incur.
The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, future results of operations and financial condition will depend on future factors that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 including the impact of new variants of the virus, the actions taken to contain it or treat its impact and the economic impact on our markets. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the scope and duration of stay-at-home practices and business closures and restrictions, government-imposed or recommended suspensions of elective procedures, and expenses required for supplies and personal protective equipment. Because of these and other uncertainties, we cannot estimate the length or severity of the impact of the pandemic on our business. Furthermore, because of our business model, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be fully reflected in our results of operations and overall financial condition until future periods. We will continue to closely evaluate and monitor the nature and extent of these potential impacts to our business, results of operations and liquidity.
For additional information on the various risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, please read the Risk Factors included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
•
Adding New Patients in Existing Centers: Our ability to add new patients is a key indicator of the market’s recognition of the attractiveness of the Oak Street Platform, both to our patients and MA plan partners, and a key growth driver for the business. As we add patients to our existing centers, we expect these patients to contribute significant incremental economics to Oak Street Health as we leverage our fixed cost base at each center. We grow our patient base through our own internal sales and marketing efforts, which drive most of our new patient growth, as well as assignments from our MA plan partners. We grew our patient base from approximately 97,000 patients as of December 31, 2020 to approximately 153,500 patients as of December 31, 2021.
•
Expand our Center Base within Existing and New Markets: We believe that we currently serve less than 2% of the total patients in the markets where we currently have centers. As a result, there is significant opportunity to expand in our existing markets through the acquisition of new patients to existing centers and addition of new centers. For the long term, these strategically developed new sites allow us to access additional neighborhoods while leveraging our established brand and infrastructure in a market. Our existing markets today represent a small fraction of the overall market opportunity. Based upon our experience to date, we believe our care model can scale nationally, and we therefore expect to selectively and strategically expand into new geographies. Additionally, we began participating in the Global and Direct Contracting Model as of April 1, 2021, which we are hopeful will allow us to manage existing fee-for-service (“FFS”) patients on an at-risk basis. The Direct Contracting Model and the ACO REACH Model, as its successor create new opportunities for CMS to test an array of financial risk-sharing arrangements in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service population, and it will enable us to assume financial risk for the cost of care for patients covered by traditional
Medicare. Through this model, CMS aims to transform risk-sharing arrangements in Medicare FFS, empower and engage beneficiaries (or patients or members) in their own care delivery, broaden participation in CMS Innovation Center models, reduce provider burden and shift providers from FFS to value-based payments in primary care. There can be no assurances, however, that these or any other payment models that align with our strategy and investments will be continued or not changed in ways that could be disadvantageous to our business.
•
Contract with Payors: Our economic model relies on our capitated partnerships with payors and CMS which manage and market MA plans across the United States. In our short history, we have been able to establish strategic value-based relationships with 32 different payors as of December 31, 2021, including each of the top 5 national payors by number of MA patients. These existing contracts and relationships and our partners’ understanding of the value of our model reduces the risk of entering into new markets as we typically have payor contracts before entering a new market. Maintaining, supporting, and growing these relationships, particularly as we enter new geographies, is critical to our long-term success.
•
Effectively Manage the Cost of Care for Our Patients: The capitated nature of our contracting with payors requires us to prudently manage the medical expense of our patients. Our care model focuses on leveraging the primary care setting as a means of avoiding costly downstream healthcare costs, such as acute hospital admissions. Our patients, however, retain the freedom to seek care at emergency rooms or hospitals; we do not restrict their access to care beyond the limits of their MA plan. Therefore, we are liable for potentially large medical claims should we not effectively manage our patients’ health. As of October 20, 2021, we acquired RubiconMD Holdings, Inc., a leading technology platform in New York providing access to specialist expertise. The acquisition enables Oak Street Health to integrate virtual specialty care into its existing care model, which is expected to significantly streamline the referral process and better manage costs, enhance patient experience and provide comprehensive care far beyond traditional primary care.
•
Center-Level Contribution Margin: We endeavor to expand our number of centers and number of patients at each center over time. Due to the significant fixed costs associated with operating and managing our centers and the increases we experience in patient contribution on a per-patient basis the longer a patient is part of the Oak Street Platform, we generate significantly better center-level contribution margins (defined as (i) patient revenue, excluding Medicare Part D revenue minus (ii) the sum of (a) medical claims expense, excluding Medicare Part D related expenses, and (b) cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization) as the patient base within our centers increases and matures and our costs decrease as a percent of revenue. As a result, the value of a center to our business increases over time.
•
Seasonality to our Business: Our operational and financial results, including at-risk patient growth, per-patient revenue and medical costs, will experience some variability depending upon the time of year in which they are measured. We typically experience the largest portion of our at-risk patient growth during the first quarter, when plan enrollment selections made during the prior Annual Enrollment Period (“AEP”) from October 15th through December 7th of the prior year take effect. Our per-patient revenue will generally decline over the course of the year. As the year progresses, our per-patient revenue declines as new patients join us typically with less complete or accurate documentation (and therefore lower risk-adjustment scores) and our attrition skews towards our higher-risk (and therefore greater revenue) patients. Finally, medical costs will vary seasonally depending on a number of factors, including the weather which can be a driver of certain illnesses, such as the influenza virus. We would therefore expect to see higher levels of per-patient medical costs in the first and fourth quarters. Medical costs also depend upon the number of business days in a period as periods with fewer business days will have lower medical costs all else equal.
