As America’s population ages, a 4 billion USD opportunity is being foreseen by Thomas DeRosa for changing the U.S. health infrastructure through instituting a low-cost healthcare network and disrupting conventional healthcare practices.

DeRosa intends to leverage the real estate in nursing homes for outpatient care and phasing out the profit-based business model. His strategy finds its basis with the premise of buying the property of bankrupt nursing home chain HCR ManorCare and creating a 30-state healthcare system by collaborating with proMedica, a non-profit hospital operator. Welltower Inc, the real estate investment trust (REIT) of DeRosa will buy ManorCare real estate for USD 2.7 billion as per a deal launched on April 24 and be approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court. Manorcare’s operations are being bought out by Promedica for USD 1.3 billion to form a network of 70,000 employees and a network with USD 7 billion worth of annual revenues through a combination of clinics, health plans and surgery centres with its own.

The strategy aims to reduce around USD 300 million in operational costs, chiefly on account of cheaper rent, in the event of HCR Manorcare coming out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings this year. The merger is expected to lift the group into the top ranks of the 25 largest U.S. health systems.