Big Beautiful Bill Uncertainty Leads Acadia Healthcare to Pause Projects

Behavioral healthcare provider Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc. is tapping the brakes on some expansion projects due to the policy uncertainty around the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, CEO Chris Hunter said Aug. 6.

Acadia, which is headquartered near Nashville, runs more than 270 treatment centers in 39 states and Puerto Rico. Hunter and his team are on track to add nearly 1,000 beds to its network of about 12,000 this year. The company spent $586 million last year on expansion projects and is on pace to put to work about $500 million this year but 2026 and 2027 expansion plans are likely to feature smaller outlays.

“With the amount of uncertainty created by the recently passed Big Beautiful Bill, we’re going to absolutely take a harder look and are taking a harder look at capital spending,” Hunter told analysts and investors on a conference call discussing Acadia’s second-quarter results. “We have the opportunity to take a pause on some of our expansion capital spending.”

Hunter and outgoing CFO Heather Dixon said they already have hit the pause button on two projects in Acadia’s pipeline, a move that will save the company about $100 million over the next few years. Dixon noted a small part of those savings will start to be realized later this year, when Acadia teams would have been working on elements such as planning and design.

Hunter noted that other spending pauses and/or cuts are likely because of uncertainty around funding that parts of the OBBBA have created.

“We’re still going through the process and we expect to have more to say over the next few months,” Hunter said.

Hunter commented on longer-term spending plans after Acadia, which serves more than 82,000 patients daily, reported Q2 net profits of $37.9 million on revenues of $869 million. A year ago, those numbers were $81 million and $796 million, respectively, but this year’s income was dinged by more than $53 million in settlement costs and legal fees related to governmental investigations and lawsuits as well as about $10 million in spending on layoffs, facility closures and contract changes.

Shares of Acadia (Ticker: ACHC) tumbled more than 15% after executives’ earnings report and conference call. They rose about 1% on Aug. 7 to close at $18.20 but are still down more than 50% over the past six months. The company’s market capitalization is now about $1.7 billion.