•
Investments in Growth: We expect to continue to focus on long-term growth through investments in our centers, care model and sales and marketing. In addition, we expect our corporate, general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars for the foreseeable future to support our growth and because of additional costs of being a public company.
Executive Summary
The following table presents key financial statistics for the Company for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019:
For the twelve-months ended
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
Centers
Total patients
153,500
97,000
79,000
At-risk
114,500
64,500
48,000
Fee-for-service
39,000
32,500
31,000
Total revenues
$
1,432.6
$
882.8
$
556.6
Loss from operations1
$
(414.0
)
$
(183.5
)
$
(103.9
)
Net loss1
$
(414.6
)
$
(192.1
)
$
(109.5
)
Platform contribution (Non-GAAP)2
$
31.5
$
77.5
$
29.7
Patient contribution (Non-GAAP)2
$
288.0
$
233.5
$
153.9
Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)2
$
(228.9
)
$
(92.6
)
$
(88.3
)
Includes stock and unit-based compensation as shown in the table in the Results of Operations section below
See “-Non-GAAP Reconciliations” below for reconciliations to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and related disclosures
Centers
We define our centers as those primary care centers open for business and attending to patients at the end of a particular period. Our centers are leased or licensed by OSH MSO or an affiliated entity and, pursuant to the terms of certain contractual relationships between OSH MSO and our affiliated medical practices, made available for use by the medical practices in the provision of primary care services.
Total Patients
Total patients includes both at-risk Medicare Advantage and Direct Contracting Model patients (those patients for whom we are financially responsible for their total healthcare costs) as well as fee-for-service Medicare patients (those patients for whom our affiliated medical groups submit claims to the federal government for direct reimbursement under the Medicare program or to MA plans which we do not have value-based arrangements). We define our total at-risk patients as at-risk patients who have selected one of our affiliated medical groups as their provider of primary care medical services or have been aligned under the Direct Contracting Model as of the end of a particular period. We define our total fee-for-service Medicare patients as fee-for-service Medicare patients who come to one of our centers for medical care at least once per year. A fee-for-service patient continues to be included in our patient count until the earlier to occur of (a) more than one year since the patient’s last visit, (b) the patient communicates a desire to stop receiving care from us or (c) the patient passes away.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We utilize certain financial measures that are not calculated based on GAAP. Certain of these financial measures are considered “non-GAAP” financial measures within the meaning of Item 10 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC. We believe that non-GAAP financial measures provide an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations that, when viewed with the GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of our results of operations and the factors and trends affecting our business. These non-GAAP financial measures are also used by our management to evaluate financial results and to plan and forecast future periods. However, non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures used by us may differ from the non-GAAP measures used by other companies, including our competitors.
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, we disclose the following Non-GAAP measures: platform contribution, patient contribution and Adjusted EBITDA as these are performance measures that our management uses to assess our operating performance. Because platform contribution, patient contribution and Adjusted EBITDA facilitate internal comparisons of our historical operating performance on a more consistent basis, we use these measures for business planning purposes and in evaluating acquisition opportunities.
Platform and patient contributions are reconciled to loss from operations as the most directly comparable GAAP measure as set forth in the below tables under “Non-GAAP Reconciliations.” Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to net loss as the most directly comparable GAAP measure as set forth in the below table under “Non-GAAP Reconciliations.”
Our definitions of platform contribution, patient contribution and Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the definition used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. In addition, other companies may not publish this or similar metrics. Thus, our Non-GAAP Financial Measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, such as net loss and loss from operations.
We provide investors and other users of our financial information with reconciliations of platform contribution, patient contribution and Adjusted EBITDA to loss from operations and net loss, respectively. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure and to view platform contribution, patient contribution and Adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with loss from operations and net loss, respectively.
Platform Contribution
We define platform contribution as total revenues less the sum of medical claims expense and cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization. We believe this metric best reflects the economics of our care model as it includes all medical claims expense associated with our patients’ care as well as the costs we incur to care for our patients via the Oak Street Platform. As a center matures, we expect the platform contribution from that center to increase both in terms of absolute dollars as well as a percent of capitated revenue. This increase will be driven by improving patient contribution economics over time as well as our ability to generate operating leverage on the costs of our centers. Our aggregate platform contribution may not increase despite improving economics at our existing centers should we open new centers at a pace that skews our mix of centers towards newer centers. We would expect to experience seasonality in platform contribution due to seasonality in our patient contribution.
