Astrana Health (ASTH) Risk Analysis

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. We currently expect that the new presidential administration may reduce federal regulatory oversight and government spending, while, on the state level, in some states, there may continue to be increased government oversight and regulation of the healthcare industry. We cannot assure our stockholders 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 the hospitals and other facilities where our affiliated physicians provide services. It is possible that the changes to Medicare, Medicaid, or other governmental healthcare program reimbursements may serve as precedent to possible changes in other payers' reimbursement policies in a manner adverse to us. Similarly, changes in private payer 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. Although we do not anticipate that a single-payer national health insurance system will be enacted by the current Congress or the new presidential administration, several federal legislative initiatives have previously been proposed that would establish some form of a single public or quasi-public agency that organizes healthcare financing, but under which healthcare delivery would remain private. If enacted, such a system could adversely affect our business.

Some states have laws that prohibit business entities from practicing medicine, employing physicians to practice medicine, exercising control over medical decisions by physicians (also known collectively as the corporate practice of medicine) or engaging in some arrangements, such as fee-splitting, with physicians. 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. California, where a substantial amount of our operations are located, is one of the states that prohibit the corporate practice of medicine. In the states in which we have business operations, we operate by maintaining contracts with our affiliated physician groups, which are each owned and operated by physicians, and which employ or contract with additional physicians to provide physician services. Under these arrangements, we or our subsidiaries provide management services, receive a management fee for providing management services, do not represent to offer medical services, and do not exercise influence or control over the practice of medicine by the physicians or the affiliated physician groups. In addition to the above management arrangements, in certain instances, we have contractual rights relating to the transfer of equity interests in our affiliated physician groups under physician shareholder agreements that we entered into with the controlling equity holder of such affiliated physician groups. However, even in such instances, such equity interests cannot be transferred to or held by us or any non-professional organization. Accordingly, we do not directly own equity interests in affiliated physician groups in the states in which we have business operations. In the event that any of these affiliated physician groups or their equity holders fail to comply with these management or ownership transfer arrangements, these arrangements are terminated, we are unable to enforce such arrangements, or these arrangements are invalidated under applicable laws, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition, and we may need to restructure our organization and change our arrangements with our affiliated physician groups, which may not be successful.

