Table of Contents

PART I

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “Acadia,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” mean Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Item 1. Business.

Overview

Our business strategy is to acquire and developbecome the indispensable behavioral healthcare facilitiesprovider for the high-acuity and improve our operating results within our facilities and our other behavioral healthcare operations.complex needs patient population. We striveare committed to improveproviding the operating results of our facilities by providingcommunities we serve with high-quality, services, expanding referral networks and marketing initiatives while meeting the increased demand forcost-effective behavioral healthcare services, throughwhile growing our business, increasing profitability and creating long-term value for our stockholders. This strategy includes five growth pathways: expansions of existing facilities, joint venture partnerships, de novo facilities, acquisitions and expansion across our continuum of our current locations as well as developing new services within existing locations.care. At December 31, 2022,2023, we operated 250253 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 11,00011,200 beds in 3938 states and Puerto Rico. During the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, we added 560595 beds, consisting of 290302 added to existing facilities and 270293 added through the opening of one wholly-owned facility and two joint venture facilities, and we opened sevensix comprehensive treatment centers (“CTCs”).

We are the leading publicly traded pure-play provider of behavioral healthcare services in the United States (the “U.S.”). Management believes that we are positioned as a leading platform in a highly fragmented industry under the direction of an experienced management team that has significant industry expertise. Management expects to take advantage of several strategies that are more accessible as a result of our increased size and geographic scale, including continuing a national marketing strategy to attract new patients and referral sources, increasing our volume of out-of-state referrals, providing a broader range of services to new and existing patients and clients and selectively pursuing opportunities to expand our facility and bed count in the U.S. through acquisitions, wholly-owned de novo facilities, joint ventures and bed additions in existing facilities.

Our common stock is listed for trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ACHC.” Our principal executive offices are located at 6100 Tower Circle, Suite 1000, Franklin, Tennessee 37067, and our telephone number is (615) 861-6000.

Acquisitions

In July 2023, we signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Turning Point Centers (“Turning Point”), a 76-bed specialty provider of substance use disorder and primary mental health treatment services that supports the Salt Lake City, Utah, metropolitan market. Turning Point provides a full continuum of treatment services, including residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services. The transaction closed on February 22, 2024.

On November 7, 2022, we acquired four CTCs located in Georgia from Brand New Start Treatment Centers (“Brand New Start”).

On December 31, 2021, we acquired the equity of CenterPointe Behavioral Health System, LLC and certain related entities (“CenterPointe”) for cash consideration of approximately $140 million. The acquisition was funded through a combination of cash on hand and a $70.0 million draw on the Revolving Facility (as defined below). At the time of the acquisition, CenterPointe operated four acute inpatient hospitals with 306 beds and ten outpatient locations primarily in Missouri.

Financing Transactions

On March 17, 2021, we entered into a credit agreement (as amended, the “Credit Facility”), which provides for a $600.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Facility”) and a senior secured term loan facility in an initial principal amount of $425.0 million (as increased by the Incremental Term Loans (as defined below), the “Term Loan Facility”), each maturing on March 17, 2026. The Revolving Facility further provides for a $20.0 million subfacility for the issuance of letters of credit . See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” for additional information about the Credit Facility.

On March 30, 2023, we entered into Amendment No.1 to the Credit Facility (the “First Amendment”), which replaces LIBOR as the reference rate applicable to borrowings under the Credit Facility with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate as determined for a term of, at our option, one, three or six months, plus an adjustment of 0.10% (“Adjusted Term SOFR”).

On January 18, 2024, we entered into Amendment No.2 to the Credit Facility (the “Second Amendment”), which provides for the incurrence of additional senior secured term loans in an aggregate principal amount of $350.0 million (the “Incremental Term Loans”). Such Incremental Term Loans are structured as an increase of the Term Loan Facility. The maturity date, the leverage-based pricing grid, mandatory prepayment events and other terms applicable to the Incremental Term Loans are substantially identical to those applicable to the initial $425.0 million term loans incurred under the Term Loan Facility.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we borrowed $40.0 million on the Revolving Facility and repaid $35.0 million of the balance outstanding.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, we repaid $95.0 million of the balance outstanding on the Revolving Facility.

As a part of the closing of the Credit Facility on March 17, 2021, we (i) refinanced and terminated our prior credit facilities under an amended and restated credit agreement, dated as of December 31, 2012 (the “Prior Credit Facility”) and (ii) financed the redemption of all of our outstanding 5.625% Senior Notes due 2023 (the “5.625% Senior Notes”).

In connection with the redemption of the 5.625% Senior Notes, we satisfied and discharged the indentures governing the 5.625% Senior Notes and recorded debt extinguishment costs of $3.3 million, including the write-off of deferred financing and premiums costs in the consolidated statement of operations.

On March 1, 2021, we satisfied and discharged the indentures governing the 6.500% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “6.500% Senior Notes”). In connection with the redemption of the 6.500% Senior Notes, we recorded debt extinguishment costs of $10.5 million, including $6.3 million cash paid for breakage costs and the write-off of deferred financing costs of $4.2 million in the consolidated statement of operations.

U.K. Sale

On January 19, 2021, we completed the sale of our operations in the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”) to RemedcoUK Limited, a company organized under the laws of England and Wales and owned by funds managed or advised by Waterland Private Equity Fund VII (the “U.K. Sale”). The U.K. Sale allowed us to reduce our indebtedness and focus on our U.S. operations. We report, for all periods presented, results of operations and cash flows of the U.K. operations as discontinued operations in the accompanying financial statements. See “U.K. Sale” below for additional details

Additional information about the U.K. Sale.

Our common stock is listed for trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ACHC.” Our principal executive offices are located at 6100 Tower Circle, Suite 1000, Franklin, Tennessee 37067, and our telephone number is (615) 861-6000.

Acquisitions

On November 7, 2022, we acquired four CTCs located in Georgia from Brand New Start Treatment Centers (“Brand New Start”).

On December 31, 2021, we acquired the equity of CenterPointe Behavioral Health System, LLC and certain related entities (“CenterPointe”) for cash consideration of approximately $140 million. The acquisition was funded through a combination of cash on hand and a $70.0 million draw on the Revolving Facility (as defined below). At the time of the acquisition, CenterPointe operated four acute inpatient hospitals with 306 beds and ten outpatient locations primarily in Missouri.

U.K. Sale

On January 19, 2021, we completed the U.K. Sale pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement in which we sold all of the securities of AHC-WW Jersey Limited, a private limited liability company incorporated in Jersey and a subsidiary of the Company, which constituted the entirety of our U.K. operations.The U.K. Sale resulted in approximately $1,525 million of gross proceeds before deducting the settlement of existing foreign currency hedging liabilities of $85 million based on the current British Pounds (“GBP”) to U.S. Dollars (“USD”) exchange rate, cash retained by the buyer and transaction costs. We used the net proceeds of approximately $1,425 million (excluding cash retained by the buyer) along with cash from the balance sheet to reduce debt by $1,640 million during the first quarter of 2021. As a result of the U.K. Sale, we reported, for all periods presented, results of operations and cash flows of the U.K. operations as discontinued operations’s behavioral healthcare industry can be found in the accompanying financial statements.

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Financing Transactions

We entered into a credit agreement establishing a new senior credit facility (the “New Credit Facility”) on March 17, 2021. The New Credit Facility provides for a $600.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Facility”) and a $425.0 million senior secured term loan facility (the “Term Loan Facility” and, togetherour prior filings with the Revolving Facility, the “Senior Facilities”), each maturing on March 17, 2026 unless extended in accordance with the terms of the New Credit Facility. The Revolving Facility further provides for (i) up to $20.0 million to be utilized for the issuance of letters of credit and (ii) the availability of a swingline facility under which we may borrow up to $20.0 million. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations —Liquidity and Capital Resources” for additional information about the New Credit Facility and the Prior Credit Facility (as defined below).SEC.