Patient Contribution
We define patient contribution as capitated revenue less medical claims expense. We view patient contribution as all of the dollars available for us to manage our business, including providing care to our patients, investing in marketing to attract new patients to the Oak Street Platform and supporting the organization through our central corporate infrastructure. We expect that patient contribution will grow year-over-year in absolute dollars as our at-risk patient base continues to grow. We would also expect that our patient contribution per-patient-per-month economics on our at-risk patients will continue to improve the longer our patients are part of the Oak Street Platform as we better understand their health conditions and the patients better engage with our care model. We would expect, however, that our aggregate patient contribution per-patient-per-month economics on our at-risk patients may decrease at an aggregate level to the extent our patient growth skews our mix of patients towards patients newer to the Oak Street Platform. We would also expect to experience seasonality in patient contribution per-patient-per-month with the first quarter generally generating the greatest patient contribution per-patient-per-month, decreasing for the rest of the year. This seasonality is primarily driven by our adding new patients to the Oak Street Platform throughout the year, who generally have lower per-patient capitated revenue compared to our existing patient base.
Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net loss excluding interest expense and other income/ expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, transaction/ offering related costs and stock and unit-based compensation. We include adjusted EBITDA in this Annual Report because it is an important measure upon which our management assesses and believes investors should assess our operating performance. We also consider adjusted EBITDA to be an important measure because it helps illustrate underlying trends in our business and our historical operating performance on a more consistent basis.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of operations data for the periods indicated:
For the twelve-months ended
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
Revenues:
Capitated revenue
$
1,397.0
$
851.3
$
539.9
Other revenue
35.6
31.5
16.7
Total revenues
1,432.6
882.8
556.6
Operating expenses:
Medical claims expense
1,109.0
617.8
386.0
Cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization (1)
293.7
187.5
140.9
Sales and marketing (2)
119.4
64.2
46.2
Corporate, general and administrative (3)
306.7
185.6
79.6
Depreciation and amortization
17.8
11.2
7.8
Total operating expenses
1,846.6
1,066.3
660.5
Loss from operations
$
(414.0
)
$
(183.5
)
$
(103.9
)
Other income/(expense):
Interest expense, net
(2.5
)
(8.7
)
(5.7
)
Other
-
0.1
0.1
Total other expense
(2.5
)
(8.6
)
(5.6
)
Income before income taxes and non-controlling interests
$
(416.5
)
$
(192.1
)
$
(109.5
)
Provision for income taxes
(1.9
)
-
-
Net loss
$
(414.6
)
$
(192.1
)
$
(109.5
)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests
5.2
4.1
1.6
Net loss attributable to the Company
$
(409.4
)
$
(188.0
)
$
(107.9
)
(1) Includes stock-based compensation, as follows:
$
1.6
$
-
$
-
(2) Includes stock-based compensation, as follows:
3.4
1.3
-
(3) Includes stock-based compensation, as follows:
$
156.4
$
77.3
$
4.1
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the periods presented as a percentage of our total revenues for those periods. Percentages presented in the following tables may not sum due to rounding.
For the twelve-months ended
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
Revenues:
Capitated revenue
%
%
%
Other revenue
%
%
%
Total revenues
%
%
%
Operating expenses:
Medical claims expense
%
%
%
Cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization
%
%
%
Sales and marketing
%
%
%
Corporate, general and administrative
%
%
%
Depreciation and amortization
%
%
%
Total operating expenses
%
%
%
Loss from operations
(29
)%
(21
)%
(19
)%
Other income/(expense):
Interest expense, net
(0
)%
(1
)%
(1
)%
Other
%
%
%
Total other expense
(0
)%
(1
)%
(1
)%
Income before income taxes and non-controlling interests
(29
)%
(22
)%
(20
)%
Provision for income taxes
(0
)%
%
%
Net loss
(29
)%
(22
)%
(20
)%
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests
%
%
%
Net loss attributable to the Company
(29
)%
(21
)%
(20
)%
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Total revenues
For the twelve-months ended
Change
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
$
%
Revenues:
Capitated revenue
$
1,397.0
$
851.3
$
545.7
%
Other revenue
35.6
31.5
4.1
%
Total revenues
$
1,432.6
$
882.8
$
549.8
%
Capitated revenue was $1,397.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $545.7 million, or 64%, compared to $851.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was driven primarily by increases in our at-risk patient base and our capitated rates. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we recognized approximately $20.8 million of capitated revenue that was primarily earned in 2020 but was recorded in the year-ended December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we recognized approximately $10.0 million of capitated revenue that was earned in 2019 but was recorded in the year-ended December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily due to patient retroactivity and rate increases due to final risk score adjustments.
Other revenue was $35.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $4.1 million, or 13%, compared to $31.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was driven primarily by higher fee-for-service revenue resulting from an increase in our patient base of approximately 20% and an increase in the number of centers that we operate.