As a company involved in providing healthcare services, we are subject to numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations. There are significant costs involved in complying with these laws and regulations. If we are found to have violated any applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to civil and/or criminal damages, fines, sanctions, or penalties, including exclusion from participation in governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and we may be required to change our method of operations and business strategy. These consequences could be the result of our current conduct or even conduct that occurred a number of years ago. We could incur significant costs to defend ourselves if we become the subject of an investigation or legal proceeding alleging a violation of these laws and regulations. We cannot predict whether a federal, state, or local government will determine that we are not operating in accordance with the law or whether, when or how the laws will change in the future and impact our business. The following is a non-exhaustive list of some of the more significant healthcare laws and regulations that could affect us: - The False Claims Act, which provides for penalties against entities and individuals who knowingly or recklessly make claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other governmental healthcare programs, as well as third-party payers, that contain or are based upon false or fraudulent information;- A provision of the Social Security Act, commonly referred to as the "Anti-Kickback Statute," that prohibits the knowing and willful offering, payment, solicitation, or receipt of any bribe, kickback, rebate, or other remuneration, in cash or in-kind, in return for the referral or recommendation of patients for items and services covered, in or in part, by federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid;- A provision of the Social Security Act, commonly referred to as the Stark Law or physician self-referral law (subject to limited exceptions), prohibits physicians from referring Medicare patients to an entity for the provision of specific "designated health services" if the physician or a member of such physician's immediate family has a direct or indirect financial relationship with the entity, and prohibits the entity from billing for services arising out of such prohibited referrals;- A provision of the Social Security Act that provides for criminal penalties on healthcare providers who fail to disclose known overpayments;- A provision of the Social Security Act that provides for civil monetary penalties on healthcare providers who fail to repay known overpayments within 60 days of identification or the date any corresponding cost report was due, if applicable, and also allows improper retention of known overpayments to serve as a basis for False Claims Act violations;- Provisions of the Social Security Act (emanating from the DRA) require entities that make or receive annual Medicaid payments of $5 million or more from a single Medicaid program to provide its employees, contractors, and agents with written policies and employee handbook materials on federal and state false claims acts and related statutes, that establish a Medicaid Integrity Program designed to enhance federal and state efforts to detect Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse, and that increase financial incentives for both states and individuals to bring fraud and abuse claims against healthcare companies;- State law provisions pertaining to anti-kickback, self-referral, and false claims issues;- Provisions of, and regulations relating to, HIPAA that provide penalties for knowingly and willfully executing a scheme or artifice to defraud a healthcare benefit program or falsifying, concealing, or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items, or services;- Provisions of HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 ("HITECH") limiting how covered entities, business associates, and business associate sub-contractors may use and disclose PHI and the security measures that must be taken in connection with protecting that information and related systems, as well as similar or more stringent state laws;- Federal and state laws provide penalties for providers for billing and receiving payments from a governmental healthcare program for services unless the services are medically necessary and reasonable, adequately and accurately documented, and billed using codes that accurately reflect the type and level of services rendered;- State laws that provide for financial solvency requirements relating to risk-bearing organizations ("RBOs"), plan operations, plan-affiliate operations, and transactions, plan-provider contractual relationships, and provider-affiliate operations and transactions, such as California Business & Professions Code Section 1375.4;- Federal laws that provide for administrative sanctions, including civil monetary penalties for, among other violations, inappropriate billing of services to federal healthcare programs, payments by hospitals to physicians for reducing or limiting services to Medicare or Medicaid patients, or employing or contracting with individuals or entities who/which are excluded from participation in federal healthcare programs;- Federal and state laws and policies require healthcare providers to enroll in the Medicare and Medicaid programs before submitting any claims for services, to promptly report certain changes in their operations to the agencies that administer these programs, and to re-enroll in these programs when changes in direct or indirect ownership occur or in response to revalidation requests from Medicare and Medicaid;- State laws that prohibit general business entities from practicing medicine, controlling physicians' medical decisions, or engaging in certain practices, such as splitting fees with physicians;- State laws that impose time limits for processing and payment of uncontested covered claims and require healthcare service plans to pay interest on uncontested claims not paid promptly within the required time period. For example, §1371.38, et al., of the California Health & Safety Code, imposes time limits for the payment of uncontested covered claims and requires healthcare service plans to pay interest on uncontested claims not paid promptly within the required time period;- Laws in some states that prohibit non-domiciled entities from owning and operating medical practices in such states;- Federal and state laws and regulations restricting the techniques that may be used to collect past due accounts from consumers, such as our patients, for services provided to the consumer; and - State laws require healthcare providers that assume professional and institutional risk (i.e., full risk) to either obtain a license or an exemption. For example, California's Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 requires the healthcare providers to obtain a license or receive an exemption from the California Department of Managed Healthcare ("DMHC") for the contract(s) under which the entity assumes full risk. Any violation or alleged violation of any of these laws or regulations by us or our affiliates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Any changes in healthcare laws or regulations that reduce, curtail, or eliminate payments, government-subsidized programs, government-sponsored programs, and/or the expansion of Medicare or Medicaid, among other actions, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. For example, the ACA dramatically changed how healthcare services are covered, delivered, and reimbursed. The ACA requires insurers to accept all applicants, regardless of pre-existing conditions, cover an extensive list of conditions and treatments, and charge the same rates, regardless of pre-existing conditions or gender. The ACA and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the "Health Care Reform Acts") also mandated changes specific to home health and hospice benefits under Medicare. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA, including the "individual mandate" provisions of the ACA that generally require all individuals to obtain healthcare insurance or pay a penalty. However, the U.S. Supreme Court also held that the provision of the ACA that authorized the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") to penalize states that choose not to participate in the expansion of the Medicaid program by removing all of its existing Medicaid funding was unconstitutional. In response to the ruling, a number of state governors opposed their state's participation in the expanded Medicaid program, which resulted in the ACA not providing coverage to some low-income persons in those states. In addition, several bills have been, and may continue to be, introduced in U.S. Congress to amend all or significant provisions of the ACA, or repeal and replace the ACA with another law. In December 2017, the individual mandate was repealed via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Afterward, legal and political challenges as to the constitutionality of the remaining provisions of the ACA resumed. Just as the fate of the ACA is uncertain, so is the future of care organizations established under the ACA, such as ACOs and ACO REACH. Under its ACO REACH Participation Agreement with CMS, our operations are always subject to the nation's healthcare laws, as amended, repealed, or replaced from time to time. The net effect of the ACA on our business is subject to numerous variables, including the law's complexity, lack of complete implementing regulations and interpretive guidance, gradual and potentially delayed implementation, or possible amendment, as well as the uncertainty as to the extent to which states will choose to participate in the expanded Medicaid program. The continued implementation of provisions of the ACA, the adoption of new regulations thereunder, and ongoing challenges thereto, also add uncertainty about the current state of U.S. healthcare laws and could negatively impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, several significant administrative law cases were decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024, most notably Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo ("Loper Bright"), which modified the regulatory interpretation standard established 40 years ago by Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council. Chevron doctrine generally required courts to defer to federal agencies, such as CMS, in their interpretation of federal statutes when a statute was silent or ambiguous with respect to a specific issue. In Loper Bright, the Supreme Court held that courts are no longer required to grant such deference, though they may consider an agency's statutory interpretation. As it is highly regulated, the health care industry could be significantly impacted by the Loper Bright decision, particularly in the areas of Medicare reimbursement and health care fraud and abuse compliance, where parties may no longer be able to rely on federal agencies' policies, rules and guidance. In addition, the decision generally may, among other things, increase the frequency of challenges to decisions and rulemaking of health regulators, including CMS rules regarding reimbursement, and also impact the speed at which federal health regulators make decisions and issue regulations. We cannot predict whether or how the new Congress may extend or modify provisions of or relating to the ACA or other laws affecting the healthcare industry generally, nor can we predict how the new administration will influence, promulgate or implement rules, regulations or executive orders that affect the healthcare industry directly or indirectly. We may also experience potential impacts on our business, in ways we cannot anticipate, from healthcare-related policy changes at the state level. Some federal and state changes, initiatives and requirements could, among other things, negatively impact our member enrollment, increase our operating costs, adversely affect the reimbursement we receive for our services, impact our competitive position or require us to expend resources to modify certain aspects of our operations, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

The Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 was passed by the California State Legislature to regulate California managed care plans and is currently administered by the DMHC. A Knox-Keene Act license is required to operate a healthcare service plan, e.g., an HMO, or an organization that accepts full risk, i.e., accepts full risk for a patient population, including risk related to institutional services, e.g., hospital and professional services. Applying for and obtaining such a license is a time-consuming and detail-oriented undertaking. Although For Your Benefit Inc. ("FYB") and Community Family Care Health Plan, Inc. ("CFC HP") are licensed by the DMHC as full-service Restricted Knox-Keene licensed health plans, their respective licenses are limited to Medicare Advantage and Medi-Cal lines of business in designated California counties and do not extend to commercial lines of business. As such, for those lines of business not covered by our Restricted Knox-Keene licenses, if the DMHC were to determine that we have been inappropriately taking risk for institutional and professional services as a result of our various hospital and physician arrangements without having any Knox-Keene license or applicable regulatory exemption, we may be required to obtain a Knox-Keene license and could be subject to civil and criminal liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We use third-party collection agencies whom we do not control to collect from patients any co-payments and other payments for services that our physicians provide. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1977 (the "FDCPA") restricts the methods that third-party collection companies may use to contact and seek payment from consumer debtors regarding past-due accounts. State laws vary with respect to debt collection practices, although most state requirements are similar to those under the FDCPA. Therefore, such agencies may not be successful in collecting payments owed to us and our affiliated physician groups. If the practices of collection agencies utilized by us are inconsistent with these standards, we may be subject to actual damages and penalties. These factors and events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We are subject to various corporate and securities laws. Any failure to comply with such laws could cause government agencies to take action against us, which could restrict our ability to issue securities and result in fines or penalties. Any claim brought by such an agency could also cause us to expend resources to defend ourselves, divert the attention of our management from our business and could significantly harm our business, operating results, and financial condition, even if the claim is resolved in our favor.