As a part of the closing of the New Credit Facility on March 17, 2021, we (i) refinanced and terminated our prior credit facilities under an amended and restated credit agreement, dated as of December 31, 2012 (the “Prior Credit Facility”) and (ii) financed the redemption of all of our outstanding 5.625% Senior Notes due 2023 (the “5.625% Senior Notes”).

In connection with the redemption of the 5.625% Senior Notes, we satisfied and discharged the indentures governing the 5.625% Senior Notes and recorded debt extinguishment costs of $3.3 million, including the write-off of deferred financing and premiums costs in the consolidated statement of operations.  

On March 1, 2021, we satisfied and discharged the indentures governing the 6.500% Senior Notes due 2024 (“6.500% Senior Notes”). In connection with the redemption of the 6.500% Senior Notes, we recorded debt extinguishment costs of $10.5 million, including $6.3 million cash paid for breakage costs and the write-off of deferred financing costs of $4.2 million in the consolidated statement of operations.  

On January 5, 2021, we made a voluntary payment of $105.0 million on our Term Loan B facility Tranche B-4 of the Prior Credit Facility (the “Tranche B-4 Facility”). On January 19, 2021, we used a portion of the net proceeds from the U.K. Sale to repay $311.7 million of the Term Loan A facility of the Prior Credit Facility (the “TLA Facility”) and $767.9 million of our Tranche B-4 Facility.

On October 14, 2020, we issued $475.0 million of 5.000% Senior Notes due 2029 (the “5.000% Senior Notes”).The 5.000% Senior Notes mature April 15, 2029 and bear interest at a rate of 5.000% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on April 15 and October 15, commencing on April 15, 2021. We used the net proceeds of the 5.000% Senior Notes to prepay approximately $453.3 million of the outstanding borrowings on our Term Loan B facility Tranche B-3 of the Prior Credit Facility (the “Tranche B-3 Facility”) and used the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes and to pay related fees and expenses in connection with the offering. In connection with the 5.000% Senior Notes, we recorded a debt extinguishment charge of $2.9 million, including the write-off of discount and deferred financing cost in the consolidated statements of operations.

On June 24, 2020, we issued $450.0 million of 5.500% Senior Notes due 2028 (the “5.500% Senior Notes”). The 5.500% Senior Notes mature on July 1, 2028 and bear interest at a rate of 5.500% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on January 1 and July 1 of each year, commencing on January 1, 2021. We used the net proceeds of the 5.500% Senior Notes, together with cash on hand, to redeem in full the outstanding 6.125% Senior Notes due 2021 (the “6.125% Senior Notes”) and the 5.125% Senior Notes due 2022 (the “5.125% Senior Notes”) and to pay related fees and expenses in connection therewith.

Competitive Strengths

Management believes the following strengths differentiate us from other providers of behavioral healthcare services:

Premier operational management team with track record of success. Our management team has approximately 300 combined years of experience in the healthcare industry. The extensive national experience and operational expertise of our management team give us what management believes to be the premier leadership team in the behavioral healthcare industry. Our management team strives to use its years of experience operating behavioral healthcare facilities to generate strong cash flow and grow a profitable business.

FavorableLegislative and favorable industry and legislative trends. According to a 20212022 survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“SAMHSA”(the “HHS”), 57.8mental illness and substance use disorder prevalence continues to break previous year records. In 2022, 59.3 million adults in the U.S. aged 18 years or older suffered from a mental illness in the prior year and 14.115.4 million suffered from a serious mental illness. In addition, 29.7 million U.S.Further, adults with co-occurring serious mental illness received no mental health services in the past year. Further, approximately 43.7and substance use disorder grew from 6.4 million to 7.4 million between 2021 to 2022, a 15% increase. Approximately 54.6 million people aged 12 or older in 20212022 needed substance use treatment in the past year.year, but only 13.1 million of those received substance use treatment. According to a study by The Journal of American Medical Association Pediatrics, an estimated 7.7 million U.S. children has a treatablethe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), youth mental health disorder.continues to reach all-time highs. In 2021, 42% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness, compared to 28% in 2011. Further, in 2021, 10% of high school students attempted suicide. Management believes the market for behavioral healthcare services will continue to grow due to increased awareness of mental health and substance abuse conditions and treatment options.

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While the growing awareness of mental health and substance abuse conditions is expected to accelerate demand for services, recent healthcare reform in the U.S. is expected to increase access to industry services as more people obtain insurance coverage. A key aspect of reform legislation is the extension of mental health parity protections established into law by the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (the “MHPAEA”). The MHPAEA requires employers who provide behavioral healthhealthcare and addiction benefits to provide such coverage to the same extent as other medical conditions. On December 13, 2016, then President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act. The 21st Century Cures Act appropriates substantial resources for the treatment of behavioral healthhealthcare and substance abuse disorders and contains measures intended to strengthen the MHPAEA. On October 21, 2018, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (the “SUPPORT Act”) was signed into law. The SUPPORT Act expands Medicare coverage to include Opioid Treatment Programs for services provided on or after January 2, 2020. It also includes Individuals in Medicaid Deserve Care that is Appropriate and Responsible in its Execution Act, which suspends the current prohibition on using federal Medicaid funds to pay for substance use disorder treatment at inpatient treatment facilities with more than 16 beds and limits beneficiaries to no more than 30 days of inpatient treatment per 12 month12-month period.

National footprint and scale with regional density and presence across multiple service lines. We are a leading behavioral healthcare platform in an industry that is undergoing consolidation in an effort to reduce costs and expand programs to better serve the growing need for inpatientacute behavioral healthcare services. Management expects to take advantage of several strategies that are more accessible as a result of our increased size and geographic scale, including continuing a national marketing strategy to attract new patients and referral sources, increasing our volume of out-of-state referrals, providing a broader range of services to new and existing patients and clients and selectively pursuing opportunities to expand our facility and bed count.

Diversified revenue and payor bases. At December 31, 2022,2023, we operated 250253 facilities in 3938 states and Puerto Rico. Our payor, patient and geographic diversity mitigates the potential risk associated with any single facility. For the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, we received 51%54% of our revenue from continuing operations from Medicaid, 30%28% from commercial payors, 15% from Medicare and 4%3% from other payors. As we receive Medicaid payments from 4645 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, management does not believe that we are significantly affected by changes in reimbursement policies in any one state or territory. No facility accounted for more than 4% of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, and no state or U.S. territory accounted for more than 14% of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022.2023. We believe that our increased geographic diversity will mitigate the impact of any financial or budgetary pressure that may arise in a particular state or market where we operate.

Strong financial position to execute our strategy. Management believes we continue to be in a strong position for investments in our facilities, expansion into new and existing markets and enhancement of our capabilities and infrastructure. We generate strong free cash flowreturns by profitably operating our business and by actively managing our working capital. Moreover, as the behavioral healthcare business does not typically require the procurement and replacement of expensive medical equipment, our maintenance capital expenditure requirements are generally less than that of other facility-based healthcare providers. For the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, our maintenance capital expenditures amounted to approximately 2%3% of our revenue.

Business Strategy

Our strategy is to become the indispensable behavioral healthhealthcare provider for the high-acuity and complex needs patient population. We are committed to providing the communities we serve with high-quality, cost-effective behavioral healthcare services, while growing our business increasing profitability and creating long-term value for our stockholders. This strategy includes five growth pathways: expansions of existing facilities, joint venture partnerships, de novo facilities, acquisitions and expansion across our continuum of care. Our core strategic priorities include:

Drive organic growth of existing facilities. We seek to increase revenue at our facilities by providing a broader range of services to new and existing patients and clients. In addition, management intends to increase bed counts in our existing facilities. We added 290302 beds to existing facilities during the year ended December 31, 2022,2023 and expect to add approximately 300more than 400 beds to existing facilities for the year ending December 31, 2023. Furthermore, management believes that opportunities exist to leverage out-of-state referrals to increase volume and minimize payor concentration, especially with respect to our youth and adolescent focused services and our substance abuse services.2024.

Management believes we can improve efficiencies and increase operating margins by utilizing our management’s expertise and experience within existing programs and their expertise in improving performance at underperforming facilities. Management believes the efficiencies can be realized by investing in growth in strong markets, addressing capital-constrained facilities that have underperformed and improving management systems.