Operating Expenses
For the twelve-months ended
Change
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
$
%
Medical claims expense
$
1,109.0
$
617.8
$
491.2
%
Cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization
293.7
187.5
106.2
%
Sales and marketing
119.4
64.2
55.2
%
Corporate, general and administrative
306.7
185.6
121.1
%
Depreciation and amortization
17.8
11.2
6.6
%
Total operating expenses
$
1,846.6
$
1,066.3
$
780.3
%
Medical claims expense was $1,109.0 million or 77% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $491.2 million, or 80%, compared to $617.8 million or 70% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to an increased number of total patients under capitated arrangements as well as increases in medical costs per patient. The increase in cost per patient year over year is as a result of increased COVID-19 admissions, non-COVID-19 admissions and new patients. Additionally, medical claims expense of $6.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 was the result of an increase in prior period incurred claims related to fiscal year 2020. This is compared to medical claims expense of $11.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 that were related to incurred claims from fiscal year 2019. The decrease in the prior period adjustments was driven by favorable change in prior period development.
Cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization was $293.7 million or 21% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $106.2 million, or 57%, compared to $187.5 million or 21% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by increases in salaries and benefits of $59.9 million, medical equipment of $12.4 million, and occupancy costs of $28.0 million, due to the growth in both the number of centers we operate and our patient base. Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded $5.4 million from CARES Act Provider Relief Funds to offset certain COVID-19 related expenses, in cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization. For the year ended December 31, 2021, $3.6 million of such funds were recorded against cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization.
Sales and marketing expense was $119.4 million or 8% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $55.2 million, or 86%, compared to $64.2 million or 7% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was driven by greater advertising spend of $35.7 million to drive new patients to our clinics and net headcount growth of $17.1 million. Sales and marketing expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 were partially depressed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to temporary suspension of community outreach roles and other marketing initiatives from March through September 2020, which drive new patients to our platform.
Corporate, general and administrative expense was $306.7 million or 21% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $121.1 million, or 65%, compared to $185.6 million or 21% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by greater salaries and benefits of $99.0 million, which includes an increase in stock and unit-based compensation expense of $79.1 million primarily due pre-IPO equity issuances and the modification of vesting terms for pre-IPO awards that occurred post IPO (2020 included approximately four and a half months of expense due to timing of our IPO), to support the growth of our business. As a result of being a public company, insurance and legal expenses increased $13.6 million.
Depreciation and amortization expense was $17.8 million or 1% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $6.6 million, or 59%, compared to $11.2 million or 1% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to capital expenditures purchased to support the continued growth of our business.
Other Income (Expense)
Interest expense was $(2.5) million for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $6.2 million compared to $(8.7) million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to the payoff of outstanding debt and related interest from the Hercules Loan Agreement on August 11, 2020 and limited interest activity in 2021.
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
For discussion related to changes in financial condition and the results of operations for fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019, refer to Part II - Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 10, 2021.
Non-GAAP Reconciliations
The following table provides a reconciliation of loss from operations, the most closely comparable GAAP financial measure, to platform contribution:
For the twelve-months ended
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
Loss from operations
$
(414.0
)
$
(183.5
)
$
(103.9
)
Depreciation and amortization
17.8
11.2
7.8
Corporate, general and administrative
306.7
185.6
79.6
Sales and marketing
119.4
64.2
46.2
Stock and unit-based compensation
1.6
-
-
Platform contribution
$
31.5
$
77.5
$
29.7
The following table provides a reconciliation of loss from operations, the most closely comparable GAAP financial measure, to patient contribution.
For the twelve-months ended
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
Loss from operations
$
(414.0
)
$
(183.5
)
$
(103.9
)
Other revenue
(35.6
)
(31.5
)
(16.7
)
Cost of care, excluding depreciation and amortization
293.7
187.5
140.9
Sales and marketing
119.4
64.2
46.2
Corporate, general and administrative expenses
306.7
185.6
79.6
Depreciation and amortization
17.8
11.2
7.8
Patient contribution
$
288.0
$
233.5
$
153.9
The following table provides a reconciliation of net loss, the most closely comparable GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA:
For the twelve-months ended
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
Net loss
$
(414.6
)
$
(192.1
)
$
(109.5
)
Interest expense and other income
2.5
8.6
5.6
Depreciation and amortization
17.8
11.2
7.8
Stock and unit-based compensation
161.4
78.6
4.1
Transaction/offering related costs
5.9
1.1
3.7
Provision for income taxes
(1.9
)
-
-
Adjusted EBITDA
$
(228.9
)
$
(92.6
)
$
(88.3
)
Transaction/ offering related costs deducted in our Adjusted EBITDA calculation include one-time costs incurred related to private, public offerings and due diligence costs associated with our acquisitions. These expenses are included within corporate, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
The Company’s long-term capital policy is to: maintain a strong balance sheet and financial flexibility; reinvest in its care model; and invest in strategic opportunities that reinforce its care model and meet return requirements. To date, we have financed our operations through private placements of our equity securities, payments received from various payors, through the issuance of convertible notes and our IPO. We believe that our access to capital markets will provide adequate resources to fund our short-term and long-term operating and financing needs. As of December 31, 2021, we had cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents of $120.4 million. Our cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of highly liquid investments in money market funds and cash. Since our inception and through December 31, 2021, we have generated significant operating losses from our operations as reflected in our accumulated deficit and negative cash flows from operations.