We are unable to predict the effect of future government healthcare funding policy changes on our business. If the rates paid by governmental payers are reduced, if the scope of services covered by governmental payers is limited, or if eligibility or enrollment is further restricted, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The outcome of the 2024 federal election increases regulatory uncertainty. Legislation and administrative actions at the federal level may impact the funding for, or structure of, the Medicaid program, including at the state level. In addition, CMS administrators may make changes to Medicaid payment models and may grant states additional flexibility in the administration of state Medicaid programs, including by allowing states to impose eligibility restrictions such as work and community engagement requirements. Current or future health care reform and deficit reduction efforts, changes or delays in laws or regulations regarding government health care programs, other changes in the administration of government health care programs and changes by private third-party payers in response to health care reform and other changes to government health care programs could have a material, adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

As a public company, Astrana is required to comply with various regulatory and reporting requirements, including those required by the SEC. Astrana is also subject to Nasdaq listing rules. Complying with these requirements is time-consuming and expensive. No assurance can be given that Astrana can continue to meet the SEC reporting and Nasdaq listing requirements.

The DMHC has instituted regulations intended to provide a formal mechanism for monitoring the financial solvency and operational performance of RBOs (including capitated physician groups) and Restricted Knox-Keene licensed health plans in California. Under current DMHC regulations, our affiliated physician groups, as applicable, are required to, among other things: - Maintain, at all times, a minimum "cash-to-claims ratio" (which means the organization's cash, marketable securities, and certain qualified receivables, divided by the organization's total unpaid claims liability) of 0.75; and - Submit periodic reports to the DMHC containing various data and attestations regarding their performance and financial solvency, including IBNR calculations, documentation, and attestations as to whether or not the organization (i) was in compliance with the "Knox-Keene Act" requirements related to claims payment timeliness, and (ii) had maintained compliance with minimum "cash-to-claims ratio," tangible net equity, and positive working capital requirements. In the event that a physician group is not in compliance with any of the above criteria, it would be required to describe in a report submitted to the DMHC the reasons for non-compliance and actions to be taken to bring it into compliance. Under such regulations, the DMHC can also make some of the information in the reports public, including, but not limited to, whether or not a particular physician organization met each criteria.

We are required to comply with various laws and regulations at the local, regional, state, federal, and international levels. These laws and regulations change frequently, and such changes can impose significant costs and other burdens of compliance on our business and suppliers. Any changes in regulations, the imposition of additional regulations, or the enactment of any new legislation that affects employment/labor/immigration, energy costs, health care, tax, environmental issues, including the impact of climate change, or compliance with anti-kickback regulations could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, changes in enforcement priorities by governmental agencies charged with enforcing existing laws and regulations could increase our cost of doing business. Among other things, there continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. There is also an increasing number of anti-environmental, social and governance, including anti-diversity, equity and inclusion, initiatives in the United States that may conflict with other regulatory requirements. The evolving and at times overlapping regulatory regimes to which the Company is subject may change at any time, including as a result of changes in the U.S. political environment. Certain laws and regulations in California, where we have substantial operations, could negatively impact us. For example, the California Finance Lenders Law (the "CFLL") could be applied to us as a result of our various affiliate and subsidiary loans and similar arrangements. If a regulator were to take the position that such loans were covered by the CFLL, we could be subject to regulatory action that could impair our ability to continue to operate and may have a material adverse effect on our profitability and business as we currently do not hold a CFLL licensure. Pursuant to an exemption under the CFLL, a person may make five or fewer commercial loans in a 12-month period without a CFLL licensure if the loans are "incidental" to the business of the person. This exemption, however, creates some uncertainty as to which loans could be deemed as incidental to our business. In addition, a person without a CFLL licensure may also make a single commercial loan in a 12-month period without the loan being "incidental" to such person's business. In addition, California recently adopted laws requiring certain climate change-related disclosures. Compliance with these laws could require significant expenditures and a substantial amount of management's time.

It is common in the medical services industry for primary care physicians to be affiliated with multiple IPAs. Our affiliated IPAs, therefore, may enter into agreements with physicians who are also affiliated with our competitors. However, some of our competitors at times have agreements with physicians that require the physician to provide exclusive services. Our affiliated IPAs often have no knowledge, and no way of knowing, whether a physician is subject to an exclusivity agreement without being informed by the physician. Competitors have, in the past, initiated lawsuits against us alleging in part interference with such exclusivity arrangements, and may do so again in the future. An adverse outcome from any such lawsuit could adversely affect our business, cash flows, and financial condition.

