Healthcare deals carry a second layer the rest of Main Street doesn't: regulatory structure. Who may own the entity, how the payor contracts transfer, and what the compliance record looks like shape the deal as much as the earnings do. The reward for getting it right is a deep buyer pool — consolidators, hospital-adjacent groups, and clinician-buyers are all active.
Wide-banded starting ranges from the same table our free valuation calculator uses — a broker review narrows them after seeing real financials:
| Segment | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Medical practice | 1.5× – 3× SDE | Payor mix + lease + non-compete enforceability drive band more than specialty. |
| Dental practice | 2× – 3.25× SDE | Insurance mix + new-patient flow drive band more than specialty. The source has no SDE table for dental — it trades on a percentage of trailing-12 collections or on EBITDA — so this band is inferred. |
The split between commercial, Medicare/Medicaid, and cash-pay revenue is the first page every healthcare buyer reads. Concentration in one payor — or in one reimbursement rate that could reset — moves value more than most operational metrics.
What fraction of production is the selling clinician? A practice where the owner produces 80% of revenue is selling a job with goodwill attached; associates who stay, documented referral patterns, and new-patient flow that doesn't depend on the seller's name all move real money.
Billing-audit history, documentation practices, and HIPAA posture get diligenced in every serious healthcare deal. A clean, organized compliance file shortens diligence and protects price; surprises found by the buyer's counsel do the opposite.
Corporate-practice-of-medicine doctrines and state ownership rules decide what you may buy and how it must be held. The legal structure question precedes the valuation question in healthcare — engage qualified healthcare counsel early.
Tie production reports to the practice-management system and payor remittances, by clinician. The seller's departure risk is measurable — measure it before it's priced into your surprise instead of your offer.
Healthcare build-outs are expensive and location-sticky. Term remaining, transfer rights, and relocation economics belong in the first diligence pass, not the last.
Medical practices commonly trade around 1.5–3× SDE and dental practices around 2–3.25× SDE, with payor mix, lease terms, provider dependence, and non-compete enforceability driving the band more than specialty. The free valuation calculator provides a personalized starting range; healthcare deals also need qualified healthcare counsel on structure.
It depends on the state and the entity structure — corporate-practice-of-medicine rules restrict who may own clinical entities in many states, and compliant structures (such as management-services arrangements) exist but must be designed by qualified healthcare counsel. Treat the ownership-structure question as step one of diligence.
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