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Fuel facility growth through accelerated joint venture partnerships and de novo builds and pursuing programmatic mergers and acquisitions. We have positioned the Company as a leading provider of mental healthbehavioral healthcare services in the U.S. The behavioral healthcare industry in the U.S. is highly fragmented, and we selectively seek opportunities to expand and diversify our base of operations by acquiring additional facilities, and entering into partnerships with healthcare providers to acquire and develop additional facilities.facilities and developing wholly-owned de novo facilities in attractive markets. We have a number of potential acquisitions, joint ventures and acquisitionswholly-owned de novo facilities in various stages of development and consideration in the U.S.

During the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, we added 270293 beds through the opening of one wholly-owned facility and two joint venture facilities, and we opened sevensix CTCs. For the year ending December 31, 2023,2024, we expect to open twoadd approximately 800 beds through the opening of wholly-owned facilities, twoand joint venture facilities and at least sixopen up to 14 CTCs.

Management believes our focus on behavioral healthcare and history of completing acquisitions provides us with a strategic advantage in sourcing, evaluating and closing acquisitions. We leverage our management team’s expertise to identify and integrate acquisitions based on a disciplined acquisition strategy that focuses on quality of service, return on investment and strategic benefits. We also have a comprehensive post-acquisition strategic plan to facilitate the integration of acquired facilities that includes improving facility operations, retaining and recruiting psychiatrists and other healthcare professionals and expanding the breadth of services offered by the facilities.

Accelerate expansion across the care continuum, particularly for patients with opioid use and other substance use disorders. Our growth strategy includes a patient-centric approach covering the full continuum of care with deep expertise in treating high needs patients. We focus onfor behavioral healthcare services. By providing cohesive care across sites and levels of care, we are able to best serve the most complex patients andpatient populations. We are also working to reach underserved patient populations by expanding our breadth of services and increasing access points within new and existing metropolitan statistical areas.points.

COVID-19 ImpactOperations

During March 2020, the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 (“COVID-19”) began to affect our facilities, employees, patients, communities, business operations and financial performance, as well as the broader U.S. and U.K. economies and financial markets. At manyof our facilities, employees and/or patients have tested positive for COVID-19. We are committed to protecting the health of our communities and have been responding to the evolving COVID-19 situation while taking steps to provide quality care and protect the health and safety of our patients and employees. Over the last three years, all of our facilities have closely followed infectious disease protocols, as well as recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and local health officials.

U.S. Operations

Our facilities and services can generally be classified into the following categories: acute inpatient psychiatric facilities; specialty treatment facilities; CTCs; and residential treatment centers. Outpatient programs associated with our facilities are included within each respective service line. The table below presents the percentage of our total U.S. revenue attributed to each category for the year ended December 31, 2022:2023:

We receive payments from the following sources for services rendered in our facilities: (i) state governments under their respective Medicaid and other programs; (ii) commercial insurers; (iii) the federal government under the Medicare program administered by CMS;the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and other programs; and (iv) individual patients and clients. For the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, we received 51%54% of our revenue from Medicaid, 30%28% from commercial payors, 15% from Medicare and 4%3% from other payors.

At December 31, 2022, our facilities included 2502023, we operated 253 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 11,00011,200 beds in 3938 states and Puerto Rico. Of our facilities, excluding CTCs, approximately 53%56% are acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, approximately 37%34% are specialty treatment facilities and approximately 10% are residential treatment centers at December 31, 2022. Of the 250 behavioral healthcare2023. 157 of our facilities 151 are CTCs. Of the CTCs, 1619 of which are owned properties and 135138 of which are leased properties. Of theour facilities that are not CTCs, 91%93% of our beds are at owned properties and 9%7% are at leased properties. For the years ended December 31, 20222023 and 2021,2022, our continuing operations generated revenue of $2,928.7 million and $2,610.4 million, and $2,314.4 million, respectively.

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Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities

Acute inpatient psychiatric facilities provide a high level of care in order to stabilize patients that are either a threat to themselves or to others. The acute setting provides 24-hour observation, daily intervention and monitoring by psychiatrists. Generally, due to shorter lengths of stay, the related higher patient turnover, and the special security and health precautions required, acute inpatient psychiatric facilities have lower average occupancy than residential treatment centers. Our facilities that offer acute care services provide evaluation and crisis stabilization of patients with severe psychiatric diagnoses through a medical delivery model that incorporates structured and intensive medical and behavioral therapies with 24-hour monitoring by a psychiatrist, psychiatric trained nurses, therapists and other direct care staff. LengthsTypical lengths of stay for crisis stabilization and acute care range from three to five days and from five to twelve days, respectively.

Specialty Treatment Facilities

Our specialty treatment facilities include residential recovery facilities and eating disorder facilities. We provide a comprehensive continuum of care for adults with addictive disorders and co-occurring mental disorders. Our detoxification, inpatient, partial hospitalization and outpatient treatment programs are cost-effective and give patients access to the least restrictive level of care. All programs offer individualized treatment in a supportive and nurturing environment.

The majority of our specialty treatment services are provided to patients who abuse addictive substances such as alcohol, illicit drugs or opiates, including prescription drugs. Some of our facilities also treat other addictions and behavioral disorders such as chronic pain, sexual compulsivity, compulsive gambling, mood disorders, emotional trauma and abuse. The goal of our treatment facilities is to provide the appropriate level of treatment to an individual no matter where they are in the lifecycle of their disease in order to restore the individual to a healthier, more productive life, free from dependence on illicit substances and destructive behaviors. Our treatment facilities provide a number of different treatment services such as assessment, detoxification, medication-assisted treatment, counseling, education, lectures and group therapy. We assess and evaluate the medical, psychological and emotional needs of the patient and address these needs in the treatment process. Following this assessment, an individualized treatment program is designed to provide a foundation for a lifelong recovery process. Many modalities are used in our treatment programs to support the individual, including the twelve steptwelve-step philosophy, cognitive/behavioral therapies, supportive therapies and continuing care.

Residential Recovery Facilities. Our inpatientresidential recovery facilities house and care for patients over an extended period and typically treat patients from a broadly defined regional market. We provide three basic levels of residential treatment depending on the severity of the patient’s addiction and/or behavioral disorder. Patients with the most severe dependencies are typically placed into

inpatient treatment, in which the patient resides at a treatment facility. If a patient’s condition is less severe, he or she will be offered day treatment, which allows the patient to return home in the evening. The least intensive service is where the patient visits the facility for just a few hours a week to attend counseling/group sessions.

Following primary treatment, our extended care programs typically offer residential care, which allows patients to develop healthy and appropriate living skills while remaining in a safe and nurturing setting. Patients are supported in their recovery by a semi-structured living environment that allows them to begin the process of employment or to pursue educational goals and to take personal responsibility for their recovery. The structure of this treatment phase is monitored by a primary therapist who works with each patient to integrate recovery skills and build a foundation of sobriety with a strong support system. Length of stay will vary depending on the patient’s needs with a minimum stay of 30 days and could be multiple months if needed.needs.

Our outpatient clinics serve patients that do not require inpatient treatment or are transitioning from a residential treatment program; have employment, family or school commitments; and have stabilized in their substance addiction recovery practices and are seeking ongoing continuing care.

Eating Disorder Facilities. Our eating disorder facilities provide treatment services for eating disorders, and weight management, each of which may be effectively treated through a combination of medical, psychological and social treatment programs.

Our behavioral therapies are delivered in an array of treatment models that may include individual and group therapy, intensive outpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization/day treatment, road to recovery and other programs that can be either abstinent or medication-assisted based.

Comprehensive Treatment Centers

Our CTCs specialize in providing medication-assisted treatment in an outpatient setting. Medication-assisted treatment combines behavioral therapy and medication to treat substance use disorders. CTCs primarily utilize medication-assisted treatment to

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individuals addicted to opiates such as opioid analgesics (prescription pain medications). Our professional staff can provide a broad range of patient services, including personalized treatment plans, medication management, medication dispensing, individual therapy, group therapy, peer support, vocational training and social support services. Medication is used to normalize brain chemistry to block the euphoric effects of alcohol and opioids allowing our professional staff to provide behavioral therapy. Patients begin their treatment attending the clinic almost daily. Then, through successfully progressing in treatment, patients attend less frequently depending on individual treatment plans. The length of treatment differs from patient to patient, but typically lasts longer than one year.

