Medical Practices for Sale and Acquisitions in New York

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.

New York has 64 federally funded health center organizations (HRSA, 2025), and about 52% 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. Because New York limits ownership of medical practices to licensed physicians, investor-backed buyers usually work through a management company that partners with a physician-owned practice.

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

Generally no. New York has a strong rule: a medical professional corporation or PLLC must be owned and controlled only by licensed physicians, and fee-splitting with unlicensed people is not allowed. Hospitals and other licensed facilities are the main exception. Management companies are allowed, but their fees have traditionally had to be flat, fair market fees rather than a share of revenue.

What changed recently: since August 1, 2023, parties to a material transaction that adds $25 million or more in New York revenue must notify the Department of Health at least 30 days before closing, and this covers physician practices and management companies. Proposals to lengthen the notice and add cost reviews were dropped from later budgets. 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 New York, Medicaid runs mostly through 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 194 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.

New York's top income tax rate is 10.9%, New York City adds its own income tax, and capital gains are taxed as ordinary income. We help you compare the options with your CPA before the practice goes to market.

Usually yes. New York has no non-compete statute, so physician non-competes are judged on whether they are reasonable.

A bill to ban most non-competes, including for physicians, passed the State Senate in June 2025 but has not become law, and it would keep an exception for sales of a business. Your attorney should review the time and area before you sign.

New York requires records to be kept at least 6 years, and minors' records at least 6 years and until one year after the patient turns 21.

There is no specific closing notice rule, but physicians may not abandon patients, so you need reasonable arrangements for their continued care and access to records. In a sale, the buyer usually becomes the custodian of the records, and we make sure this is written into the purchase agreement.