RadNet (RDNT) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

FORM 10-K

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $2.1 billion on June 30, 2023 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) based on the closing price for the common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market on June 30, 2023.

 

Business Overview

 

We are a leading national provider of diagnostic imaging services in the United States based on number of locations and annual imaging revenue. We have been in business since 1985. Our principal business segment is the provision of diagnostic imaging services. At December 31, 2023, we operated, directly or indirectly through joint ventures with hospitals, 366 imaging centers located in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. 

Our imaging centers provide physicians with capabilities to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders and may reduce unnecessary invasive procedures, often reducing the cost and amount of care for patients. Our services include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), nuclear medicine, mammography, ultrasound, diagnostic radiology (X-ray), fluoroscopy and other related procedures. The vast majority of our centers offer multi-modality imaging services, a key point of differentiation from our competitors. Our multi-modality strategy diversifies revenue streams, reduces exposure to reimbursement changes and provides patients and referring physicians one location to serve the needs of multiple procedures. Integral to the imaging center business is our software arm headed by our eRad, Inc. subsidiary, which sells computerized systems that distribute, display, store and retrieve digital images.

We seek to develop leading positions in regional markets in order to leverage operational efficiencies. We develop our imaging business through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. Our scale and density within selected geographies provides close, long-term relationships with key payors, radiology groups and referring physicians. Each of our center-level and regional operations teams is responsible for managing relationships with local physicians and payors, meeting our standards of patient service, and maintaining profitability. We provide training programs, standardized policies and procedures, and sharing of best practices among the physicians in our regional networks.

Internationally, our majority-owned subsidiary Heart & Lung Imaging Limited, provides teleradiology services for remote interpretation of images on behalf of providers within the framework of the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

We have also established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) division, that develops and deploys AI suites to enhance radiologist interpretations of breast, lung and prostate images. The division is led by our DeepHealth, Inc. subsidiary and includes our acquisitions of Aidence Holding B.V. and Quantib B.V., both based in the Netherlands.

Available Information

 

 

Industry Overview

 

Diagnostic imaging involves the use of non-invasive procedures to generate representations of internal anatomy and function that can be recorded on film or digitized for display on a video monitor. Diagnostic imaging procedures facilitate the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders and may reduce unnecessary invasive procedures, often minimizing the cost and amount of care for patients. Diagnostic imaging procedures include MRI, CT, PET, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, mammography, X-ray and fluoroscopy.

 

While X-ray remains the most commonly performed diagnostic imaging procedure, the fastest growing and higher margin procedures are MRI, CT and PET. The rapid growth in PET scans is attributable to the increasing recognition of the efficacy of PET scans in the diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. The number of MRI and CT scans performed annually in the United States continues to grow due to their wider acceptance by physicians and payors, an increasing number of applications for their use and a general increase in demand due to the aging population.

In recent years, there has been rapid development of AI tools for the radiology field. In October 2023, the United States Food & Drug Administration reported it had granted marketing clearance to 405 radiology software products since January 2020. Modern AI is built by training on large databases to recognize patterns with much higher performance than previously. AI methods are now being employed throughout the imaging industry in a wide variety of ways, such as speeding image acquisition, providing diagnostic assistance, or prioritizing workflows. In addition, AI methods can speed up administrative tasks, such as keeping track of individuals needing procedures on a regular basis (i.e., mammograms, follow-up exams, etc.) and alerting our staff to contact the patient and schedule appointments.

 

Diagnostic Imaging Settings

 

Diagnostic imaging services are typically provided in one of the following settings:

 

 

 

Diagnostic Imaging Modalities

 

The principal diagnostic imaging modalities we use at our centers are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Industry Trends

 

We believe the diagnostic imaging services industry will continue to grow as a result of a number of factors, including the following:

 

 

 

Additional improvements in imaging technologies, contrast agents and scan capabilities are leading to new non-invasive diagnostic imaging applications, including methods of diagnosing blockages in the heart’s vital coronary arteries, liver metastases, pelvic diseases and vascular abnormalities without exploratory surgery. We believe that the use of the diagnostic capabilities of MRI and other imaging services will continue to increase because they are cost-effective, time-efficient and non-invasive, as compared to alternative procedures, including surgery, and that newer technologies and future technological advancements will further increase the use of imaging services. At the same time, the industry has increasingly used upgrades to existing equipment to expand applications, extend the useful life of existing equipment, improve image quality, reduce image acquisition time and increase the volume of scans that can be performed. We believe the use of equipment upgrades rather than

 

Competition

 

Our competitors include independent imaging operators and smaller regional operators, as well as hospitals and hospital groups that operate their own imaging services. In addition, some physician practices have established their own diagnostic imaging centers within their group practices. Some of our competitors may now or in the future have access to greater financial resources than we do, which could allow them to establish more centers and provide access to newer, more advanced equipment.

 

We compete principally on the basis of our reputation, our ability to provide multiple modalities at many of our centers, the location of our centers, the quality of our diagnostic imaging services and technologists and our ability to establish and maintain relationships with healthcare providers and referring physicians. We believe that the following competitive strengths differentiate us from our competition.

 

 

 

 

 

Business Strategy

 

 

 

 

 

Our Services

 

We offer a comprehensive set of imaging services including MRI, CT, PET, nuclear medicine, X-ray, ultrasound, mammography, fluoroscopy and other related procedures. We focus on providing standardized high quality imaging services, regardless of location, to ensure patients, physicians and payors consistency in service and quality. To ensure the high quality of our services, we monitor patient satisfaction, timeliness of services to patients, and delivery of reports to physicians.

 

The key features of our services include:

 

Radiology Professionals

 

In the states in which we provide services (except Florida and Arizona), a lay person or any entity other than a professional corporation or similar professional organization is not allowed to practice medicine, including by employing professional persons or by having any ownership interest or profit participation in or control over any medical professional practice. This doctrine is commonly referred to as the prohibition on the “corporate practice” of medicine. In order to comply with this prohibition, we contract with medical groups to provide professional medical services in our centers, including the supervision and interpretation of diagnostic imaging procedures.

We contract with a consolidated medical group (the "Group") which consists of professional corporations owned or controlled by individuals within our senior management that provide professional medical services in Arizona, California, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. At locations where the Group does not provide professional medical services, we have entered into long-term contracts with third-party radiology groups in the area to provide physician services at those centers. These third-party radiology practice groups maintain full control over the provision of professional services, including supervision and interpretation of diagnostic imaging procedures, in our diagnostic imaging centers. Each medical group maintains control over the physicians it employs, and is responsible for staffing the facility with qualified professional medical personnel.

Under management agreements with the Group or other third-party radiology practices, we provide the use of our diagnostic imaging equipment, technical and management services, and administration of the non-medical functions of the professional medical practices at our centers, including the provision of non-medical staff, accounting services, billing and collection, medical and office supplies, transcription services, maintenance of medical records, and marketing. As compensation for the services furnished under management contracts with our medical groups, we receive technical fees for the use of our diagnostic imaging equipment and technical services and an agreed percentage of the medical practice billings for, or collections from, services provided at our centers. The medical groups retain the professional reimbursements associated with imaging procedures after deducting management service fees paid to us.

Additionally, we perform certain management services for a portion of the professional groups with whom we contract who provide professional radiology services at local hospitals. For performing these management services, which include billing, collecting, transcription and medical coding, we receive management fees, that depending on the agreement are calculated at a fixed or variable rate.