Each of our CTCs provide a range of comprehensive substance abuse treatment support services that include medical, counseling, vocational, educational, and other treatment services.

Residential Treatment Centers

Residential treatment centers treat patients with behavioral disorders in a non-hospital setting, including outdoor programs.setting. The facilities balance therapy activities with social, academic and other activities. Because the setting is less intensive, demands on staffing, security and oversight are generally lower than inpatient psychiatric facilities. In contrast to acute care psychiatric facilities, occupancy in residential treatment centers can be managed more easily given a longer length of stay. Over time, however, residential treatment centers have continued to serve increasingly severe patients who would have been treated in acute care facilities in earlier years.

We provide residential treatment care through a medical model residential treatment facility, which offers intensive, medically-driven interventions and individualized treatment regimens designed to deal with moderate to high level patient acuity. Children and adolescents admitted to these facilities typically have had multiple prior failed treatment plans, severe physical, sexual and emotional abuse, termination of parental custody, substance abuse, marked deficiencies in social, interpersonal and academic skills and a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Treatment typically is provided by an interdisciplinary team coordinating psychopharmacological, individual, group and family therapy, along with specialized accredited educational programs in both secure and unlocked environments. Lengths of stay range from three months to several years.

Certain of our residential treatment centers provide group home and therapeutic group home and therapeutic foster care programs. Our group home programs provide family-style living for youths in a single house or apartment within residential communities where 24-hour staff provide supervision and support are provided by 24-hour staff.support. The goal of a group home program is to teach family living and social skills through individual and group counseling sessions within a real lifereal-life environment. The residents are encouraged to take responsibility for the home and their health as well as actively take part in community functions. Most attend an accredited and licensed on-premises school or a local public school. We also operate therapeutic group homes that provide comprehensive treatment services for seriously, emotionally disturbed adolescents. The ultimate goal is to reunite or place these children with their families or prepare them, when appropriate, for permanent placement with a relative or an adoptive family. We also manage therapeutic foster care programs, which are considered the least restrictive form of therapeutic placement for children and adolescents with emotional disorders. Children and adolescents in our therapeutic foster care programs often are part of the child welfare or juvenile justice system. Care is delivered in private homes with experienced foster parents who are trained to work with children and adolescents with special needs.

Additional information about our U.K. operations and the U.K.’s behavioral healthcare industry can be found in our prior filings with the SEC.

Sources of Revenue

As of December 31, 2022,2023, we received payments from the following sources for services rendered in our facilities: (i) state governments under their respective Medicaid and other programs; (ii) commercial insurers; (iii) the federal government under the Medicare program administered by CMS;CMS and other programs; and (iv) individual patients and clients. We determine the transaction price based on established billing rates reduced by contractual adjustments provided to third-party payors, discounts provided to uninsured patients and implicit price concessions. Contractual adjustments and discounts are based on contractual agreements, discount policies and historical experience. Implicit price concessions are based on historical collection experience. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies — Revenue and Accounts Receivable”

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for additional disclosure. Other information related to our revenue, income and other operating information is provided in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Regulation

The healthcare industry is subject to numerous laws, regulations and rules including, among others, those related to government healthcare program participation requirements, various licensure and accreditation standards, reimbursement for patient services, health information privacy and security rules, and government healthcare program fraud and abuse provisions. Providers that are found to have violated any of these laws and regulations may be excluded from participating in government healthcare programs, subjected to loss or limitation of licenses to operate, subjected to significant fines or penalties and/or required to repay amounts received from the government for previously billed patient services.

Licensing, Certification and Accreditation

All of our facilities must comply with various federal, state and local licensing and certification regulations and undergo periodic inspection by licensing agencies to certify compliance with such regulations. The initial and continued licensure of our facilities and certification to participate in government healthcare programs depends upon many factors including various state licensure regulations relating to quality of care, environment of care, equipment, services, staff training, personnel and the existence of adequate policies, procedures and controls. Federal, state and local agencies survey our facilities on a regular basis to determine whether the facilities are in compliance with regulatory operating and health standards and conditions for participating in government healthcare programs.

Most of our inpatient and residential facilities maintain accreditation from private entities, such as The Joint Commission or the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (“CARF”). The Joint Commission and CARF are private organizations that have accreditation programs for a broad spectrum of healthcare facilities. The Joint Commission accredits a broad variety of healthcare organizations, including hospitals and behavioral healthhealthcare organizations. CARF accredits behavioral healthhealthcare organizations providing mental health and alcohol and drug use and addiction services, as well as opiate treatment programs, and many other types of healthcare programs. These accreditation programs are intended generally to improve the quality, safety, outcomes and value of healthcare services provided by accredited facilities. Certain federal and state licensing agencies as well as many government and private healthcare payment programs require that providers be accredited as a condition of licensure, certification or participation. Accreditation is typically granted for a specified period, ranging from one to three years, and renewals of accreditation generally require completion of a renewal application and an on-site renewal survey.

Certificates of Need

Many of the states in which we operate facilities have enacted certificate of need (“CON”) laws that regulate the construction or expansion of certain healthcare facilities, certain capital expenditures or changes in services or bed capacity. Failure to obtain CON approval of certain activities can result in: our inability to complete an acquisition, expansion or replacement; the imposition of civil penalties; the inability to receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement; or the revocation of a facility’s license, any of which could harm our business.

Audits

Our healthcare facilities are also subject to federal, state and commercial payor audits to validate the accuracy of claims submitted to government healthcare programs and commercial payors. If these audits identify overpayments, we could be required to make substantial repayments, subject to various appeal rights. Our facilities are routinely subjected to claims audits in the ordinary course of business. While no such audit has identified any material overpayment liability, should a potential material overpayment liability arise from a future audit, such overpayment liability may ultimately exceed established reserves, and any excess could potentially be substantial. Further, Medicare and Medicaid regulations, as well as commercial payor contracts, also provide for withholding or suspending payments in certain circumstances, which could adversely affect our cash flow.

The Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law and the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act

The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits healthcare providers and others from directly or indirectly soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration, in cash or in kind, as an inducement or reward for using, referring, ordering, recommending or arranging for referrals or orders of services or other items paid for by a government healthcare program. The Anti-Kickback Statute may be found to have been violated if at least one purpose of the remuneration is to induce or reward referrals. A provider is not required to have actual knowledge or specific intent to commit a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute to be found guilty of violating the law.

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The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human ServicesHHS (the “OIG”) has issued safe harbor regulations that protect certain types of common arrangements from prosecution or sanction under the Anti-Kickback Statute. The fact that conduct or a business arrangement does not fall within a safe harbor does not automatically render the conduct or business arrangement illegal under the Anti-Kickback Statute. However, conduct and business arrangements falling outside the safe harbors may lead to increased scrutiny by government enforcement authorities. In December of 2020, the OIG finalized revisions to the Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors and created new safe harbors for value-based care that became effective January 19, 2021. The new regulations are intended to improve patient care and foster innovative care models by easing regulatory burdens to coordinated and value-based care.

Although management believes that our arrangements with physicians and other referral sources comply with current law and available interpretative guidance, as a practical matter it is not always possible to structure our arrangements so as to fall squarely within an available safe harbor. Where that is the case, we cannot guarantee that applicable regulatory authorities will determine these financial arrangements do not violate the Anti-Kickback Statute or other applicable laws, including state anti-kickback laws.laws, although we do structure such arrangements to meet as many of the safe harbor requirements as possible.