We expect to continue to incur operating losses and generate negative cash flows from operations for the foreseeable future due to the investments we intend to continue to make in expanding our operations and sales and marketing and due to additional general and administrative costs we expect to incur in connection with supporting our growth and operating as a public company. As a result, we may require additional capital resources to execute strategic initiatives to grow our business.
We believe that the proceeds from the convertible debt offering described below are sufficient to satisfy our anticipated cash requirements, which consist of capital expenditures, working capital, and potential acquisition and strategic transactions, for the next twelve months, even with the uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the foreseeable future. Our assessment of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement and involves risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and our future capital requirements could vary because of, many factors, including our growth rate, the timing and extent of spending to open new centers and expand into new markets and the expansion of sales and marketing activities.
We may in the future enter into arrangements to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, services and technologies, including intellectual property rights. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. We may be required to seek additional equity or debt financing. In the event that additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when desired, or if we cannot expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities because we lack sufficient capital, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be adversely affected.
Convertible Senior Notes, Capped Call Transactions and Marketable Debt Securities
In March 2021, we issued $920.0 million aggregate principal amount of 0% Convertible Senior Notes (the “Convertible Senior Notes”), including the exercise in full of the initial purchasers’ option to purchase up to an additional $120.0 million, in a private offering exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. The Convertible Senior Notes are governed by an indenture (“Indenture”), dated as of March 16, 2021, between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. Total proceeds realized from the sale of the Convertible Senior Notes, net of debt issuance and offering costs of $22.1 million, were $897.9 million. The Convertible Senior Notes will not bear regular interest and the principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes will not accrete. We will pay special interest, if any, as the sole remedy, at our election, relating to the failure to comply with our reporting and certain other obligations under the Indenture for the first 365 days after the occurrence of such an event. The Convertible Senior Notes are general senior, unsecured obligations of the Company and will mature on March 15, 2026, unless earlier redeemed, repurchased or converted. Refer to Note 8, Convertible Senior Notes, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report.
We used approximately $123.6 million of the net proceeds to pay the cost of the capped call transactions. Through December 31, 2021, the Company invested $677.1 million of the proceeds from the Convertible Senior Notes in marketable debt securities. We also used approximately $134.9 million to acquire RubiconMD on October 20, 2021. We intend to use the remaining proceeds invested in marketable debt securities for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, and potential acquisitions and strategic transactions.
The Indenture contains customary covenants related to timely filings and reporting, and customary events of default. As of December 31, 2021, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Indenture.
Cash Flows
The following table presents a summary of our consolidated cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the periods indicated.
For the twelve-months ended
(dollars in millions)
December 31, 2021
December 31, 2020
$ Change
% Change
Net cash used in operating activities
$
(197.2
)
$
(77.2
)
$
(120.0
)
%
Net cash used in investing activities
(887.4
)
(21.7
)
(865.7
)
%
Net cash provided by financing activities
785.3
476.3
309.0
%
Net change in cash
$
(299.3
)
$
377.4
$
(676.7
)
(179
)%
Operating Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was $(197.2) million, an increase of $(120.0) million compared to net cash used in operating activities of $(77.2) million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The principal contributors to the year-over-year change in the operating cash flows were as follows:
•
A net change of $114.8 million in net loss and non-cash charges and credits, primarily due to an increase in net loss for the business, as noted above under “Results of Operations” offset by increased stock and unit-based compensation and non-cash operating lease charges; and
•
A net decrease of $5.2 million in cash inflows related to operating assets and liabilities resulting from
o
Changes in accounts receivable due to the timing of collections and the growth in the number of at-risk patients;
o
Changes in liability for unpaid claims due to the timing of payments and growth in the number of at-risk patients; and
o
Changes in other current and long-term liabilities primarily due to new center openings.
Investing Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities was $(887.4) million, an increase of $(865.7) million compared to net cash used in investing activities of $(21.7) million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to business combinations, including the acquisition of Rubicon as of October 2021, resulting in an outflow of $124.0 million and increased capital expenditures for the continued growth in new centers. Additionally, we had an outflow of $870.7 million related to the purchase of marketable debt securities, partially offset by $193.6 million of proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable debt securities.
