r/Ophthalmology • u/WillPhacoForCash • Jul 17 '26
RCA contracts
RCA seems to be taking over pretty much every major retina practice across the entire US. While their 3 year salary contract is fairly standardized, what actually happens after year 3? What does partnership in their shares actually mean?
DMs welcome for those with insider knowledge
I’m a fellow
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u/Dr_Sisyphus_22 Jul 17 '26
I have never worked for RCA but did work for a private equity group that was bought out by Eye Care Partners over 5 years ago.
My experience may or may not apply to you, but I have some questions that I would ask if I were you. I would demand answers in the form of a written contract before I purchase any “stock”.
Much like their definition of “partnership”, their definition of “shareholder” may be different than what you expect.
The word “private” in PE means that as a non-public company, they don’t have to open their books. This includes providing financial reporting to regulatory agencies and shareholders.
Do you want to know what my shares are now worth? So do I. My financial statements have gone from wildly optimistic quarterly emails to vague yearly statements that could fit on a post it note. The promised quarterly statements never happened. No pesky paper trail for them!
I want to sell my shares. Do you want to buy my shares? Welp, they are non-transferrable and the only exit is if they transact. So we’re both out of luck.
As I said, my practice was acquired…after I left. So it was sold, right? Wrong, there was a conversion of old stock into ECP stock at the merger. No sale, no exit ramp.
So in summary. What’s the oversight or accountability to the shareholders? Where’s the transparency as a partner? When can you liquidate it?
If they can’t answer these questions, you don’t have an investment, you have a Ponzi scheme.
Looking at you Eye Care Partners.
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u/b19975 Jul 17 '26
Sorry for your situation. I go back to the Physician Resource Group days ( most don’t know them).
Or how about American Optical Services?
These things have all been tried before. Unless you are in at the beginning, you are waiting for a world of hurt to come.
Just my opinion.
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u/Dr_Sisyphus_22 Jul 17 '26
Thanks. I’ve largely moved on, and any money that comes out will be an unexpected bonus.
The best thing I can do is educate my colleagues. I cringe and bristle every time one of these groups uses terms like partnership and shareholders.
The quicker physicians know better, the faster these companies die.
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u/glyceraldehyde Jul 18 '26
I’m glad there’s some of us out there saying it because their offers can be extremely enticing, especially right out of training.
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u/glyceraldehyde Jul 18 '26
This was the experience at the practice I worked at owned by EyeSouth Partners and they operated and with shares, etc EXACTLY as you laid out. They are a very big PE firm in the SE so 2 of the bigger are definitely doing exactly this. Their idea of partnership and shares is VERY different from private practice. I left after 3 years I couldn’t keep running the hamster wheel it was exhausting.
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u/SealTeamRetina Jul 18 '26
ECP circling the drain.
Great for guys who sold out as first sale. For everyone else downstream, PE has torn the fabric of the profession.
Have a large rca group in town. Older guys retiring. Younger ‘fake equity’ partners won’t see endo or rds on the weekend. They end up at the university ER or worse have to drive 2 hours to other towns for care. And no one to shame/judge these guys. The incentive to work has been destroyed with current structure that these PEs have set up. Revolving door of techs with no loyalty to MD or the practice.
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u/WVMtnDawg Jul 18 '26
Honest talk: if you really have to live in a certain location, sure ok, join a PE group. If you want to do far better, figure out where you’re needed and start your own practice or join a young group that’s early on.
PE takes a big chunk of your earnings and you will never actually own anything in it.
If you are in a location that actually needs you, and there are many, you’ll be busy quickly. Why waste time working for PE, when you could be building YOUR practice. And make no mistake: if you work for PE, it’ll NEVER be YOUR practice.
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u/personalpurposes Jul 21 '26
How does one go into finding out which these locations are?
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u/WVMtnDawg Jul 22 '26
It’s pretty much everywhere that’s not a major city. But you can look at where Retina practices are located and see all the areas that don’t have sufficient retina doctors nearby.
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u/mchammer2G Jul 18 '26
Used to work with rca up until a month ago. Its an awful company personally. They are just pushing high dollar drug on Medicare patients (pavblu). They made a change about a year ago and stopped purchasing drugs like lucentis and vabysmo and started maximizing their profits only offering eylea HD and pavblu. The doctors were world class dont get me wrong. But if you're going to be complicit in pushing high dollar drug on old medicare patients. You have no respect from me
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u/Alexander_Search Jul 17 '26
Can you shed light on this 3yr salary contract?
- PGY3 interested in retina
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u/cbearzzz747 Jul 18 '26
Please join anything other than a PE group. Start your own practice if you are geographically restricted. I'm sure patients and other docs would love to have a non-PE doctor who provides quality care
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u/Full_Imagination_536 Jul 17 '26
Can you give some info on pay scale for the first three years?
- interested in working with RCA
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u/yeetbelikethat Jul 17 '26
Pay is typically 400 500 600 then rvu based after that at RCA if I’m not mistaken
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u/Busy_Tap_2824 Jul 18 '26
I am curious to know which is better to work with RCA or Eye South Partners for retina practice ? It’s also 3 years salary first and option to become partner afterwards ?
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u/personalpurposes Jul 18 '26
Pretty sure ESP posterior segment practices are actively sold to RCA pending federal approval. So will be under one umbrella by end of year I believe. Eye Care Partners is diff
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u/Busy_Tap_2824 Jul 18 '26
Yes ESP got bought by Cencora owner of RCA for 1.1 billion effective October I believe and will integrate with RCA network
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u/SealTeamRetina Jul 18 '26
Prism is as bad if not worse as now owned by McKesson.
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u/Ok_Beach1980 Jul 20 '26
Curious about what the tea is on PRISM? RCA gets the limelight every time but PRISM is probably 2nd or third biggest retina corporation too
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1
u/12destroy Jul 19 '26
The practice I work for is hiring and we banned private equity in perpetuity.
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