In addition to the Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the Stark Law, prohibits physicians from referring Medicare patients to healthcare entities with which they or any of their immediate family members have a financial relationship for the furnishing of any “designated health services” unless certain exceptions apply. A violation of the Stark Law may result in a denial of payment;payment, required refunds to the Medicare program;program, the imposition of statutory civil monetary penalties of up to $15,000 for each prohibited claim and up to $100,000 for circumvention schemes;schemes, exclusion from government healthcare programs;programs and liability under the False Claims Act. There are ownership and compensation arrangement exceptions for many customary financial arrangements between physicians and facilities, including the employment exception, personal services exception, lease exception and certain recruitment exceptions. As part of CMS’s “regulatory sprint to coordinated care”, CMS finalized revisions to the exceptions and created new exceptions for value-based care that became effective on January 19, 2021. As with the changes made to the Anti-Kickback Statute, the new Stark exceptions are intended to improve patient care and foster innovative care models by easing regulatory burdens to coordinated and value-based care.

Management believes that our financial arrangements with physicians are structured to comply with the regulatory exceptions to the Stark Law. However, the Stark Law is a strict liability statute, meaning that no intent is required to violate the law, and even a technical violation may lead to significant penalties.

These laws and regulations are extremely complex and, in many cases, we do not have the benefit of regulatory or judicial interpretation. It is possible that different interpretations or enforcement of these laws and regulations could subject our current or past practices to allegations of impropriety or illegality or could require us to make changes in our arrangements relating to facilities, equipment, personnel, services, capital expenditure programs and operating expenses. A determination that we have violated one or more of these laws, or the public announcement that we are being investigated for possible violations of one or more of these laws, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, we cannot predict whether other federal or state legislation or regulations will be adopted, what form such legislation or regulations may take or what their impact on us may be.

The SUPPORT Act contains a number of provisions aimed at identifying at-risk individuals, increasing access to opioid abuse treatment, reducing overprescribing and promoting data sharing with the primary goal of reducing the use and abuse of opioids. Additionally, the SUPPORT Act attempts to address the problem of “patient brokering” in the context of addiction treatment facilities and sober living homes.

One section of the SUPPORT Act, the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (the “EKRA”(“EKRA”), makes it a federal crime to knowingly and willfully: (1) solicit or receive any remuneration in return for referring a patient to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility or laboratory; or (2) pay or offer any remuneration to induce such a referral or in exchange for an individual using the services of a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory. Each conviction under the EKRA is punishable by up to $200,000 in monetary damages, imprisonment for up to ten (10) years, or both. Unlike the Anti-Kickback Statutes, theStatute, EKRA is not limited to services reimbursable under a government healthcare program. The EKRA also contains exceptions similar to the Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors, but those exceptions are more narrow than the Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors such that practices that would be permissible under the Anti-Kickback Statute may violate the EKRA.

If we are deemed to have failed to comply with the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, the EKRA or other applicable laws and regulations, we could be subjected to liabilities, including criminal penalties, civil penalties and exclusion of one or more facilities from participation in the government healthcare programs. The imposition of such penalties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Federal False Claims Act and Other Fraud and Abuse Provisions

The federal False Claims Act provides the government with a tool to pursue healthcare providers for submitting false claims or requests for payment for healthcare items or services. Under the False Claims Act, the government may fine any person or entity that, among other things, knowingly submits, or causes the submission of, false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal government or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay money to the federal government. The federal government has widely used the False Claims Act to prosecute Medicare and other federal healthcare program fraud such as coding errors, billing for services not provided, submitting false cost reports and providing care that is not medically necessary or that is substandard in quality. Claims for services or items rendered in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute or the Stark Law can provide a basis for liability under the False Claims Act as well. The False Claims Act is also implicated by the knowing failure to report and return an overpayment within 60 days of identifying the overpayment or by the date a corresponding cost report is due, whichever is later.

Violations of the False Claims Act are punishable by significant penalties totaling $13,508$13,946 to $27,018$27,894 for each fraudulent claim plus three times the amount of damages sustained by the government. In addition, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, private parties may bring actions under the False Claims Act on behalf of the federal government. These private parties, known as relators, are entitled to share in any amounts recovered by the government, and, as a result, whistleblower lawsuits have increased significantly in recent years. Many states have similar false claims statutes that impose liability for the types of acts prohibited by the False Claims Act or that otherwise prohibit the submission of false or fraudulent claims to the state government or Medicaid program.

In addition to the False Claims Act, the federal government may use several criminal laws, such as the federal mail fraud, wire fraud or healthcare fraud statutes, to prosecute the submission of false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal government. Most states have also adopted generally applicable insurance fraud statutes and regulations that prohibit healthcare providers from submitting inaccurate, incorrect or misleading claims to private insurance companies. Management believes our healthcare facilities have implemented appropriate safeguards and procedures to complete claim forms and requests for payment in an accurate manner and to operate in compliance with applicable laws. However, the possibility of billing or other errors can never be completely eliminated, and we cannot guarantee that the government or a qui tam plaintiff, upon audit or review, would not take the position that billing, the quality of patient care or other deficiencies or errors, should they occur, are violations of the False Claims Act.

HIPAA Administrative Simplification and Privacy and Security Requirements

The administrative simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), require the use of uniform electronic data transmission standards for healthcare claims and payment transactions submitted or received electronically. These provisions are intended to encourage electronic commerce in the healthcare industry. HIPAA also established federal rules protecting the privacy and security of individually identifiable protected health information (“PHI”). The privacy and security regulations control the use and disclosure of PHI and the rights of patients to be informed about and control how such PHI is used and disclosed. Violations of HIPAA can result in both criminal and civil fines and penalties.

The HIPAA security regulations require healthcare providers to implement administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of PHI. HITECH has strengthened certain HIPAA rules regarding the use and disclosure of PHI, extended certain HIPAA provisions to business associates and created security breach notification requirements including notifications to the individuals affected by the breach, the Department of Health and Human Services,HHS, and in certain cases, the media. HITECH has also increased maximum penalties for violations of HIPAA privacy rules. Management believes that we have been in material compliance with the HIPAA regulations and have developed our policies and procedures to ensure ongoing compliance, although we cannot guarantee that our facilities will not be subject to security incidents or breaches which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act

The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (“EMTALA”) is intended to ensure public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay. Section 1867 of the Social Security Act imposes specific obligations on Medicare-participating hospitals that offer emergency services to provide a medical screening examination when a request is made for examination or treatment for an emergency medical condition regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. Hospitals are then required to provide stabilizing treatment for patients with emergency medical conditions. If a hospital is unable to stabilize a patient within its capability, or if the patient requests, an appropriate transfer must be implemented. EMTALA imposes additional obligations on hospitals with specialized capabilities, such as ours, to accept the transfer of patients in need of such specialized capabilities if those patients present in the emergency room of a hospital that does not possess the specialized capabilities.

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Mental Health Parity Legislation

The MHPAEA was signed into law in October 2008 and requires health insurance plans that offer mental health and addiction coverage to provide that coverage on par with financial and treatment coverage offered for other illnesses. The MHPAEA has some

limitations because health plans that do not already cover mental health treatments are not required to do so, and health plans are not required to provide coverage for every mental health condition published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association. The MHPAEA also contains a cost exemption which operates to exempt a group health plan from the MHPAEA’s requirements if compliance with the MHPAEA becomes too costly.

On December 13, 2016, then President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act. The 21st Century Cures Act appropriated substantial resources for the treatment of behavioral healthhealthcare and substance abuse disorders and contained measures intended to strengthen the MHPAEA.

CARES Act and Other Regulatory DevelopmentsMatters

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was signed into law. The CARES Act is intended to provideprovided over $2 trillion in stimulus benefits for the U.S. economy. Among other things, the CARES Act includesincluded additional support for small businesses, expandsexpanded unemployment benefits, makesmade forgivable loans available to small businesses, providesprovided for certain federal income tax changes, and providesprovided $500 billion for loans, loan guarantees, and other investments for or in U.S. businesses.