Financing Activities
Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $785.3 million primarily due $897.9 million in proceeds from the issuance of the Convertible Senior Notes, partially offset by cash outflows of $123.6 million related to the capped call transactions completed in March 2021. Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $476.3 million, which was primarily due to net IPO proceeds of $351.2 million, proceeds of $224.4 million from the issuance of redeemable investor units, partially offset by $85.8 million in debt payments and the payment for repurchases of units of $19.4 million as a result of the completed tender offer in 2020.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The Company’s contractual obligations as of December 31, 2021 were as follows:
(dollars in millions)
Total
Less than 1 Year
1-3 Years
3-5 Years
More than 5 Years
Convertible Senior Notes
$
920.0
$
-
$
-
$
920.0
$
-
Operating Lease Obligations
226.4
25.3
46.8
41.9
112.4
Contingent Consideration
21.8
9.4
12.4
-
-
Other Obligations
134.6
6.3
30.8
32.1
65.4
Total
$
1,302.8
$
41.0
$
90.0
$
994.0
$
177.8
Convertible Senior Notes- We hold borrowings under our Convertible Senior Notes, which have a 0% interest rate. The Convertible Senior Notes are governed by an indenture (“Indenture”), dated as of March 16, 2021, between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. Under the Indenture, the Convertible Senior Notes are general senior, unsecured obligations of the Company and will mature on March 15, 2026, unless earlier redeemed, repurchased or converted.
Operating Lease Obligations- The Company leases offices, operating facilities, vehicles and IT equipment, which are accounted for as operating leases. These leases have remaining lease terms of up to 30 years, inclusive of renewal or termination options that the Company is reasonably certain to exercise.
Contingent Consideration- As part of the acquisition of RMD, the Company may be obligated to pay contingent consideration of up to a maximum earn-out of $60 million during the fiscal year 2022 or 2023 should the acquired company achieve certain internal usage volumes in the year following the acquisition. We recorded the contingent consideration at fair value by calculating the present value of the probability weighted consideration expected to be transferred. We also recorded $0.1 million of contingent consideration related to immaterial acquisitions of medical practices. The key unobservable inputs used to determine the fair value are the probabilities of achieving the stated objectives.
Other Obligations- The Humana Alliance Provision contains an arrangement for a license fee that is payable by the Company to Humana for the Company’s provision of health care services in certain centers owned or leased by Humana. The license fee is a reimbursement to Humana for its costs of owning or leasing and maintaining the centers, including rental payments, center maintenance or repair expenses, equipment expenses, special assessments, cost of upgrades, taxes, leasehold improvements, and other expenses identified by Humana and is included in cost of care expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.
Emerging Growth Company Status
Based on the aggregate worldwide market value of our shares of common stock held by our non-affiliate stockholders as of December 31, 2021, we have become a “large-accelerated filer” and have lost emerging growth status for the year ended December 31, 2021. We are no longer exempt from the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and our independent registered public accounting firm will evaluate and report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting.
JOBS Act Accounting Election
The JOBS Act permits an emerging growth company to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies. On June 30, 2021, the last business day of the Company’s second fiscal quarter in 2021, the market value of the Company’s common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million. Accordingly, the Company was deemed a large-accelerated filer as of December 31, 2021, and can no longer take advantage of the extended timeline to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies beginning with this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Management prepared the consolidated financial statements of the Company under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The application of these principles requires the use of estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We believe that our estimates, judgments and assumptions are reasonable based upon available information and our past experience; we evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, actual results could materially differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, impacting our reported results of operations and financial condition. We refer to accounting estimates of this type as critical accounting policies, which we further discuss below.
Please see Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part IV, Item 15) for a summary of our significant accounting policies. Some of the more critical policies and estimates include capitated revenue, medical claims expense, business combinations, goodwill and intangible assets and impairment of long-lived assets.
Capitated Revenue
The transaction price for our capitated payor contracts is variable as it primarily includes per patient, per month (“PPPM”) fees associated with unspecified membership. PPPM fees can fluctuate throughout the contract based on the health status (acuity) of each individual enrollee. In certain contracts, PPPM fees also include “risk adjustments” for items such as performance incentives, performance guarantees and risk shares. The capitated revenues are recognized based on the estimated PPPM earned net of projected performance incentives, performance guarantees, risk shares and rebates because we are able to reasonably estimate the ultimate
PPPM payment of these contracts. We recognize revenue in the month in which eligible members are entitled to receive healthcare benefits. Subsequent changes in PPPM fees and the amount of revenue to be recognized are reflected through subsequent period adjustments to properly recognize the ultimate capitation amount. We also assess the profitability of our capitation arrangements to identify contracts where current operating results or forecasts indicate probable future losses. If anticipated future variable costs exceed anticipated future revenues, a premium deficiency reserve is recognized.
Certain third-party payor contracts include a Medicare Part D payment related to pharmacy claims, which is subject to risk sharing through accepted risk corridor provisions. Under certain agreements the fund risk allocation is established whereby we, as the contracted provider, receive only a portion of the risk and the associated surplus or deficit. We estimate and recognize an adjustment to Part D capitated revenues related to these risk corridor provisions based upon pharmacy claims experience to date, as if the annual risk contract were to terminate at the end of the reporting period.
For our capitated revenue arrangements, we evaluate whether we are the principal, and report revenues on a gross basis, or an agent, and report revenues on a net basis. In this assessment, we consider if we obtain control of the specified services before they are transferred to our customers, as well as other indicators such as the party primarily responsible for fulfillment.
We review our assumptions and adjust these estimates accordingly on a quarterly basis. Our consolidated financial statements could be materially impacted if actual risk scores are different from the estimated risk scores. If our accrual estimates for risk scores at December 31, 2021 were to differ by +/- 5%, the impact on revenues would be approximately $2.7 million.
