Dealmaking in the sector is poised to increase next year after a lull in 2025, as companies use technology, like artificial intelligence, to attract buyers, according to the report.
An uncertain regulatory and reimbursement environment will remain the biggest headwind for healthcare M&A in 2026, PwC wrote in the outlook.
The sector has weathered significant policy change this year. This summer, President Donald Trump signed massive cuts to safety-net insurance program Medicaid into law, and more generous financial assistance for coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges looks likely to expire at the end of the year.
Those changes will increase the number of uninsured Americans, putting more financial pressure on providers that will lose revenue and deliver care that won’t be reimbursed. Meanwhile, insurers have faced their own headwinds in government programs.
These policy shifts are coming faster, so buyers are moving quickly to reach competitive advantages, PwC wrote. For example, the CMS finalized some site-neutral pay policies that will align outpatient pay across different care settings this year, demonstrating the need for hospitals and ambulatory care operators to potentially switch up their portfolios.
“In health services, first movers who pair policy foresight with AI-driven execution will set the pace for the sector’s deals in 2026,” Daniel Farrell, health services deals leader at PwC, said in a statement.