In addition, the CARES Act containscontained a number of provisions that are intended to assist healthcare providers as they combat the effects of the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 pandemic.(“COVID-19”). Those provisions include,included, among others:

The U.S. government initially announced it would offer $100 billion of relief to eligible healthcare providers through the PHSSE Fund. On April 24, 2020, then President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (the “PPP Act”). Among other things, the PPP Act allocatesallocated $75 billion to eligible healthcare providers to help offset COVID-19 related losses and expenses. The $75 billion allocated under the PPP Act iswas in addition to the $100 billion allocated to healthcare providers for the same purposes in the CARES Act and has beenwas disbursed to providers under terms and conditions similar to the CARES Act funds. In 2020, we received approximately $34.9 million of the funds distributed from the PHSSE Fund. During the fourth quarter of 2020, we recorded approximately $32.8 million of income from provider relief fund related to PHSSE Fund fundsamounts received in 2020.

    

In 2021, we received $24.2 million of additional funds from the PHSSE Fund. During the fourth quarter of 2021, we recorded $17.9 million of income from provider relief fund related to PHSSE Fund fundsamounts received. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we received $7.7 million of additional funds from the PHSSE Fund and $14.2 million from the American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) Rural Payments for Hospitals. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded $21.5 million of income from provider relief fund related to PHSSE Fund amounts and ARP funds received. TheDuring the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded $6.4 million of income from provider relief fund related to ARP funds received and repaid the remaining balance of ARP funds received to eliminate the liability. At December 31, 2022, the unrecognized funds of $9.0 million arewere included in other accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2022. We continue to evaluate our compliance with the terms and conditions to, and the financial impact of, these additional funds received, including potential repayment of the remaining balance.sheet.

Healthcare providers were required to sign an attestation confirming receipt of the Provider ReliefPHSSE Fund fundsamounts and agree to the terms and conditions of payment. Under the terms and conditions for receipt of the payment, we were allowed to use the funds to cover lost revenues and healthcare costs related to COVID-19, and we were required to properly and fully document the use of these funds to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”).HHS. The reporting of the funds is subject to future audit for compliance with the terms and conditions. We recognized Provider ReliefPHSSE Fund fundsamounts to the extent we had qualifying COVID-19 expenses or lost revenues as permitted under the terms and conditions. The grant income associated with the COVID-19 expenses and

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lost revenues incurred during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 is reflected as income from provider relief fund in our consolidated statement of operations.

During 2020, we applied for and received approximately $45.2 million of payments from the CMS Accelerated and Advance Payment Program. Of the $45.2 million of advance payments received in 2020, we repaid approximately $25.1 million of advance payments during 2021 and made additional repayments of approximately $20.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, to eliminate the liability.

Under the CARES Act, we received a 2% increase in our facilities’ Medicare reimbursement rate as a result of the temporary suspension of Medicare sequestration from May 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022, which was reduced to 1% on April 1, 2022, and was eliminated effective July 1, 2022.

The CARES Act also providesprovided for certain federal income and other tax changes. We received a cash benefit of approximately $39.3 million for 2020 relating to the delay of payment of the employer portion of Social Security payroll taxes. We repaid half of the $39.3 million of payroll tax deferrals during the third quarter of 2021 and repaid the remaining portion in the third quarter of 2022 to eliminate the liability.

In additionThe regulatory changes related to the financial and other relief that has been provided by the federal government through the CARES Act were temporary and other legislation passed by Congress, CMS and many state governments have also issued waivers and temporary suspensions of healthcare facility licensure, certification, and reimbursement requirements in order to provide hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers with increased flexibility to meet the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, CMS and many state governments have temporarily eased regulatory requirements and burdens for delivering and being reimbursed for healthcare services provided remotely through telemedicine. CMS has also temporarily waived many provisions of the Stark law, including many of the provisions affecting our relationships with physicians. Many states have also suspended the enforcement of certain regulatory requirements to ensure that healthcare providers have sufficient capacity to treat COVID-19 patients. These regulatory changes are temporary, with most slated to expireexpired at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency expected inon May 11, 2023.

We are continuing to evaluate the terms and conditions and financial impact of funds received under the CARES Act and other government relief programs.

Corporate Integrity Agreement

During the second quarter of 2019, we entered into a corporate integrity agreement (the “CIA”) with the OIG imposing certain compliance obligations on us and our subsidiary, CRC Health.Health, LLC. For further discussion of the background of this matter and the CIA, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Factors — We could be subject to monetary penalties and other sanctions, including exclusion from federal healthcare programs, if we fail to comply with the terms of our existing CIA or any similar agreements in the CIA”future”.

Risk Management and Insurance

The healthcare industry in general continues to experience an increase in the frequency and severity of litigation and claims. As is typical in the healthcare industry, we are subject to claims that our services have resulted in injury to our patients or clients or other adverse effects. In addition, resident, visitor and employee injuries also subject us to the risk of litigation. While management believes that quality care is provided to patients and clients in our facilities and that we substantially comply with all applicable regulatory requirements, an adverse settlement determination in a legal proceeding or government investigation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our statutory workers’ compensation program is fully insured with a $0.5 million deductible per accident. A portion of our professional liability risks are insured through a wholly-owned insurance subsidiary providing coverage for up to $10.0$5.0 million per claim and $10.0 million for certain other claims through August 31, 20222023 and $5.0$7.0 million and $10.0 million for certain other claims thereafter. We have obtained reinsurance coverage from a third partythird-party to cover claims in excess of those limits. The reinsurance policy has a coverage limit of $75.0 million or $70.0 million in the aggregate for certain other claims through August 31, 2023 and $78.0 million or $75.0 million in the aggregate.aggregate for certain other claims thereafter. Our reinsurance receivables are recognized consistent with the related liabilities, and include known claims and any incurred but not reported claims that are covered by current insurance policies in place.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws that: (i) regulate certain activities and operations that may have environmental or health and safety effects, such as the handling, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of medical waste

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products generated at our facilities, the identification and warning of the presence of asbestos-containing materials in buildings, as well as the removal of such materials, the presence of other hazardous substances in the indoor environment and protection of the environment and natural resources in connection with the development or construction of our facilities; (ii) impose liability for costs of cleaning up, and damages to natural resources from, past spills, waste disposals on and off-site, or other releases of hazardous materials or regulated substances; and (iii) regulate workplace safety. Some of our facilities generate infectious or other hazardous medical waste due to the illness or physical condition of our patients. The management of infectious medical waste is subject to regulation under various federal, state and local environmental laws, which establish management requirements for such waste. These requirements include record-keeping, notice and reporting obligations. Each of our facilities has an agreement with a waste management company for the disposal of medical waste. The use of such companies, however, does not completely protect us from violations of medical waste laws or from related third-party claims for clean-up costs.

From time to time, our operations have resulted in, or may result in, non-compliance with, or liability pursuant to, environmental or health and safety laws or regulations. Management believes that our operations are generally in compliance with environmental and health and safety regulatory requirements, including legal requirements relating to climate change, or that any non-compliance will not result in a material liability or cost to achieve compliance. Historically, the costs of achieving and maintaining compliance with environmental laws and regulations at our facilities have not been material. However, we cannot assure you that future costs and expenses required for us to comply with any new or changes in existing environmental and health and safety laws and regulations or new or discovered environmental conditions will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, we could be affected by climate change to the extent that climate change results in severe weather conditions or other disruptions impacting the communities in which our facilities are located. For more information regarding climate change and its possible adverse impact on us, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Operational Risks — Our business and operations are subject to risks related to natural disasters and climate change”.

We have not been notified of and management is otherwise currently not aware of any contamination at our currently or formerly operated facilities that could result in material liability or cost to us under environmental laws or regulations for the investigation and remediation of such contamination, and we currently are not undertaking any remediation or investigation activities

in connection with any such contamination conditions. There may, however, be environmental conditions currently unknown to us relating to our prior, existing or future sites or operations or those of predecessor companies whose liabilities we may have assumed or acquired which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

New laws, regulations or policies or changes in existing laws, regulations or policies or their enforcement, future spills or accidents or the discovery of currently unknown conditions or non-compliances may give rise to investigation and remediation liabilities, compliance costs, fines and penalties, or liability and claims for alleged personal injury or property damage due to substances or materials used in our operations, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Competition

The healthcare industry is highly competitive. Our principal competitors include other behavioral healthcare service companies, including Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) and other acute inpatient psychiatric hospitals, other residential behavioral healthcare providers, other outpatient opioid treatment providers and general healthcare facilities that provide mental health services. An important part of our business strategy is to continue making targeted acquisitions of other behavioral healthhealthcare facilities. However, reduced capacity, the passage of mental healthhealthcare parity legislation and increased demand for mental health services are likely to attract other potential buyers, including diversified healthcare companies, other pure-play behavioral healthcare companies and private equity firms.