Medical Claims Expense
Medical claims expenses are costs for third party healthcare service providers that provide medical care to our patients for which we are contractually obligated to pay through our full-risk capitation arrangements. The estimated reserve for our liability for incurred and not reported claims is included in the liability for unpaid claims in the consolidated balance sheets. Actual claims expense will differ from the estimated liability due to factors in estimated and actual member utilization of health care services, the amount of charges and other factors. We assess our estimates with an independent actuarial expert to ensure our estimates represent the best, most reasonable estimate given the data available to us at the time the estimates are made. The actuarial models consider factors such as time from date of service to claim processing, seasonal variances in medical care consumption, health care professional contract rate changes, medical care utilization and other medical cost trends, membership volume and demographics, the introduction of new technologies and benefit plan changes.
We review our assumptions and adjust these estimates accordingly on a quarterly basis. Our consolidated financial statements could be materially impacted if actual claims expense is different from our estimates. If our liability for incurred and not reported claims at December 31, 2021 were to differ by +/- 5%, the impact on medical claims expense would be approximately $13.3 million.
Business Combinations, Goodwill and Intangible Assets
The Company accounts for business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires that once control is obtained, all the assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at their respective fair values at the date of acquisition. The determination of fair values of assets and liabilities acquired requires estimates. The determination of fair values of assets and liabilities acquired requires estimates and the use of valuation techniques when market value is not readily available.
For intangible assets, the Company generally uses the income approach to determine fair value. The income approach requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions primarily include, but are not limited to: discount rates, terminal growth rates, royalty rates, forecasts of revenue, operating income, depreciation, amortization and capital expenditures. The discount rates applied to the projections reflect the risk factors associated with those projections.
Our acquisitions may also include contingent consideration, or earn-out provisions, which provide for additional consideration to be paid to the seller if certain future conditions are met. These earn-out provisions are estimated and at fair value at the acquisition date based on certain internal volumes in the year following the acquisition.
Although the Company believes its estimates of fair value are reasonable, actual financial results could differ from those estimates due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making such estimates. Changes in assumptions concerning future financial results or other underlying assumptions could have a significant impact on the determination of the fair value of the intangible assets acquired.
Judgment is also required in determining the intangible asset’s useful life.
Goodwill represents the excess of consideration paid over the fair value of net assets acquired through business acquisitions. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at least annually. We test goodwill for impairment annually on October 1st or more frequently if triggering events occur or other impairment indicators arise which might impair recoverability. These events or circumstances would include a significant change in the business climate, legal factors, operating performance indicators, competition, sale, disposition of a significant portion of the business or other factors.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Company evaluates the recoverability of long-lived assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of such an asset may not be recoverable. The evaluation of long-lived assets is performed at the lowest level of identifiable cash flows. Long-lived assets related to the Company’s centers include property, plant and equipment, definite-lived intangibles, right of use assets as well as operating lease liabilities. If the asset group fails the recoverability test, then an impairment charge is determined based on the difference between the fair value of the asset group compared to its carrying value. Fair value of the asset group is generally determined using an income approach based on cash flows expected from the use and eventual disposal of the asset group.
The determination of the fair value of the asset group requires management to estimate a number of factors including anticipated future cash flows and discount rates. Although we believe these estimates are reasonable, actual results could differ from those estimates due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making such estimates.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements (Part IV, Item 15) “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies-Recent Accounting Pronouncements” for more information.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. Our market risk exposure is primarily a result of exposure due to potential changes in inflation or interest rates. We do not hold financial instruments for trading purposes.
Interest Rate Risk
As of December 31, 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $120.4 million, held primarily in cash deposits for working capital purposes. We had marketable debt securities of $671.1 million as of December 31, 2021, compared to $0.0 million as of December 31, 2020, consisting of U.S. Treasury obligations, corporate bonds, available-for-sale securities and others. Our investments are made for capital preservation purposes. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes. All our investments are denominated in U.S. dollars. As of December 31, 2021, we had total outstanding debt of $920.0 million which has a 0% interest rate.
Our cash and cash equivalents, marketable debt securities and debt are subject to market risk due to changes in interest rates. Fixed rate securities may have their market value negatively impacted due to a rise in interest rates, while floating rate securities may produce less income than expected if interest rates fall. Due in part to these factors, our future investment income may fall short of expectation due to changes in interest rates or we may suffer losses in principal if we are forced to sell securities that decline in market value due to changes in interest rates.
We do not believe that an increase or decrease in interest rates of 100 basis points would have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
All information required by this item is included in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated in this item by reference.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

---

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on their evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2021.
Under guidelines established by the SEC, companies are allowed to exclude acquisitions from their assessment of internal control over financial reporting during the first year of an acquisition while integrating the acquired company. Accordingly, our assessment of internal controls excluded our acquisition of Rubicon that was completed on October 20, 2021. Operations from this acquisition represented approximately 8.8% of total assets and 0.1% of total revenue as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management’s report on internal reporting over financial reporting. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in 2013. Based on the results of this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021. The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 has been audited by our independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their attestation report, which is below.
