Medical Practices for Sale and Acquisition in Louisiana

The most active buyers right now are hospitals and health systems, physician groups backed by private equity, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and individual physicians who want to own a practice.

Louisiana has 35 federally funded health center organizations (HRSA, 2025), and about 56% of people on Medicare in the state are in Medicare Advantage or other private plans (KFF, 2024). That makes groups focused on value-based care especially interested in primary care practices with many senior patients. Louisiana does not bar non-physicians from owning a practice the way stricter states do, so investor-backed groups can often buy more directly.

We can tell you which buyer types are most active for your specialty and location.

Often, yes. Louisiana's medical board has said that employment by a business corporation is not a violation on its own, as long as the employer does not override the physician's medical judgment. Physicians commonly use a professional medical corporation, and LLCs can be used for regulated professions unless another law says otherwise.

What changed recently: since January 1, 2025, Louisiana caps how long physician non-competes can last (Act 273 of 2024). Rules like these change often, so have a health care attorney review the deal structure.

Most practices are valued on their adjusted yearly profit, often called EBITDA or seller's discretionary earnings, times a multiple. The multiple goes up with steady revenue, a loyal patient base, providers and staff who will stay, clean financial records and a practice that does not depend only on you. It goes down with heavy reliance on one payer, falling patient numbers or a short lease.

In Louisiana, Medicaid runs mostly through Healthy Louisiana managed care plans, so your mix of Medicaid, Medicare and commercial patients and the plans you contract with weigh heavily in the price. The state has 198 primary care shortage areas, and practices that serve these communities often draw strong buyer interest because patients have few other options.

A confidential valuation is the best way to see where your practice stands.

All three can work, and the right choice depends on your goals and the buyer. Selling the building with the practice gives you one clean exit and more cash at closing, but some buyers cannot finance both. Leasing it to the buyer gives you steady income and often makes the practice easier to sell, as long as the rent and terms are at market rate and the lease is long enough for the buyer's lender. Keeping the building and leasing it to someone else is also an option if you want to hold it as an investment.

Louisiana has a flat 3% income tax, and the old deduction for gains from selling a Louisiana business was repealed in 2024. We help you compare the options with your CPA before the practice goes to market.

Usually yes. For the sale of a practice, Louisiana allows a non-compete tied to the goodwill being sold for up to 2 years in named parishes.

For physician employment, Act 273 of 2024 (in effect since January 1, 2025) caps non-competes at 3 years from the first contract for primary care physicians and 5 years for other physicians, with exemptions for rural hospital and FQHC physicians. Your attorney should review the terms before you sign.

Louisiana physicians must keep records at least 6 years from the patient's last treatment, and needed X-rays and images at least 3 years.

Before you close or move a practice, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners expects written notice at least 90 days ahead to patients seen in the last 3 years, saying who to contact for records and what copies cost, and notice to the Board as well. In a sale, the buyer usually becomes the custodian of the records, and we make sure this is written into the purchase agreement.