Individuals and entities can be excluded from participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs for violating certain laws and regulations, or for other reasons such as the loss of a license in any state, even if the person retains other licensure. This means that the excluded person and others are prohibited from receiving payments for such person's services rendered to Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries, and if the excluded person is a physician, all services ordered (not just provided) by such physician are also non-covered and non-payable. Entities that employ or contract with excluded individuals are prohibited from billing the Medicare or Medicaid programs for the excluded individual's services and are subject to civil penalties if they do. The HHS Office of the Inspector General maintains a list of excluded persons. Although we have instituted policies and procedures to minimize such risks, there can be no assurance that we will not inadvertently hire or contract with an excluded person, or that our employees or contracts will not become excluded in the future without our knowledge. If this occurs, we may be subject to substantial repayments and civil penalties, and the hospitals at which we furnish services may also be subject to repayments and sanctions, for which they may seek recovery from us, which could adversely affect our business, cash flows, and financial condition.

We depend on our affiliated physicians to provide services and generate revenue. We compete with many types of healthcare providers, including teaching, research and government institutions, hospitals, and other practice groups, for the services of clinicians and management personnel. The limited number of residents and other licensed providers on the job market with the expertise necessary to provide services within our business makes it challenging to meet our hiring needs and may require us to train new employees, contract temporary physicians, or offer more attractive wage and benefit packages to experienced professionals, which could decrease our profit margins. The limited number of available residents and other licensed providers also impacts our ability to renew contracts with existing physicians on acceptable terms or replace physicians as they retire from practice. As a result, our ability to provide services could be adversely affected. In some markets, the lack of availability of clinical personnel, such as physicians and allied health professionals, has become a significant operating issue facing all healthcare providers. This shortage has required us to enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain qualified personnel or to contract for more expensive temporary personnel. In addition, our labor costs have increased due to higher wage rates associated with the increased competitive labor market. Because the majority of our revenue consists of prospective monthly capitated, or fixed, payments per patient, 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 failure to recruit and retain or contract with 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. Even though our physician turnover rate has remained stable over the last four years, if the turnover rate were to increase significantly, our growth could be adversely affected. Moreover, unlike some of our competitors who sometimes pay additional compensation to physicians who agree to provide services exclusively to that competitor, our affiliated IPAs have historically not entered into such exclusivity agreements and have allowed our affiliated physicians to affiliate with multiple IPAs. This practice may place us at a competitive disadvantage regarding the hiring and retention of physicians relative to those competitors who do enter into such exclusivity agreements.

Our success depends to a significant extent on the continued contributions of our key management personnel, particularly our Chief Executive Officer and President Brandon K. Sim, M.S. and our Chief Financial and Operating Officer Chandan Basho, for the management of our business and implementation of our business strategy. The loss of their services, or services of other key members of management, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

There are various state laws, including laws in California and other states in which we operate, regulating the corporate practice of medicine, which prohibit us from owning various healthcare entities. These corporate practice of medicine prohibitions are intended to prevent unlicensed persons from interfering with or inappropriately influencing a physician's professional judgment. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws vary significantly from state to state. As a result, many of our affiliated physician practice groups are either wholly owned or primarily owned by key personnel as the nominee shareholder for our benefit. If these arrangements were held to be invalid under applicable laws, which may change from time to time, a significant portion of our consolidated revenues would be affected, which may result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Similarly, if such key personnel die, become incapacitated, or otherwise are no longer affiliated with us, our relationships and arrangements with those VIEs could be in jeopardy, and our business could be adversely affected.

Our hospitalist physician services net revenue is derived from contracts directly with hospitals and other inpatient and post-acute care facilities. Our current partner facilities may decide not to renew contracts with, or may impose unfavorable terms on or reduce fees paid to our affiliated physician groups. Any of these events may impact the ability of our affiliated physician groups to operate at such facilities, which would negatively impact our revenues, results of operations, and financial condition.

We maintain our cash assets at certain financial institutions in the U.S. in amounts that are significantly in excess of the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000. As of December 31, 2024, our deposit accounts with banks exceeded the FDIC's insured limit by approximately $332.2 million. In the event of a failure of any financial institutions where we maintain our deposits or other assets, we may incur a significant loss to the extent such loss exceeds the FDIC insurance limitation, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition, and our results of operations.