 

Payors

The fees charged for diagnostic imaging services performed at our centers are paid by a diverse mix of payors:

  

 

 

We believe that through our comprehensive utilization management, or UM, program we have become highly skilled at assessing and moderating the risks associated with the capitation agreements, so that these agreements are profitable for us. Our UM program is managed by our UM department, which consists of staff who are actively involved with the referring physicians and payor management in both prospective and retrospective review programs. Our UM program includes features such as physician education combined with peer review procedures which are designed to manage our costs while ensuring that patients receive appropriate care.

 

 

Imaging Centers

 

Our centers are primarily located in geographic networks that we refer to as regions. The majority of our centers are multi-modality sites, offering various combinations of MRI, CT, PET, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, X-ray, fluoroscopy services and other related procedures. A portion of our centers are single-modality sites, offering either X-ray or MRI services. Consistent with our regional network strategy, we locate our single-modality centers near multi-modality centers, to help accommodate overflow in targeted demographic areas.

 

The following table sets forth the number of our centers operated directly or managed through joint ventures for each year during the three-year period ended December 31, 2023:

Diagnostic Imaging Equipment

 

The following table indicates, as of December 31, 2023, the quantity of principal diagnostic equipment available at our imaging centers operated directly or through joint venture investments:

The average age of our MRI and CT units is less than five years, and the average age of our PET units is less than four years. The useful life of our MRI, CT and PET units is typically ten years.

 

Facility Acquisitions

 

Information regarding our facility acquisitions can be found within Item 7 - “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, as well as Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

Information Technology

 

Our corporate headquarters and many of our centers are interconnected through a state-of-the-art information technology system. This system, which is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), is comprised of a number of integrated applications and provides a single operating platform for billing and collections, electronic medical records, practice management and image management.

 

This technology has created cost reductions for our centers in areas such as image storage, support personnel and financial management and has further allowed us to optimize the productivity of all aspects of our business by enabling us to:

 

 

We have developed our own Radiology Information System through our team of software development engineers, which is used as our front desk patient tracking system. Our eRad, Inc., subsidiary develops and sells computerized imaging data storage and retrieval systems.

 

Human Capital Management Strategy

 

The primary goal of our talent management strategy is to attract and retain engaged, talented, and diverse team members to establish RadNet as the employer of choice. We seek to drive performance by enabling effective leadership that results in a positive patient experience delivered by talented and engaged team members. To achieve this, leaders across the enterprise partner to develop and deliver talent and culture programs, create total rewards strategies, and provide efficient and effective people operations.

We believe the strength of our workforce is critical to the success of our mission to provide comprehensive radiology solutions and change the future of healthcare. We invest in our employees to ensure their confidence and competence in their roles, as well as to provide a path for professional career development. We value an ethical culture where diversity is embraced, good health and safety are promoted, and employees are empowered to share their ideas and opinions. We strive to care for our team members and are concerned about their total well-being.

 

Sales and Marketing

 

Our sales and marketing team employs a multi-pronged approach to marketing, including physician, payor and sports marketing programs, each of which are described below:

 

 

 

Suppliers

 

We acquire our major diagnostic imaging equipment directly from original equipment manufacturers or through third party financing companies and purchase medical supplies from various national vendors. Our diagnostic imaging equipment represents a cornerstone investment of the company as it provides our customers the latest in imaging technology. We employ direct purchase or finance arrangements with such firms as GE, Hologic, Key Equipment, Philips, Siemens and Spectrum for our diagnostic equipment imaging needs. We seek to establish strong working relationships with our providers, who are of comparable stature and offer similar products, to mitigate the risk that any one supplier becomes unavailable. If we open or acquire additional imaging centers, we may incur material equipment lease obligations. See Note 9, Leases, in the notes accompanying our consolidated financial statements included in this report for further information.

Timely and effective maintenance of our imaging equipment is essential for achieving high utilization rates. In order to ensure operational efficiency, we have maintenance arrangements with the various service arms of the original equipment manufacturers that supply our imaging equipment.

 

Insurance and Liability Mitigation

 

We maintain insurance policies with coverage we believe is appropriate in light of the risks attendant to our business and consistent with industry practice. We maintain general liability insurance and professional liability insurance in commercially reasonable amounts. Additionally, we maintain workers’ compensation insurance on all of our employees.

 

In our agreements with physician groups, including the Group, we require the physician group maintain medical malpractice insurance for each physician in the group, with coverage limits of not less than $1.0 million per incident and $3.0 million in the aggregate per year.

 

Our insurance coverage is placed on a statutory basis and corresponds to individual state’s requirements. However, adequate liability insurance may not be available to us in the future at acceptable costs or at all. In addition, insurers from which we purchase such insurance may experience financial hardship which would impact their ability to pay covered policyholder claims.

In California our operations benefit from a statutory medical malpractice cap that reduces our liability exposure. California places a $250,000 limit on non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases. The cap applies whether the case is for injury or death, and it allows only one $250,000 recovery in a wrongful death case. Non-economic damages are defined as compensation for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement and other non-pecuniary injury. No cap applies to economic damages. Other states in which we now operate do not have similar limitations and in those states we believe our insurance coverage to be sufficient.

 

Regulation

 

The healthcare industry is highly regulated, and changes in the regulatory environment could significantly affect our operations in the future. Our ability to operate profitably will depend in part upon us, and the contracted radiology practices and their affiliated physicians, obtaining and maintaining all necessary licenses and other approvals, and operating in compliance with applicable healthcare regulations. We believe that healthcare regulations will continue to change. Therefore, we monitor developments in healthcare law and modify our operations from time to time as the business and regulatory environment changes.

 

 

 

Government payors have taken and may continue to take steps to control the cost, eligibility for, use, and delivery of healthcare services as a result of budgetary constraints, cost containment pressures and other reasons. We believe that these trends in cost containment will continue. These cost containment measures, and other market changes in non-governmental insurance plans have generally restricted our ability to recover, or shift to non-governmental payors, any increased costs that we experience. Our integrated care business and financial operations may be materially affected by these developments.

 

 

The Anti-kickback Statute is broad, and it prohibits many arrangements and practices that are lawful in businesses outside of the healthcare industry. To create better clarity, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) has issued regulations as "safe harbor" guidelines which if met in form and substance, will assure healthcare providers that they will not be prosecuted for violation of the Anti–kickback Statute. The OIG issued a final rule on November 20, 2020, as part of the Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care initiative by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that, among other things, established new "safe harbors" under the Anti-kickback Statute for certain value-based compensation arrangements. Although full compliance with these provisions ensures against prosecution under the federal Anti-kickback Statute, the failure of a transaction or arrangement to fit within a specific safe harbor does not necessarily mean that the transaction or arrangement is illegal or that prosecution under the federal Anti-kickback Statute will be pursued.

Although some of our arrangements may not fall within a safe harbor, we believe that such business arrangements do not violate the Anti-kickback Statute because we are careful to structure them to reflect fair value and ensure that the reasons underlying our decision to enter into a business arrangement comport with reasonable interpretations of the Anti-kickback Statute. However, even though we continuously strive to comply with the requirements of the Anti-kickback Statute, liability under the Anti-kickback Statute may still arise because of the intentions or actions of the parties with whom we do business. While we are not aware of any such intentions or actions, we have only limited knowledge regarding the intentions or actions underlying those arrangements. Conduct and business arrangements that do not fully satisfy one of these safe harbor provisions may result in increased scrutiny by government enforcement authorities such as the Office of the Inspector General.

