Abstract
As a result of the Affordable Care Act, innovative strategies must be developed and initiated to work with the Affordable Care Act in order to diminish fragmentation of care delivery and thereby improve quality and reduce costs. It is imperative for health care organizations to explore options from mergers and acquisitions to affiliation agreements in order to prepare for business transformation. Since financial strength combined with independent governance and retention of cultural identity may be optimal, a legal transactional structure such as an affiliation is sometimes the best course of action for a health system. This article explores the affiliation process for health care organizations.