A material decline in the number of patients that we and our affiliated physician groups serve, whether a government or a private entity is paying for their healthcare, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition, which could result from increased competition, new developments in the healthcare industry, or regulatory overhauls. Some people are not covered by health insurance and thus may not be able to afford services by our managed medical groups. In addition, due to potential decreased availability of healthcare through private employers, the number of patients who are uninsured or participate in governmental programs may increase. A shift in payer mix from managed care and other private payers to government payers or the uninsured may result in a reduction in our rates of reimbursement or an increase in our uncollectible receivables or uncompensated care, with a corresponding decrease in our net revenue. Changes in the eligibility requirements for governmental programs could also change the number of patients who participate in such programs or the number of uninsured patients. For those patients who remain with private insurance, changes in those programs could increase patient responsibility amounts, resulting in a greater risk for uncollectible receivables. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Many healthcare industry participants and payers are consolidating to create larger and more integrated healthcare delivery systems with greater market power. We expect regulatory and economic conditions to result in additional consolidation in the healthcare industry in the future. As consolidation accelerates, the economies of scale of our partners' organizations may grow. If a partner experiences sizable growth following consolidation, it may determine that it no longer needs to rely on us and may reduce its demand for our products and services. In addition, as healthcare providers consolidate to create larger and more integrated healthcare delivery systems with greater market power, these providers may try to use their market power to negotiate fee reductions for our products and services. Finally, consolidation may also result in the acquisition or future development by our partners of products and services that compete with our products and services. Any of these potential results of consolidation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our affiliated ACOs have participated in various CMS and CMMI-sponsored models, including the Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model, the ACO Reach Model, the MSSP, the Maryland Primary Care Program, and other value-based care programs, each in accordance with a Participation Agreement with CMS (each, a "CMS Sponsored Model"). However, the Participation Agreements may be terminated sooner by CMS as specified therein and CMS has the flexibility to alter or change the programs over time. Additionally, our ACO REACH participation agreements with CMS permit CMS to take certain actions if CMS determines that any provision may have been violated, including requiring the ACO to provide additional information to CMS, placing the ACO on a monitoring and/or auditing plan developed by CMS, requiring the ACO to terminate its relationship with any other individual or entity performing functions or services related to certain ACO or marketing activities, amending the agreement without the consent of the ACO to take certain actions, including denying, terminating or amending the use of any capitation payment mechanism. Among many requirements to be eligible to participate in the CMS Sponsored Models, we must meet minimum aligned beneficiaries numbers and must maintain that number throughout each performance year. If that number were not maintained, we would become ineligible for the applicable model. In addition, we are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding provider-based risk-bearing entities. We could be terminated from any CMS Sponsored Model at any time if we do not continue to comply with the applicable participation requirements. If our ACO REACH participation agreements were terminated, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects would be negatively impacted. If future compliance or performance issues arise, we may lose our current eligibility and may be subject to CMS's enforcement or contract actions, including our potential inability to participate in a specific payment mechanism or risk track, or dismissal from the applicable model, which would have a material adverse effect on our revenues and cash flows. In addition, the payments from CMS to us will decrease if the number of beneficiaries assigned to our ACOs decline or if the contracted providers terminate their relationships with us, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations on a consolidated basis.

The CMS Sponsored Models are consistently being updated by CMS, CMMI and, when applicable, participating states. As an example, in 2024, the calculation of the benchmark for MSSP was adjusted to address prior performance, to incorporate a prospective administrative growth factor, and to attempt to reduce the cap on negative regional adjustments. These changes impact how savings and losses under a model are calculated and may impact our ability to generate revenue under the applicable model. CMS may update the CMS Sponsored Models annually. In addition, our participation in each CMS Sponsored Model requires our participant providers to maintain at least a minimum number of aligned beneficiaries. If we fail to meet the applicable thresholds, or otherwise fail to comply with the CMS Sponsored Model program requirements, we will not be eligible to participate for the applicable year and could be subject to significant penalties.