 

 

Under the Stark Law, radiology and certain other imaging services and radiation therapy services and supplies are services included in the designated health services subject to the self-referral prohibition. Such services include the professional and technical components of any diagnostic test or procedure using X-rays, ultrasound or other imaging services, CT, MRI, radiation therapy and diagnostic mammography services (but not screening mammography services). PET and nuclear medicine procedures are also included as designated health services under the Stark Law. The Stark Law, however, excludes from designated health services: (i) X-ray, fluoroscopy or ultrasound procedures that require the insertion of a needle, catheter, tube or probe through the skin or into a body orifice; (ii) radiology procedures that are integral to the performance of, and performed during, non-radiological medical procedures; and (iii) invasive or interventional radiology, because the radiology services in these procedures are merely incidental or secondary to another procedure that the physician has ordered.

 

The Stark Law provides that a request by a radiologist for diagnostic radiology services or a request by a radiation oncologist for radiation therapy, if such services are furnished by or under the supervision of such radiologist or radiation oncologist pursuant to a consultation requested by another physician, does not constitute a referral by a referring physician. If such requirements are met, the Stark Law self-referral prohibition would not apply to such services. The effect of the Stark Law on the radiology practices, therefore, will depend on the precise scope of services furnished by each such practice’s radiologists and whether such services derive from consultations or are self-generated.

 

We believe that, other than self-referred patients, all of the services covered by the Stark Law provided by the contracted radiology practices derive from requests for consultation by non-affiliated physicians. Therefore, we believe that the Stark Law is not implicated by the financial relationships between our operations and the contracted radiology practices. In addition, we believe that we have structured our acquisitions of the assets of existing practices, and we intend to structure any future acquisitions, so as not to violate the Anti-kickback Statute, Stark Law and the regulations related to these laws. Specifically, we believe the consideration paid by us to physicians to acquire the tangible and intangible assets associated with their practices is consistent with fair value in arms’ length transactions and is not intended to induce the referral of patients or other business generated by such physicians. Should any such practice be deemed to constitute an arrangement designed to induce the referral of Medicare or Medicaid patients, then our acquisitions could be viewed as possibly violating anti-kickback and anti-referral laws and regulations. A determination of liability under any such laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

 

Federal regulatory and law enforcement authorities have increased enforcement activities with respect to Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse regulations and other reimbursement laws and rules, including laws and regulations that govern our

 

 

 

Further, states are being encouraged to adopt false claims acts similar to the federal False Claims Act, which establish liability for submission of fraudulent claims to the State Medicaid program and contain whistleblower provisions. Even in instances when a whistleblower action is dismissed with no judgment or settlement, we may incur substantial legal fees and other costs relating to an investigation. Future actions under the False Claims Act may result in significant fines and legal fees, which would adversely affect our financial performance and our ability to operate our business. We believe that we are in compliance with the rules and regulations that apply to the federal False Claims Act as well as its state counterparts.

 

 

The aim of increased utilization of diagnostic imaging services is to spread the cost of the equipment and services over a greater number of scans, resulting in a lower cost per scan. These changes precipitated reductions in federal reimbursement for medical imaging, resulting in decreased revenues per scan for the scans we perform for Medicare beneficiaries. Other changes in reimbursement for services rendered by Medicare Advantage plans may also reduce the revenues we receive for services rendered to Medicare Advantage enrollees.

 

The PPACA also required individuals to pay additional taxes if he or she was uninsured during the year (the "Individual Mandate"). On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was enacted which, among numerous changes to the tax code, repealed the Individual Mandate tax penalty. Repeal of the Individual Mandate may lead to more people being uninsured, and could raise premium rates for insured persons. Such a development could affect reimbursement, coverage, and utilization of diagnostic imaging services in ways that are currently unpredictable. Other changes to the PPACA (whether through legislation or judicial action), including further rollbacks of the PPACA being sought by congressional and state members of the Republican Party, or expansion of the PPACA (including, but not limited to, the development of a "public option" that would compete with private insurers to offer coverage to both individuals and those with employer sponsored insurance) being sought by the Biden Administration, could have similarly unpredictable effects.

 

 

Further, HIPAA requires healthcare providers and their business associates to maintain the privacy and security of individually identifiable protected health information (“PHI”). HIPAA imposes federal standards for electronic transactions, for the security of electronic health information and for protecting the privacy of PHI. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (“HITECH”), signed into law on February 17, 2009, dramatically expanded, among other things, (1) the scope of HIPAA to now apply directly to “business associates,” or independent contractors who receive or obtain PHI in connection with providing a service to a covered entity, (2) substantive security and privacy obligations, including new federal security breach notification requirements to affected individuals, DHHS and prominent media outlets, of certain breaches of unsecured PHI, (3) restrictions on marketing communications and a prohibition on covered entities or business associates from receiving remuneration in exchange for PHI, and (4) the civil and criminal penalties that may be imposed for HIPAA violations, increasing the annual cap in penalties from $25,000 to $1.5 million per year.

 

In addition, many states have enacted comparable privacy and security statutes or regulations that, in some cases, are more stringent than HIPAA requirements. In those cases it may be necessary to modify our operations and procedures to comply with the more stringent state laws, which may entail significant and costly changes for us. We believe that we are in compliance with such state laws and regulations. However, if we fail to comply with applicable state laws and regulations, we could be subject to additional sanctions.

 

We believe that we are in compliance with the current HIPAA requirements, as amended by HITECH, and comparable state laws, but we anticipate that we may encounter certain costs associated with future compliance. Moreover, we cannot guarantee that enforcement agencies or courts will not make interpretations of the HIPAA standards that are inconsistent with ours, or the interpretations of our contracted radiology practices or their affiliated physicians. A finding of liability under the HIPAA standards may result in significant criminal and civil penalties. Noncompliance also may result in exclusion from participation in government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. These actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

Our mammography systems are regulated by the FDA pursuant to the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992, as amended by the Mammography Quality Standards Reauthorization Acts of 1998 and 2004 (collectively, the “MQSA”). All mammography centers are required to meet the applicable MQSA requirements, including quality standards, be accredited by an approved accreditation body or state agency and certified by the FDA or an FDA-approved certifying state agency. Pursuant to the accreditation process, each facility providing mammography services must comply with certain standards that include, among other things, annual inspection of the facility's equipment, personnel (interpreting physicians, technologists and medical physicists) and practices.

 

Compliance with these MQSA requirements and standards is required to obtain Medicare payment for services provided to beneficiaries and to avoid various sanctions, including monetary penalties, or suspension of certification. Although the Mammography Accreditation Program of the American College of Radiology is an approved accreditation body and currently accredits all of our centers which provide mammography services, and although we anticipate continuing to meet the requirements for accreditation, if we lose such accreditation, the FDA could revoke our certification. Congress has extended Medicare benefits to include coverage of screening mammography but coverage is subject to the facility performing the mammography meeting prescribed quality standards described above. The Medicare requirements to meet the standards apply to diagnostic mammography and image quality examination as well as screening mammography.