Attestation Report of the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Oak Street Health, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited Oak Street Health, Inc’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, Oak Street Health, Inc. (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of Oak Street Health, Inc. as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, changes in redeemable investor units and stockholders’ equity/members’ deficit, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021 and the related notes and our report dated February 28, 2022 and expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
As indicated in the accompanying Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures, management’s assessment of and conclusion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting did not include the internal controls of RubiconMD Holdings, Inc. which is included in the 2021 consolidated financial statements of the Company and constituted approximately 8.8% and 288.7% of total and net assets, respectively, as of December 31, 2021 and 0.1% and 0.5% of revenues and net loss, respectively, for the year then ended. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting of the Company also did not include an evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting of RubiconMD Holdings, Inc.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Chicago, IL
February 28, 2022
Changes to our Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
There were no material changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the year ended December 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitation on the Effectiveness of Internal Control
The effectiveness of any system of internal control over financial reporting, including ours, is subject to inherent limitations, including the exercise of judgment in designing, implementing, operating, and evaluating the controls and procedures, and the inability to eliminate misconduct completely. Accordingly, in designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any system of internal control over financial reporting, including ours, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable, not absolute assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs. Moreover, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. We intend to continue to monitor and upgrade our internal controls as necessary or appropriate for our business but cannot assure you that such improvements will be sufficient to provide us with effective internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
None.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
We adopted a written code of ethics and business conduct that applies to our directors, executive officers and employees, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, principal accounting officer, the controller and all persons performing similar functions. A current copy of the code is posted under “Governance” on the Investor Relations section of our website, www.oakstreethealth.com. Any waiver from the Code of Ethics and any amendments to the Code of Ethics will be disclosed on such page of the Company’s web site.
All other information in response to this item is incorporated by reference from the Proxy Statement sections entitled “Corporate Governance,” “Election of Directors,” “Board Meetings and Committees,” “Executive Officers,” and “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports.”

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information in response to this item is incorporated by reference from the Proxy Statement sections entitled “Executive and Director Compensation,” “Executive Compensation - Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation” and “Compensation Committee Report.”

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The information in response to this item is incorporated by reference from the Proxy Statement section entitled “Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.”

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information in response to this item is incorporated by reference from the Proxy Statement sections entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions,” “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance” “Election of Directors,” and “Board Meetings and Committees.”

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The information in response to this item is incorporated by reference from the Proxy Statement section entitled “Fees and Services.”
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
(a)
The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
1.
Financial Statements.
The accompanying Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page of this annual report on Form 10-K is provided in response to this item.
2.
List of Financial Statement Schedules.
All schedules are omitted because the required information is either not present, not present in material amounts or presented within the consolidated financial statements.
(b)
The exhibits listed in the following “Exhibit Index” are filed, furnished or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report.
Exhibit Index
Exhibit
Number
Description
3.1
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Oak Street Health, Inc., dated August 10, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on August 11, 2020).
3.2
Amended and Restated Bylaws of Oak Street Health, Inc., dated August 10, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on August 11, 2020).
4.1
Registration Rights Agreement, dated August 10, 2020, by and among the Company and the other signatories party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on August 11, 2020).
4.2
Description of capital stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Form 10-K filed on March 10, 2021).
4.3
Indenture, dated March 16, 2021, between Oak Street Health, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report filed with the SEC on March 16, 2021).
4.4
Form 0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Current Report filed with the SEC on March 16, 2021).
10.1
Sponsor Director Nomination Agreement, dated as of August 10, 2020, by and among the Company and the other signatories party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on August 11, 2020).
10.2
Humana Director Nomination Agreement, dated as of August 10, 2020, by and among the Company and the other signatories party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on August 11, 2020).
10.7
Tax Matters Agreement, dated as of August 10, 2020, by and among the Company and the other signatories party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on August 11, 2020).
10.8
Form of Indemnification Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Form S-1 filed on July 10, 2020).
10.9+
Oak Street Health, Inc. Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form S-8 filed on August 10, 2020).
10.10+
Oak Street Health, Inc. 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Form S-8 filed on August 10, 2020).
10.11+
Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement with Kim Keck dated October 1, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 on the Company’s Form 8-K filed on October 2, 2020).
21.1
List of subsidiaries of Oak Street Health, Inc.
23.1
Consent of Ernst & Young LLP.
31.1
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rules Rule 13a-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2020, filed herewith.
31.2
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rules Rule 13a-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2020, filed herewith.
32.1*
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, filed herewith.
32.2*
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, filed herewith.
101.INS
Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
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Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan or agreement.
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Exhibits and schedules have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K and will be provided on a supplemental basis to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request.
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The certifications furnished in Exhibit 32.1 and Exhibit 32.2 hereto are deemed to accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K and will not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it by reference.