Controls imposed by Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers designed to reduce admissions and lengths of stay, commonly referred to as "utilization review," have affected and are expected to continue to affect our operations. Federal law contains numerous provisions designed to ensure that services rendered by hospitals and other care providers to Medicare and Medicaid patients meet professionally recognized standards and are medically necessary, and that claims for reimbursement are properly filed. These provisions include a requirement that a sampling of admissions of Medicare and Medicaid patients must be reviewed by quality improvement organizations, which review the appropriateness of Medicare and Medicaid patient admissions and discharges, the quality of care provided, and the appropriateness of cases of extraordinary length of stay or cost on a post-discharge basis. Quality improvement organizations may deny payment for services or assess fines and also have the authority to recommend to the HHS that a provider is in substantial non-compliance with the standards of the quality improvement organization and should be excluded from participation in the Medicare program. The ACA potentially expands the use of prepayment review by Medicare contractors by eliminating statutory restrictions on its use, and, as a result, efforts to impose more stringent cost controls are expected to continue. Utilization review is also a requirement of most non-governmental managed care organizations and other third-party payers. Inpatient utilization, average lengths of stay, and occupancy rates continue to be negatively affected by payer-required pre-admission authorization and utilization review and by third-party payer pressure to maximize outpatient and alternative healthcare delivery services for less acutely ill patients. Although we are unable to predict the effect these controls and any changes thereto may have on our operations, significant limits on the scope of our services reimbursed and on reimbursement rates and fees could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial position, and results of operations.

The medical services industry is undergoing significant changes with government and other third-party payers that are taking measures to reduce reimbursement rates or, in some cases, denying reimbursement altogether. There is no assurance that government or other third-party payers will continue to pay for the services provided by our affiliated medical groups. Furthermore, there has been, and continues to be, a great deal of discussion and debate about the repeal and replacement of existing government reimbursement programs, such as the ACA. As a result, the future of healthcare reimbursement programs is uncertain, making long-term business planning difficult and imprecise. In addition, decreases in payer rates, either prospectively or retroactively, could have a significant adverse effect on our revenues, cash flows, and results of operations. The failure of government or other third-party payers to adequately cover the medical services provided by us could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Our business may be significantly and adversely affected by legislative initiatives aimed at or having the effect of reducing healthcare costs associated with Medicare and other government healthcare programs and changes in reimbursement policies. In order to participate in the Medicare program, our affiliated provider groups must comply with stringent and often complex enrollment and reimbursement requirements; failure to do so could result in the provider group's participation in the federal health care programs being terminated, or civil and/or criminal penalties being imposed. These programs generally provide for reimbursement on a fee-schedule basis rather than on a charge-related basis. As a result, we cannot increase our revenue by increasing the amount that we and our affiliates charge for services. To the extent that our costs increase, we may not be able to recover the increased costs from these programs. In addition, cost containment measures in non-governmental insurance plans have generally restricted our ability to recover, or shift to non-governmental payers, these increased costs. In attempts to limit federal and state spending, there have been, and we expect that there will continue to be, a number of proposals to limit or reduce Medicare reimbursement for various services. For example, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 made numerous changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare-related programs, including new systems for establishing annual updates to Medicare rates for physicians' services.

Our business utilizes artificial intelligence ("AI") and machine learning technologies, to add AI-based applications to our offering and to drive efficiencies in our business. Further, certain of our third-party vendors utilize AI and machine learning technologies in furnishing services to us. As with many technological innovations, AI presents risks and challenges that could affect its adoption, and therefore our business. Our offerings utilize, and we plan to further examine, develop and introduce, machine learning algorithms, predictive analytics, and other AI technologies to offer new applications, upgrade our solutions and enhance our capabilities, among other things, to identify trends, anomalies and correlations, provide alerts and initiate business processes. If these AI or machine learning models are incorrectly designed, the performance of our products, services, and business, as well as our reputation, could suffer or we could incur liability through the violation of laws or contracts to which we are a party. Additionally, we may make future investments in adopting AI and machine learning technologies across our business. AI and machine learning technologies are complex and rapidly evolving, and we face significant competition from other companies in our industry as well as an evolving regulatory landscape. Our efforts in developing AI and machine learning technology may not succeed, and our competitors may be able to deploy the technology faster. We may further be exposed to competitive risks related to the adoption and application of new technologies by established market participants or new entrants, and others. The speed of technological development may prove disruptive to our business if we are unable to maintain the pace of innovation. In addition, market acceptance of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies is uncertain. These efforts, including the introduction of new products or changes to existing products, may result in new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, ethical concerns, or other complications that could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results. Changes to existing regulations, their interpretation or implementation or new regulations could impede our use of AI and machine learning technology and also may increase our estimated costs in this area. In addition, market acceptance of AI and machine learning technologies is uncertain, and we may be unsuccessful in our product development efforts. Any of these factors could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. To compete effectively we must also be responsive to technological change, potential regulatory developments, and public scrutiny.