 

 

 

 

 

An important part of our compliance program consists of conducting periodic audits of various aspects of our operations and that of the contracted radiology practices. We also conduct mandatory educational programs designed to familiarize our employees with the regulatory requirements and specific elements of our compliance program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our information technology system is vulnerable to damage or interruption from:

Historically, we have experienced substantial growth through acquisitions that have increased our size, scope and geographic distribution of our imaging center business. During the past three fiscal years, we have completed acquisitions that have added 45 centers to our fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services.

 

We believe that technology advancements including AI will significantly impact diagnostic imaging services in the future. As part of our growth strategy we have acquired or invested in a number of AI companies and technologies, including DeepHealth, Inc., NuLogix Health, Inc., WhiteRabbit.ai, Aidence Holding B.V. and Quantib B.V. with the expectation that these AI technologies can be developed into solutions that enhance the quality of outcomes for patients via improved diagnostic imaging, reduce operating costs, and correspondingly improve our competitive position. However, the success of our AI investments will depend upon a number of factors, some of which are out of our control, such as:

Healthcare and Regulatory Risks

Although we believe that we are operating in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, neither our current or anticipated business operations nor the operations of our contracted radiology practices have been the subject of judicial or regulatory interpretation. We cannot assure you that a review of our business by courts or regulatory authorities will not result in a determination that could adversely affect our operations. In addition, healthcare laws and regulations may change significantly in the future in a way that restricts our operations. We continuously monitor these developments and modify our operations from time to time as the regulatory environment changes. We cannot assure you, however, that we will be able to adapt our operations to address new regulations or that new regulations will not adversely affect our business.

 

Certain states have enacted statutes or adopted regulations affecting risk assumption in the healthcare industry, including statutes and regulations that subject any physician or physician network engaged in risk-based managed care contracting to comply with applicable insurance laws. These laws, if adopted in the states in which we operate, may require physicians and physician networks to meet minimum capital requirements and other safety and soundness requirements. Implementing additional regulations or compliance requirements could result in substantial costs to us and the contracted radiology practices and limit our ability to enter into capitation or other risk-sharing managed care arrangements.

 

Due to potential decreased availability of healthcare through private employers, the number of patients who are uninsured or participate in governmental programs may increase. Healthcare reform legislation will increase the participation of individuals in the Medicaid program in states that elect to participate in the expanded Medicaid coverage. A shift in payor mix from managed care and other private payors to government payors as well as an increase in the number of uninsured patients may result in a reduction in the rates of reimbursement or an increase in uncollectible receivables or uncompensated care, with a corresponding decrease in net revenue. Changes in the eligibility requirements for governmental programs and state decisions on whether to participate in the expansion of such programs also could increase the number of patients who participate in such programs and the number of uninsured patients. Even for those patients who remain in private insurance plans, changes to those plans could increase patient financial responsibility, resulting in a greater risk of uncollectible receivables. Furthermore, additional changes to, or rollback of, the PPACA, whether through legislation or judicial action, may also affect reimbursement and coverage in ways that are currently unpredictable. These factors and events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are directly or indirectly, through the radiology practices with which we contract, subject to extensive regulation by both the federal government and the state governments in which we provide services, including:

 

Various federal and state laws govern financial arrangements among healthcare providers. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits the knowing and willful offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of any form of remuneration in return for, or to induce, the referral of Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal healthcare program patients, or in return for, or to induce, the purchase, lease or order of items or services that are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal healthcare programs. Similarly, many state laws prohibit the solicitation, payment or receipt of remuneration in return for, or to induce the referral of patients in private as well as government programs. Violation of these anti-kickback laws may result in substantial civil or criminal penalties for individuals or entities and/or exclusion from federal or state healthcare programs. We believe we are operating in compliance with applicable law and believe that our arrangements with providers would not be found to violate the anti-kickback laws. However, these laws could be interpreted in a manner inconsistent with our operations.

 

Federal law prohibiting certain physician self-referrals, known as the Stark Law, prohibits a physician from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients to an entity for certain “designated health services” if the physician has a prohibited financial relationship with that entity, unless an exception applies. Certain radiology services are considered “designated health services” under the Stark Law. Although we believe our operations do not violate the Stark Law, our activities may be challenged. If a

 

In addition, under the Deficit Recovery Act, states enacting false claims statutes similar to the federal False Claims Act, which establish liability for submission of fraudulent claims to the State Medicaid program and contain qui tam or whistleblower provisions, receive an increased percentage of any recovery from a State Medicaid judgment or settlement. Adoption of new false claims statutes in states where we operate may impose additional burdens on us.

 

Ownership, construction, operation, expansion and acquisition of our diagnostic imaging centers are subject to various federal and state laws, regulations and approvals concerning licensing of personnel, other required certificates for certain types of healthcare facilities and certain medical equipment. In addition, freestanding diagnostic imaging centers that provide services independent of a physician’s office must be enrolled by Medicare as an independent diagnostic treatment facility, or IDTF, to bill the Medicare program. Medicare carriers have discretion in applying the IDTF requirements and therefore the application of these requirements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

In addition, federal legislation requires all suppliers that provide the technical component of diagnostic MRI, PET/CT, CT, and nuclear medicine to be accredited by an accreditation organization designated by CMS (which currently include the American College of Radiology, the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission and the Joint Commission). Our MRI, CT, nuclear medicine, ultrasound and mammography centers are currently accredited by the American College of Radiology. We may not be able to receive the required regulatory approvals or accreditation for any future acquisitions, expansions or replacements, and the failure to obtain these approvals could limit the opportunity to expand our services.

Our payors required that the physicians providing imaging services are credentialed, before the payor will commence payment. We have experienced a slowdown in the credentialing of our physicians over the last several years which has lengthened our billing and collection cycle, and could negatively impact our ability to collect revenue from patients covered by Medicare.

 

Our centers are subject to periodic inspection by governmental and other authorities to assure continued compliance with the various standards necessary for licensure and certification. If any facility loses its certification under the Medicare program, then the facility will be ineligible to receive reimbursement from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. For the year ended December 31, 2023, approximately 23% and 3% of our net service fee revenue came from Medicare and various state Medicaid programs, respectively. A change in the applicable certification status of one of our centers could adversely affect our other centers and, in turn, us as a whole.

 

The laws of certain states prohibit us from exercising control over the medical judgments or decisions of physicians and from engaging in certain financial arrangements, such as splitting professional fees with physicians. These laws are enforced by state courts and regulatory authorities, each with broad discretion. A component of our business has been to enter into management agreements with radiology practices. We provide management, administrative, technical and other non-medical services to the radiology practices in exchange for a service fee typically based on a percentage of the practice’s revenue. We structure our relationships with the radiology practices, including the purchase of diagnostic imaging centers, in a manner that we believe keeps us from engaging in the practice of medicine or exercising control over the medical judgments or decisions of the radiology practices or their physicians, or violating the prohibitions against fee-splitting. State laws and enforcement efforts regarding corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting are often subject to change. As a consequence, there can be no assurance that our present arrangements with the Group or the physicians providing medical services and medical supervision at our imaging centers will not be challenged, and, if challenged, that they will not be found to violate the corporate practice of medicine or fee splitting prohibitions. Any violation would subject us to potential damages, injunction and/or civil and criminal penalties or require us to restructure our arrangements in a way that would affect the control or quality of our services and/or change the amounts we receive under our management agreements.