In addition to the competition we face for acquisitions, we must also compete for patients. Patients are referred to our behavioral healthcare facilities through a number of different sources, including healthcare practitioners, public programs, other treatment facilities, managed care organizations, unions, emergency departments, judicial officials, social workers, police departments and word of mouth from previously treated patients and their families, among others. These referral sources may instead refer patients to hospitals that are able to provide a full suite of medical services or to other behavioral healthcare centers.

Human Capital

At December 31, 2022,2023, we had approximately 23,00023,500 employees, of which 17,000 were employed full-time. At December 31, 2022,2023, we had one facility with a labor unionsunion, which represented approximately 350150 of our employees at two of our facilities through four collective bargaining agreements.employees. Organizing activities by labor unions and certain potential changes in federal labor laws and regulations could increase the likelihood of employee unionization in the future.

Typically, our inpatient facilities are staffed by a chief executive officer, medical director, director of nursing, chief financial officer, clinical director and director of performance improvement. Psychiatrists and other physicians working in our facilities are

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licensed medical professionals who are generally not employed by us and work in our facilities as independent contractors or medical staff members.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment that treats everyone with dignity and respect. Approximately 74%73% of our employees are women and approximately 48% are people of color. We have policies that strictly prohibit any discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability, gender, marital status, veteran status or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law.

We have also established a Diversity and Inclusion Council, a multidisciplinary group, to oversee and advance diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Talent Acquisition, Development and Retention

Our success is dependent on our ability to attract, develop and retain talented, dedicated employees. We are committed to being an employer of choice and offer a compelling total rewards program. In addition to base salaries, we offer our employees a full spectrum of benefits, including medical, dental, vision and disability plans, health savings and flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) retirement savings plan that includes a matching contribution, paid time off and employee assistance programs. We also conduct comprehensive employee satisfaction surveys to assess and ensure that we are responsive to the desires and concerns of our employees.

Like most healthcare providers, our facilities have experienced rising labor costs and turnover, and we have resorted to using more expensive contract labor at certain of our facilities. In some markets, the availability and retention of qualified medical personnel have become significant operating issues to healthcare providers, including at certain of our facilities. Shortages of nurses, qualified addiction counselors and other medical and care support personnel could result in a number of adverse impacts to our business, including capacity and growth constraints, reduced patient satisfaction, reduced employee satisfaction, impact on services offered, and increased costs, among others. For more information regarding risks of rising labor costs and its possible adverse impact on us, see “Item

“Item 1A. Risk Factors — Human Capital Risks — Our facilities face competition for staffing, labor shortages and higher turnover rates that may increase our labor costs and reduce our profitability”.

Health and Safety

We are committed to providing care to our patients in a safe, therapeutic environment. In furtherance of this commitment, we provide our employees with access to a variety of workplace safety training programs and continually evaluate our policies promoting patient safety and employee wellbeing.

During March 2020, COVID-19 began to affect our facilities, employees, patients, communities, business operations and financial performance, as well as the broader U.S. population, economy and financial markets. At manyof our facilities, employees and/or patients have tested positive for COVID-19. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented numerous changes to our policies and procedures to ensure the health of our patients, employees, contractors and communities, including instituting social distancing practices and protective measures throughout our facilities, which included restricting or suspending visitor access, screening patients and staff who enter our facilities based on criteria established by the CDC and local health officials, and testing and isolating patients when warranted.

Seasonality of Demand for Services

Our residential recovery and other inpatient facilities typically experience lower patient volumes and revenue during the holidays, and our child and adolescent facilities typically experience lower patient volumes and revenue during the summer months, holidays and other periods when school is out of session.

Available Information

Our Internet website address is www.acadiahealthcare.com. We make available our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports free of charge on our website on the Investors“Investors” webpage under the caption “SEC Filings” as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information we file. Our website and the information contained therein or linked thereto are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

Risk Factors Summary

We are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including financial risks, operational risks, human capital risks, legal proceedings and regulatory risks and certain general risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Risks that we deem material are described under “Risk Factors” below and include, but are not limited to, the following:

Financial Risks

Operational Risks

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Human Capital Risks

Legal Proceedings and Regulatory Risks

General Risk Factors

Risk Factors

Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. These risks should be carefully considered before making an investment decision regarding us. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face and there may be additional risks that we are not presently aware of or that we currently consider not likely to have a significant impact. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could suffer, and the trading price of our common stock could decline.

Financial Risks

Our revenue and results of operations are significantly affected by payments received from the government and third-party payors.

A significant portion of our revenue is derived from government healthcare programs. For the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, we derived approximately 66%69% of our continuing operations revenue from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Government payors in the U.S., such as Medicaid, generally reimburse us on a fee-for-service basis based on predetermined reimbursement rate schedules. As a result, we are limited in the amount we can record as revenue for our services from these government programs, and if we have a cost increase, we typically will not be able to recover this increase. In addition, the federal government and many state governments, are operating under significant budgetary pressures, and they may seek to reduce payments under their Medicaid programs for services such as those we provide. Government payors also tend to pay on a slower schedule. In addition to limiting the amounts they will pay for the services we provide their members, government payors may, among other things, impose prior authorization and concurrent utilization review programs that may further limit the services for which they will pay and shift patients to lower levels of care and reimbursement. Therefore, if governmental entities reduce the amounts they will pay

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for our services, if they elect not to continue paying for such services altogether, or if there is a significant contraction of the number of individuals covered by state Medicaid programs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, if governmental entities slow their payment cycles further, our cash flow from operations could be negatively affected.

Commercial payors such as managed care organizations, private health insurance programs and labor unions generally reimburse us for the services rendered to insured patients based upon contractually determined rates. These commercial payors are under significant pressure to control healthcare costs. In addition to limiting the amounts they will pay for the services we provide their members, commercial payors may, among other things, impose prior authorization and concurrent utilization review programs that may further limit the services for which they will pay and shift patients to lower levels of care and reimbursement. These actions may reduce the amount of revenue we derive from commercial payors.

Changes in these government programs in recent years have resulted in limitations on reimbursement and, in some cases, reduced levels of reimbursement for healthcare services. Payments from federal and state government healthcare programs are subject to statutory and regulatory changes, administrative rulings, interpretations and determinations, requirements for utilization review, and federal and state funding restrictions, all of which could materially increase or decrease program payments, as well as affect the cost of providing service to patients and the timing of payments to facilities. We are unable to predict the effect of recent and future policy changes on our operations. In addition, since most states operate with balanced budgets and since the Medicaid program is often a state’s largest program, some states can be expected to enact or consider enacting legislation formulated to reduce their Medicaid expenditures. If the rates paid or the scope of services covered by government payors are reduced, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to changes in government reimbursement programs, our ability to negotiate favorable contracts with private payors, including managed care providers, significantly affects the financial condition and operating results of our facilities. Further, we may not be able to negotiate or sustain rate increases we have experienced in recent years, and may not be able to achieve consistent rate increases from year to year. Management expects third-party payors to aggressively manage reimbursement levels and cost controls. Reductions in reimbursement amounts received from third-party payors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our healthcare facilities are also subject to federal, state and commercial payor audits to validate the accuracy of claims submitted to government healthcare programs and commercial payors. If these audits identify overpayments, we could be required to make substantial repayments, subject to various appeal rights. Our facilities are routinely subjected to claims audits in the ordinary

course of business. While no such audit has identified any material overpayment liability, should a potential material overpayment liability arise from a future audit, such overpayment liability may ultimately exceed established reserves, and any excess could potentially be substantial. Further, Medicare and Medicaid regulations, as well as commercial payor contracts, also provide for withholding or suspending payments in certain circumstances, which could adversely affect our cash flow.

