Explore Medical Practice Acquisition and Sale in Virginia

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.

Virginia has 26 federally funded health center organizations (HRSA, 2025), and about 38% of people on Medicare in the state are in Medicare Advantage or other private plans (KFF, 2024). Medicare Advantage is less common here than in many states, so traditional Medicare and commercial insurance still drive most of the interest. Virginia 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. Virginia is generally seen as having little or no corporate practice of medicine restriction, and the Attorney General has said hospitals may employ physicians. If you use a professional corporation or professional LLC, the owners must be licensed to provide that service, but other business entities may also be possible.

What changed recently: from July 1, 2026, Virginia bans non-competes for physicians and many other licensed health professionals, including counselors, psychologists and social workers (HB 627). A bill to study private equity in health care was carried over to 2027 without passing. 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 Virginia, Medicaid (Cardinal Care) 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 181 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.

Virginia's top income tax rate is 5.75%, and capital gains are taxed as ordinary income. We help you compare the options with your CPA before the practice goes to market.

For agreements signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2026, Virginia bans non-competes for physicians and other covered health professionals.

There is an exception for the sale of a practice: a reasonable non-compete tied to selling substantially all assets with goodwill, or an ownership interest, is still allowed. Your attorney should make sure the terms fit the exception.

Virginia requires records to be kept at least 6 years after the last patient encounter, minors' records at least until age 18, and patients must be told how long records are kept.

Before records are transferred because of a closure, sale or move, you must notify current patients seen in the last 2 years by mail or electronically and publish a newspaper notice explaining how to get their records. In a sale, the buyer usually becomes the custodian of the records, and we make sure this is written into the purchase agreement.