 

Some of our imaging procedures use radioactive materials, which generate medical and other regulated wastes. For example, patients are injected with a radioactive substance before undergoing a PET scan. Storage, use and disposal of these materials and waste products present the risk of accidental environmental contamination and physical injury. We are subject to federal, state and local regulations governing storage, handling and disposal of these materials. We could incur significant costs and the diversion of our management’s attention in order to comply with current or future environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. Also, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these hazardous materials. Although we maintain professional liability insurance coverage in amounts we believe is consistent with industry practice in the event of an accident, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed the limits of or fall outside the coverage of our professional liability insurance.

 

Financial Risks

 

Our current substantial indebtedness and any future indebtedness we incur could adversely affect our financial condition. We are highly leveraged. As of December 31, 2023 term loan indebtedness, excluding related discount, was $823.1 million, of which the Barclays credit facility term loans were $678.7 million and the Truist credit facility term loan was $144.4 million. Our substantial indebtedness could also:

Our credit facilities contain affirmative and negative covenants which restrict, among other things, our ability to:

All of these restrictions could affect our ability to operate our business and may limit our ability to take advantage of potential business opportunities as they arise. A failure to comply with these covenants and restrictions would permit the relevant creditors to declare all amounts borrowed under the applicable agreement governing such indebtedness, together with accrued interest and fees, to be immediately due and payable. If the indebtedness under our credit facilities is accelerated, we may not have sufficient assets to repay amounts due under the credit facilities or on other indebtedness then outstanding.

The trading price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market has fluctuated significantly in the past. During the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2023, the trading price of our common stock fluctuated from a high of $38.84 per share to a low of $12.03 per share. In the past, we have experienced a drop in stock price following an announcement of disappointing earnings or earnings guidance. Any such announcement in the future could lead to a similar drop in stock price. The price of our common stock could also be subject to wide fluctuations in the future as a result of a number of other factors, including the following:

 

In addition, the U.S. securities markets periodically experience significant price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations often have been unrelated to the operating performance of companies in these markets. Broad market and industry factors may lead to volatility in the price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance.

 

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of an individual company’s securities, securities class action litigation often has been instituted against that company. The institution of similar litigation against us could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

In the future, we could become the subject of an unsolicited attempted takeover of our company. Although an unsolicited takeover could be in the best interests of our stockholders, our organizational documents and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware both contain provisions that will impede the removal of directors and may discourage a third-party from making a proposal to acquire us. For example, provisions in our organizational documents:

 

We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control.

 

 

 

None.

 

As a healthcare provider, cybersecurity, data protection, safeguarding patient information and the integrity of our information systems is of the utmost priority. We have developed and maintain a Cybersecurity and Data Protection Program which aligns with industry-standard frameworks and applicable regulatory requirements, integrates with our overall risk management process, and aims to ensure cybersecurity concerns are a requisite element for decision-making at all levels of our business.

RadNet’s Cybersecurity and Data Protection Program assesses, identifies and manages threats to our information systems and evaluates cybersecurity risks associated with our vendors and third-party partners. We are focused on detecting, preventing and responding to cyber threats, maintaining the privacy and protection of sensitive information, and maintaining the durability and resiliency of our information and data processing systems.

Our approach to designing, operating and measuring the effectiveness of our program leverages experienced internal resources, industry-recognized cybersecurity consultants, assessors, healthcare and industry-specific cybersecurity working groups and threat-intelligence platforms, federal law enforcement and CISA partnerships. We use these resources and partnerships, along with our internal expertise, to develop specialized insights pertinent to our business’s cyber-risk, and tailor our cybersecurity strategy to best safeguard our systems and data.

We staff an internal cybersecurity team and maintain a third-party managed security operations center which in-concert provide 24x7x365 real-time detection and response. These teams are always connected and routinely respond to

Cyber-awareness training and testing is a key component of RadNet’s Cybersecurity and Data Protection Program. Every employee is required to complete cyber-related training (including third-parties who access our systems) and successfully complete testing throughout the year in addition to monthly phishing tests. Furthermore, we require all system users to complete annual Patient Privacy and Patient Data Breach training and testing to meet RadNet compliance standards.

We benchmark and evaluate our Cybersecurity and Data Protection Program and data protection maturity against the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and the HIPAA Security Rule. Consistent with these frameworks, our program includes recurring third-party assessments and a vendor risk management program. Our vendor risk management program conducts security assessments to determine a risk profile of potential vendors and third-party partners and integrates ongoing monitoring and periodic re-assessments to ensure compliance with RadNet’s security standards. RadNet’s Vendor Risk Management Team works closely with RadNet Legal, Compliance and Operations teams to address data safety, compliance and legal requirements for each of our vendor/partner engagements.

We continuously evaluate the practical effectiveness of our cyber-defenses both internally and externally using a combination of technology-based assessments and recurring third-party audits. Our Critical Incident Response Team periodically conducts cyber-focused tabletop exercises using scenarios drawn from observations of risk indicators and from threat intelligence reports of real-world incidents affecting our industry. Outcomes and insights from tabletop exercises are used to enhance RadNet’s Incident Response Plan which is architected following NIST guidelines and reviewed annually and updated periodically as needed.

Our program's overall maturity and operational readiness are regularly evaluated internally by RadNet IT Governance and Compliance teams and by independent expert auditors using the NIST's Cybersecurity Framework. Our program, and the results of the evaluation and testing efforts, are regularly reviewed by our senior management and members of our Board of Directors.

Cybersecurity threats, including previous cybersecurity incidents, have not materially affected our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. However, cybersecurity threats have the potential to interrupt our operations or cause significant financial hardship. Our risks associated with cybersecurity threats are set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A in this report.

RadNet is committed to appropriate cybersecurity governance and oversight. Our Cybersecurity and Data Protection Program is the principal responsibility of our Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer, each of whom have over 20 years of experience in information systems, including cybersecurity training and experience. Additionally, RadNet’s CIO and CISO work closely with our executive management, legal and compliance leaders, and meet regularly to discuss cybersecurity matters and risks.

Our Board of Directors oversees management's processes for identifying and mitigating risks, including cybersecurity and information security risks. Our Audit Committee of our Board of Directors regularly reviews our technology and cybersecurity program and effectiveness, and internal audits of our program. Our Audit Committee also receives regular cybersecurity updates and education on a broad range of topics, including:

Our corporate headquarters is located in adjoining premises at 1508, 1510 and 1516 Cotner Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90025, and approximately 21,500 square feet is occupied under these leases, which including options, expire June 30, 2027. We also have a regional office of approximately 39,000 square feet in Baltimore, Maryland under a lease, which including options, expires September 30, 2028. In addition, we lease approximately 36,700 square feet of warehouse space nationwide, which expire at various dates, including options, through December 31, 2028.

At December 31, 2023, we operated directly or indirectly through joint ventures with hospitals, 366 centers located in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. We lease the premises at which these facilities are located and do not have options to purchase the facilities we rent. Our most common initial lease term varies in length from 5 to 15 years. Factoring in renewal options, we can have a total span of 10 to 35 years at the facilities we lease. We also lease smaller satellite X-Ray locations, usually for one year terms, that are renewable on mutual consent with the landlord. Rental increases can range from 1% to 10% on an annual basis, depending on the location and market conditions where we do business.

As of December 31, 2023, total square footage operated directly or indirectly under lease, including medical office, administrative and warehouse locations, was approximately 2.7 million square feet. All leasing activity described relates solely to our Imaging Center segment, as our AI segment leasing activity is currently immaterial.

