The Private Equity Playbook
Every private equity playbook relies on the same familiar levers: revenue growth, cost reduction, M&A, and operational efficiencies. These strategies have long created value, expanded multiples, and delivered returns.
But today, the playbook isn’t working as smoothly as it once did.
The Challenge Today
The cost of capital has changed everything. Higher interest rates, inflation, and tighter credit markets make acquisitions more expensive and harder to justify. The “buy low, build, and sell high” arbitrage that once drove easy value creation is no longer a given.
Meanwhile, operational initiatives — digital transformation, supply chain restructuring, labor optimization — require significant capital, years of execution, and carry heavy risk.
Firms are under pressure to expand margins in a tighter market, but the traditional levers now take longer, cost more, and deliver less certain outcomes.
Where Healthcare Spend Fits
One of the largest recurring expense lines in nearly every portfolio company is healthcare. For CFOs, it’s a stubborn cost center — rising 5–7% annually with limited options beyond cutting benefits, narrowing networks, or shifting costs to employees.
Too often, it’s treated as an unavoidable line item. And most advisors or brokers provide the same cycle of “renewal solutions” year after year, rarely offering anything new, unique, or innovative that actually reduces spend without sacrificing benefits.
That assumption — that healthcare costs can’t truly be lowered — is where opportunity is hiding.
Provision’s Solution
Provision Health takes a fundamentally different approach. By removing unnecessary costs — without cutting benefits or narrowing networks — portfolio companies are realizing 25–30% savings on total healthcare spend.
The impact?
- Immediate EBITDA lift
- Zero capital investment required
- Same employee experience (or better)
- Proven results across industries for 2.5+ years
Unlike traditional initiatives, this isn’t a multi-year bet with uncertain ROI. The savings are measurable in the first year.
Why It Matters to PE Ops Teams
For operating partners and CFOs, this is one of the rare initiatives that:
- Improves EBITDA quickly and directly influences valuation multiples
- Strengthens portfolio company resilience by lowering recurring costs
- Frees up capital for other strategic priorities
- Requires virtually no disruption to employees
In a market where every basis point matters, ignoring healthcare costs means leaving millions on the table.
Private equity thrives on uncovering overlooked value. Today, healthcare spend is that overlooked lever.
The firms that act now will enjoy outsized gains. Those that wait will still adopt it later — but without the early mover advantage.
The simplest lever is often the most overlooked.
Send us an email at hello@provision.health to learn more.