 

 

From time to time we are engaged in the defense of lawsuits arising out of the ordinary course of our business. We do not believe that the outcome of our current litigation will have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. However, the outcome of litigation is inherently uncertain. If one or more legal matters were resolved against us in a reporting period for amounts above management’s expectations, our financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected.

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

Principal Trading Market

Our common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “RDNT”.

 

Holders

Dividends

 

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock and we do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. Our current credit facilities place restrictions on our ability to issue dividends. See discussion under “Liquidity and Capital Resources” regarding our current credit facilities. Payment of future dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and such other factors as the board of directors deems relevant.

Stock Performance Graph

 

The following graph compares the yearly percentage change in cumulative total stockholder return of our common stock during the period from 2018 to 2023 with (i) the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 index and (ii) the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 – Healthcare Sector index. The comparison assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2018 in our common stock and in each of the foregoing indices and the reinvestment of dividends through December 29, 2023. The stock price performance on the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

 

This graph shall not be deemed incorporated by reference by any general statement incorporating by reference this Form 10-K into any filing under the Securities Act or under the Exchange Act, except to the extent that RadNet specifically incorporates this information by reference, and shall not otherwise be deemed filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

On December 12, 2023, we issued 64,569 shares of common stock to settle a milestone contingent liability as part of our purchase of Heart & Lung Imaging Limited. The shares were ascribed a value of $2.3 million.

On September 20, 2023, we issued 56,600 shares of common stock to settle a milestone contingent liability as part of our purchase of Heart & Lung Imaging Limited. The shares were ascribed a value of $1.6 million.

On July 7, 2023, we issued 113,303 shares of common stock to settle the stock portion of a holdback contingent liability as part of our purchase of Quantib B.V. The shares were ascribed a value of $3.5 million.

On April 30, 2023, we issued 114,227 shares of common stock to settle a holdback contingent liability as part of our purchase of Aidence Holding B.V. The shares were ascribed a value of $4.0 million.

In each of the foregoing transactions, the shares of common stock issued without registration on the basis of the exemption for private placement transactions provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

 

Not Required.

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to help the reader understand the results of operations and financial condition of RadNet, Inc. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

Overview

We are a national provider of diagnostic imaging services in the United States. At December 31, 2023, we operated directly or indirectly through joint ventures with hospitals, 366 centers located in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Internationally, our subsidiary Heart & Lung Imaging Limited, provides teleradiology services for remote interpretation of images on behalf of providers within the framework of the United Kingdom's National Health Service. Our operations comprise two segments for financial reporting purposes for this reporting period, Imaging Centers and Artificial Intelligence. For further financial information about these segments, see Note 5, Segment Reporting, in the notes accompanying our consolidated financial statements included in this report.

We have also established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) business, that develops and deploys AI suites to enhance radiologist interpretations of breast, lung and prostate images. The division is led by our DeepHealth, Inc. subsidiary and includes our acquisitions of Aidence Holding B.V. and Quantib B.V., both based in the Netherlands.

The following table shows our imaging centers in operation at year end and revenues for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:

 

Our revenue is derived from a diverse mix of payors, including private payors and commercial insurance companies, managed care capitated payors, and government payors such as Medicare and Medicaid. We believe our payor diversity mitigates our exposure to possible unfavorable reimbursement trends within any one payor class. Our service fee revenue, net of contractual allowances and discounts, implicit price concessions, and revenue under capitation arrangements for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 are summarized in the following table (in thousands):

 

 We typically experience some seasonality to our business. During the first quarter of each year we generally experience the lowest volumes of procedures and the lowest level of revenue for any quarter during the year. This is primarily the result of two factors. First, our volumes and revenue are typically impacted by winter weather conditions in our northeastern operations. It is common for snowstorms and other inclement weather to result in patient appointment cancellations and, in some cases, imaging center closures. Second, in recent years, we have observed greater participation in high deductible health plans by patients. As these high deductibles reset in January for most of these patients, we have observed that patients utilize medical services less during the first quarter, when securing medical care will result in significant out-of-pocket expenditures.

 

Acquisitions, Equity Investments and Joint Venture Activity

 

The following discussion summarizes certain details concerning our acquisition or disposition of centers, our equity investments and our joint venture transactions. See Note 4, Business Combinations and Related Activity and Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the notes accompanying our consolidated financial statements included in this report for further information.

Imaging Center Segment

Radiology Imaging Center Asset Acquisitions:

During the years ended 2023, 2022 and 2021, we completed the acquisition of certain assets of the following entities, which either engage directly in the practice of radiology or associated businesses. The primary reason for these acquisitions was to strengthen our presence in many of our markets. These acquisitions are reported as part of our Imaging Center segment. We made a fair value determination of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities and the following were recorded (in thousands):

Artificial Intelligence Segment

The useful lives for the developed technology asset was set at 7 years, for customer relationships 5.4 years, and trade names was 7 years. The calculation of the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the tangible net assets and intangible assets acquired was recorded to goodwill. Factors contributing to the recognition of the amount of goodwill were primarily based on anticipated strategic and synergistic benefits that are expected to be realized from the acquisition. These benefits include expanding our AI capabilities to drive revenue growth.

On April 1, 2017, we formed in conjunction with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center the Santa Monica Imaging Group, LLC ("SMIG"), consisting of two multi-modality imaging centers located in Santa Monica, California with RadNet holding a 40% economic interest and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center holding a 60% economic interest. We account for our share of the venture under the equity method. On January 1, 2019, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center purchased an additional 5% economic interest in SMIG from us and, as a result, our economic interest in SMIG was reduced to 35%.

Effective September 1, 2021 we completed the sale of a 24.9% ownership interest in our majority owned subsidiary West Valley Imaging Group, LLC for $13.1 million to Tarzana Medical Center, LLC. After the sale, our ownership interest in the subsidiary has reduced from 75.0% to 50.1% and we retain a controlling financial interest in the subsidiary. We recognized in additional paid in capital on our consolidated balance sheets, $4.2 million excess in consideration over the carrying value of the sold economic interest. Following the sale of our ownership interest we acquired from Tarzana Medical Center, LLC, certain tangible and intangible business assets for purchase consideration of approximately $5.2 million.

On November 1, 2022 we contributed eight of our imaging centers to ADRG of $12.7 million and recorded a loss of $0.5 million which was calculated as the difference between the transaction price and carrying value of such imaging centers which included equipment and other assets and an allocation of goodwill to such imaging centers. We recorded $4.5 million of the transaction price as an offset to due to affiliates while the remaining $8.3 million was recorded as investment in joint venture on our balance sheet. We accounted for the transaction as an adjustment to our equity investment for the value of the assets contributed. To maintain our 49% economic interest in ADRG, we received a distribution from the partnership of $4.5 million to reduce our overall investment to $8.3 million.

Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the percentage that certain items in the statements of operations bears to net revenue for the years 2023, 2022 and 2021.

We grow our imaging center business through a combination of organic growth as well as acquisitions and joint ventures. In the discussion below same center metrics are based on imaging centers that were in operation throughout the period of January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023. Excluded amounts relate to imaging centers that were acquired or divested between January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023.

Overall revenue change was driven by procedure volume growth of 5.7% compared to the same period in the prior year. On a same center basis, the increase in revenue was largely attributable to product mix as advanced radiology procedures of MRI, PET, and CT expanded at combined 7.2% to provide the major portion of the revenue growth.

 

Total operating expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 increased approximately $130.8 million, or 9.7%, from $1.35 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 to $1.48 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. The following table sets forth our cost of operations and total operating expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands):

 

Similar to the prior year, growth in procedure volumes precipitated increases in salary expenses to meet additional professional staffing needs and we increased salaries as we seek to retain our skilled work force in the current tight labor market.

Stock-based compensation decreased $3.6 million, or 17.1%, to approximately $24.6 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 compared to $21.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

The decrease in building and equipment rental was the result of our contribution of Phoenix, AZ imaging centers in connection with the formation of the Arizona Diagnostic Radiology Group joint venture in November 2022 and from the buyout of radiology equipment lease contracts during the year.

Increased medical supplies expense was related to the 7.2% growth in advanced radiology volumes noted above, combined with price increases for contrast agents and higher utilization of isotopes employed in PET and CT procedures.

The rise in other operating expenses is attributable to additional professional fees associated with our acquisition activity, contractor services, equipment and maintenance and software upgrades all in support of our expansion and increase in procedure volumes.

The increase in depreciation expense was the result of our higher depreciable asset base. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a gain on the contribution of assets into our Santa Monica Imaging Group LLC joint venture. The non-cash expense associated with the change in fair value of our interest rate swaps for the year ended December

We closely monitor patient levels at our imaging centers and occasionally divest or shut down centers to maximize utilization rates. During the end of 2023, we experienced lower utilization at two imaging centers. As a result, we abandoned the leases related to these locations at the end of 2023 and diverted the patients to our other sites in the area. We recorded a charge of approximately $5.1 million in December 2023 related to lease facilities abandonment. The lease abandonment charges include the impairment of associated right-of-use assets of $2.7 million and write off of related leasehold improvements of approximately $2.5 million.

In September 2023, we determined that an IPR&D indefinite-lived intangible asset related to Aidence's Ai Veye Lung Nodule and Veye Clinic would not receive FDA approval for sale in the US without a new submission and additional expenditures for rework in the original projected timeline. The additional expenditures, delay and reduction of US sales affected the estimated fair value of the related IPR&D intangible asset and resulted in impairment charges of $3.9 million.

  

The rise in adjusted interest expense is attributable to higher overall loan balances in combination with increased variable interest rates paid on those balances in comparison to the same period in the prior year. During 2022 we refinanced our Truist term loan which added an additional $108.0 million in obligations to our balance sheet in the fourth quarter. Based on recent Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, we expect the effective interest rates on our senior credit facilities, and the related interest expense, to stabilize in the near term. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below for more details on our credit facilities.

 

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 we recognized equity in earnings from unconsolidated joint ventures of $6.4 million versus $10.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $4.0 million or 38.1%. The decrease in equity in earnings from unconsolidated joint ventures was due to the formation of Arizona Diagnostic Radiology Group in November 2022, which operated at a net loss in 2023.

At December 31, 2023, our consolidated subsidiaries operated 321 imaging centers of which 85 were not wholly-owned and thus a portion of their operating results were attributable to noncontrolling interests. At December 31, 2022, our consolidated subsidiaries included 318 centers of which 81 were not wholly-owned. As noncontrolling interests only represent a portion of our imaging center business, and excludes our AI segment which generated losses of $21.2 million in 2023, we do not expect changes in net income attributable to noncontrolling interests to correlate with changes in consolidated operating income or pretax income.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, we recognized net income attributable to noncontrolling interests of $27.3 million versus $23.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $4.3 million. The increase in net income attributable to noncontrolling interests was primarily due to the formation of a new majority owned subsidiary, Los Angeles Imaging Group, LLC in September 2023 as described in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements. We contributed the operations of three centers to Los Angeles Imaging Group, LLC, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center contributed cash. Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests was also improved as a result of our acquisition of various interests in 2022, which were able to operate for full twelve months in 2023. In October 2022, our consolidated joint venture New Jersey Imaging Network, LLC, acquired the assets of Montclair Radiological associates, P.A. In November 2022 we acquired a 75% controlling interest in Heart & Lung Imaging Limited. Additionally in April 2022 we formed a new majority owned subsidiary, Frederick County Radiology, LLC. See Note 4, Business Combinations and Related Activity, in the notes accompanying our consolidated financial statements included in this report, for a more detailed discussion of these acquisitions.

Our AI segment develops and deploys clinical applications to enhance interpretation of medical images and improve patient outcomes with a current emphasis on breast, prostate, and lung cancer diagnostics. The breakdown of revenue and expenses of the segment for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 are as follows:

 

The increase in revenues for the AI segment was driven by the launch of new imaging products, including our Enhanced Breast Cancer Detection product which was initially released in 2022 and is being rolled out in certain of our imaging centers. The increase in operating expenses for the AI segment was primarily related to salary expense as we increased headcount in connection with the commercialization of our initial AI products. Our net loss for the segment was consistent with the prior year. We expect that our AI segment will continue to generate net losses over the next several years.

For the comparison of results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 to the year ended December 31, 2021, for both out Imaging Center and AI segments, please see Item 7 — "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Operations" in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 1, 2023.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

 

 

Our Adjusted EBITDA metric removes non-cash and non-recurring charges that occur in the affected period and provides a basis for measuring the Company’s core financial performance against other periods.

 

We define Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, as adjusted to exclude losses or gains on the disposal of equipment, other income or loss, loss on debt extinguishment, bargain purchase gains, loss on de-consolidation of joint ventures, gain on contribution of imaging centers into joint ventures, and non-cash equity compensation.  Adjusted EBITDA includes equity earnings in unconsolidated operations and subtracts allocations of earnings to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries, and is adjusted for non-cash or one-time events that take place during the period.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes key balance sheet data as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 and income statement data for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):

We operate in a capital intensive, high fixed-cost industry that requires significant amounts of capital to fund operations. In addition to ongoing operations, we invest in the purchase of imaging facilities, the acquisition of equipment, and the acquisition of technology to fund our growth. If economic or global business conditions slowed, we expect that we will be able to adjust the pace of our investment activities.

The following table summarizes key components of our sources and uses of cash for the twelve months ended December 31, in thousands:

 

Cash used in investing activities for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 decreased from December 31, 2022 by $45.5 million. The changes included a $119.0 million reduction in purchases of imaging centers and other AI operations compared to 2022 which included our acquisition of Aidence Holding B.V. and Quantib B.V. for net consideration of $45.2 million and $42.3 million, respectively. This decrease was offset by an increase in the level of capital expenditures for property and equipment of $57.1 million.

 

Cash provided by financing activities for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 related primarily to a secondary public offering of our common stock, offset by payments including prepayments on our term loan, and payments of contingent consideration on recent acquisition transactions. In June 2023, we closed on a public offering of 8,711,250 shares of our common stock at a price to the public of $29.75 per share, resulting in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and expenses, of $245.8 million. Payments on term loan debt for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 were $41.1million. In addition, we made a prepayment of $30.0 million on our term loan to mitigate our exposure on variable interest debt as $100 million of notional value of our 2019 swaps matured in October 2023. On July 7, 2023, September 20, 2023 and December 12, 2023, we settled contingent liabilities associated with the acquisition related holdbacks and milestones for Quantib B.V. and Heart & Lung Imaging Limited with cash payments totaling $5.5 million.

 

We have entered into factoring agreements with various institutions and sold certain accounts receivable under non-recourse agreements in exchange for notes receivables from the buyers. These transactions are accounted for as a reduction in accounts receivable as the agreements transfer effective control over and risk related to the receivables to the buyers. Proceeds on notes receivables are reflected as operating activities on our statement of cash flows and on our balance sheet as prepaid expenses and other current assets for the current portion and deposits and other for the long term portion. Amounts remaining to be collected on these agreements were $14.3 million and $15.4 million at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. We do not utilize factoring arrangements as an integral part of our financing for working capital.

We maintain secured credit facilities with Barclays Bank PLC and with Truist Bank. The Barclays credit facilities are comprised of term loans and a revolving credit facility of $195.0 million. The Truist credit facilities relate to our subsidiary New Jersey Imaging Network LLC, and are comprised of a term loan and a revolving credit facility of $50.0 million. As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with all covenants under our credit facilities. Deferred financing costs on our revolving credit lines at December 31, 2023, net of accumulated amortization, totaled $1.6 million, with $1.1 million related to the Barclays revolving credit facility and $0.5 million related to the Truist revolving credit facility.

 

Included in our consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2023 are $813.0 million of total term loan debt (net of unamortized discounts of $10.0 million) displayed below in thousands:

We had no outstanding balance under our $195.0 million Barclays revolving credit facility at December 31, 2023 and had reserved $7.6 million for certain letters of credit. The remaining $187.4 million of our Barclays revolving credit facility

 

Our future obligations for notes payable, lines of credit, and equipment and building operating leases for the next five years and thereafter include (dollars in thousands):

 

Critical Accounting Policies

The Securities and Exchange Commission defines critical accounting estimates as those that are both most important to the portrayal of a company’s financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgment, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain and may change in subsequent periods. In Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in this annual report on Form 10-K we discuss our significant accounting policies, including those that do not require management to make difficult, subjective or complex judgments or estimates. The critical areas involving management’s judgments and estimates are described below.

USE OF ESTIMATES - The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. These estimates and assumptions affect various matters, including our reported amounts of assets and liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets at the dates of the financial statements; our disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements; and our reported amounts of revenues and expenses in our consolidated statements of operations during the reporting periods. These estimates involve judgments with respect to numerous factors that are difficult to predict and are beyond management’s control. As a result, actual amounts could materially differ from these estimates.

 

REVENUES – Our revenues generally relate to net patient fees that we receive from various payors and patients themselves under contracts in which our performance obligations are to provide diagnostic services to the patients. Revenues are recorded during the period when our obligations to provide diagnostic services are satisfied. Our performance obligations for diagnostic services are generally satisfied over a period of less than one day. The contractual relationships with patients, in most cases, also involve a third-party payor (Medicare, Medicaid, managed care health plans and commercial insurance companies, including plans offered through the health insurance exchanges) and the transaction prices for the services provided are dependent upon the terms provided by Medicare and Medicaid, or negotiated with managed care health plans and commercial insurance companies. The payment arrangements with third-party payors for the services we provide to the related patients typically specify payments at amounts less than our standard charges and generally provide for payments based upon predetermined rates per diagnostic services or discounted fee-for-service rates. Management continually reviews the contractual estimation process to consider and incorporate updates to laws and regulations and the frequent changes in managed care contractual terms resulting from contract renegotiations and renewals.

As it relates to the Group (as defined in Note 1 Nature of Business included in the notes to our consolidated financial statements), this service fee revenue includes payments for both the professional medical interpretation revenue recognized by them as well as the payment for all other aspects related to our providing the imaging services, for which we earn management fees. As it relates to other centers, this service fee revenue is earned through providing the use of our diagnostic imaging

Our revenues are based upon the estimated amounts we expect to be entitled to receive from patients and third-party payors. Estimates of contractual allowances under managed care and commercial insurance plans are based upon the payment terms specified in the related contractual agreements. Revenues related to uninsured patients and copayment and deductible amounts for patients who have health care coverage may have discounts applied (uninsured discounts and contractual discounts). We also record estimated implicit price concessions (based primarily on historical collection experience) related to uninsured accounts to record self-pay revenues at the estimated amounts we expect to collect.

Under capitation arrangements with various health plans, we earn a per-enrollee amount each month for making available diagnostic imaging services to all plan enrollees under the capitation arrangement. Revenue under capitation arrangements is recognized in the period in which we are obligated to provide services to plan enrollees under contracts with various health plans.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE – Substantially all of our accounts receivable are due under fee-for-service contracts from third party payors, such as insurance companies and government-sponsored healthcare programs, or directly from patients. Services are generally provided pursuant to one-year contracts with healthcare providers. We continuously monitor collections from our payors and maintain an allowance for bad debts based upon specific payor collection issues that we have identified and our historical experience.

BUSINESS COMBINATIONS – When the qualifications for business combination accounting treatment are met, it requires us to recognize separately from goodwill the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their acquisition date fair values. Goodwill as of the acquisition date is measured as the excess of consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. While we use our best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date, our estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, we record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations.

GOODWILL AND INDEFINITE LIVED INTANGIBLES – Goodwill totaled $679.5 million and $677.7 million at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Indefinite lived intangible assets were $9.0 million at December 31, 2023 and $24.1 million at December 31, 2022 and are associated with the value of certain trade name intangibles and IPR&D. Goodwill, trade name intangibles and IPR&D are recorded as a result of business combinations. When we determine the carrying value of goodwill exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge would be recognized which should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. We determined fair values for each of the reporting units using the market approach, when available and appropriate, or the income approach, or a combination of both. We assess the valuation methodology based upon the relevance and availability of the data at the time we perform the valuation. If multiple valuation methodologies are used, the results are weighted appropriately.

Recent Accounting Standards

See Note 3, Recent Accounting Standards, in the notes accompanying the consolidated financial statements included in this report for further information.

Additional Information

 

Additional information concerning RadNet, Inc., including our consolidated subsidiaries, for each of the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 is included in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in this report.

 

 

  

We are exposed to foreign exchange risk with respect to revenues and expenses denominated in the Euro, Canadian Dollar, Hungarian Forint and Pound Sterling. We have AI operations in the Netherlands, radiology services in the United Kingdom, and maintain research and development centers in Canada and Hungary. At the present time, we do not have any foreign currency exchange contracts to mitigate this risk. At December 31, 2023, a hypothetical 1% decline in the currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar against these currencies, would have resulted in an annual increase of approximately $0.3 million in operating expenses.

We can elect SOFR or Alternative Base Rate interest rate options on amounts outstanding under the Barclay's term loan. At December 31, 2023, after giving effect to the $400 million notional amount of our 2019 swaps, we had $279.0 million outstanding subject to a SOFR election on our Barclay's term loan, at an effective rate plus applicable margin of 5.38%. A hypothetical 1% increase in the SOFR rates under the Barclay's credit facility would result in an increase of $2.8 million in annual interest expense and a corresponding decrease in income before taxes.

We can elect SOFR or Base Rate interest rate options on amounts outstanding under the Truist credit facility. At December 31, 2023, we had $144.4 million outstanding subject to an adjusted SOFR election on our Trust term loan. At December 31, 2023, our effective SOFR rate plus applicable margin was 7.24%. A hypothetical 1% increase in the adjusted SOFR rates under the Truist credit facility would result in an increase of approximately $1.4 million in annual interest expense and a corresponding decrease in income before taxes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of RadNet, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

Basis for Opinion

Critical Audit Matter