Our debt could adversely affect our financial health and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under our financing arrangements.

At December 31, 2022,2023, we had approximately $1.4 billion of total debt (net of debt issuance costs, discounts and premiums of $12.6$10.4 million), which included approximately $473.4$457.2 million of debt under the New Credit Facility, $450.0 million of debt under the 5.500% Senior Notes (as defined below) and $475.0 million of debt under the 5.000% Senior Notes.Notes (as defined below). See “Item 1. Business—Business — Financing Transactions” for additional details regarding our outstanding indebtedness.

Our debt could have important consequences to our business. For example, it could:

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In addition, the terms of our financing arrangements contain restrictive covenants that limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interests. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of all of our debts, including the New Credit Facility and the Senior Notes.Notes (as defined below).

Servicing our debt will requirerequires a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate sufficient cash to service our debt depends on many factors beyond our control.

Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our debt, to fund planned capital expenditures and to maintain sufficient working capital will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.

We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the New Credit Facility or from other sources in an amount sufficient to enable us to service our debt or to fund our other liquidity needs. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to allow us to make scheduled payments on our debt, we may need to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt on or before the maturity thereof, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our debt on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that the terms of that debt will allow any of the above alternative measures or that these measures would satisfy our scheduled debt service obligations. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow to repay or refinance our debt on favorable terms, it could significantly adversely affect our financial condition and the value of our outstanding debt. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations.

We are subject to a number of restrictive covenants, which may restrict our business and financing activities.

Our financing arrangements impose, and the terms of any future debt may impose, operating and other restrictions on us. Such restrictions affect, and in many respects limit or prohibit, among other things, our and our subsidiaries��subsidiaries’ ability to:

The New Credit Facility also requires us to meet certain financial ratios, including a fixed charge coverage ratio and a consolidated leverage ratio. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources —New— Credit Facility”.

The restrictions may prevent us from taking actions that management believes would be in the best interests of our business, and may make it difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy or effectively compete with companies that are not similarly restricted. We also may incur future debt obligations that might subject us to additional restrictive covenants that could affect our financial and operational flexibility. Our ability to comply with these covenants in future periods will largely depend on the pricing of

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our products and services, our success at implementing cost reduction initiatives and our ability to successfully implement our overall business strategy. We cannot assure you that we will be granted waivers or amendments to our financing arrangements if for any reason we are unable to comply with our financial covenants. The breach of any of these covenants and restrictions could result in a default under the indentures governing the Senior Notes or under the New Credit Facility, which could result in an acceleration of our debt.

Despite our current debt level, we may incur significant additional amounts of debt, which could further exacerbate the risks associated with our debt.

In January 2024, we entered into the Second Amendment, which provides for the incurrence of $350.0 million of Incremental Term Loans. We may incur substantial additional debt, including additional notes and other debt, in the future. Although the indentures governing our outstandingthe Senior Notes and the New Credit Facility contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional debt, these restrictions are subject to a number of significant qualifications and exceptions, and under certain circumstances, the amount of debt that could be incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. If new debt is added to our existing debt levels, the related risks that we now face would intensify and we may not be able to meet all our debt obligations.

If we default on our obligations to pay our debt, we may not be able to make payments on our financing arrangements.

Any default under the agreements governing our debt, including a default under the New Credit Facility or the indentures governing ourthe Senior Notes, and the remedies sought by the holders of such debt, could adversely affect our ability to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on the Senior Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Senior Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on our debt, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our debt (including the New Credit Facility and the indentures governing the Senior Notes), we would be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such debt. In the event of such default, the holders of such debt could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, the lenders under the New Credit Facility could elect to terminate their commitments or cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, or we could be forced to apply all available cash flows to repay such debt, and, in any such case, we could ultimately be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. Because the indentures governing the Senior Notes and the agreement governing the New Credit Facility have customary cross-default provisions, if the debt under the Senior Notes or the New Credit Facility is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or refinance the amounts due.

We may be required to record additional charges to future earnings if our goodwill, intangible assets and property and equipment become impaired.

We are required under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) to review annually, or more frequently if events indicate the carrying value of a reporting unit may not be recoverable, our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment. Although there were no impairment charges recorded for the 20222023 annual impairment review, we may be required to record charges to earnings during any period in which an impairment of our goodwill, intangible assets and property and equipment is determined which could adversely affect our results of operations. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded non-cash impairment charges of $9.8 million related to the closure of certain facilities, which is recorded on our condensed consolidated statement of operations. The non-cash impairment charges included indefinite-lived asset impairments of $5.4 million, property impairments of $2.0 million and operating lease right-of-use asset impairments of $2.4 million. Our evaluation of goodwill and the need for any further impairment in subsequent periods is sensitive to revisions to our current projections. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Operations — Critical Accounting Policies — Property and Equipment and other Long-Lived Assets” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Operations — Critical Accounting Policies — Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets” for additional information.

Our operating costs are subject to increases in the wages and salaries of our staff.

The most significant operating expense for our facilities is wage costs, which represent the staff costs incurred in providing our services and running our facilities, and which are primarily driven by the number of employees and pay rates. The number of employees employed by us is primarily linked to the number of facilities we operate and the number of individuals cared for by us. While we can reducehave reduced the number of employees shouldwhen occupancy rates decrease at our facilities and can continue to do so in the future, there is a limit on the extent to which this can be done without impacting the quality of our services.

We also have a number of recurring costs including insurance, utilities and rental costs, and may face increases to other recurring costs such as regulatory compliance costs. There can be no assurance that any of our recurring costs will not grow at a faster rate than our revenue. As a result, any increase in our operating costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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We are subject to volatility in the global capital and credit markets as well as significant developments in macroeconomic and political conditions that are out of our control.

Our business canhas in the past been, and may continue to be, affected by a number of factors that are beyond our control, such as general macroeconomic conditions, conditions in the financial services markets, geopolitical conditions and other general political and economic developments.developments, and can continue to be affected by such factors in the future. In particular, we have historically financed acquisitions, the development of de novo and joint venture facilities and the modification of our existing facilities through a variety of sources, including our own cash reserves and debt financing. While we intend to seek to finance acquisitions and new and existing developments from similar sources in the future, there may be insufficient cash reserves to fund the budgeted capital expenditure and market conditions and other factors may prevent us from obtaining debt financing on appropriate terms or at all. In addition, market conditions may limit the number of financial institutions that are willing to provide financing to landlords with whom we wish to contract to build new healthcare facilities which can then be made available to us under a long-term operating lease. If conditions in the global economy remain uncertain or weaken further, this could materially adversely impact our ADC,average daily census (“ADC”), which would have a corresponding negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

A worsening of the economic and employment conditions in the geographies in which we operate could materially affect our business and future results of operations.

During periods of high unemployment, governmental entities often experience budget deficits as a result of increased costs and lower than expected tax collections. These budget deficits at the federal, state and local levels have decreased, and may continue to decrease, spending for health and human service programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, which are significant payor sources for our facilities. In periods of high unemployment, we alsohave faced and could continue to face the risk of potential declines in the population covered under private insurance, patient decisions to postpone or decide against receiving behavioral healthcare services, potential increases in the uninsured and underinsured populations we serve and further difficulties in collecting patient co-payment and deductible receivables.

A sizable portion of our revenue from certain residential recovery, eating disorder facilities, CTCs and youth programs is from self-payors. Accordingly, a sustained downturn in the U.S. economy could restrain the ability of our patients and the families of our students to pay for services.

Furthermore, the availability of liquidity and capital resources to fund the continuation and expansion of many business operations worldwide has been limited in recent years. Our ability to access the capital markets on acceptable terms may be severely restricted at a time when we would like, or need, access to those markets, which could have a negative impact on our growth plans, our flexibility to react to changing economic and business conditions and our ability to refinance existing debt (including debt under

the New Credit Facility and the Senior Notes). A sustained economic downturn or other economic conditions could also adversely affect the counterparties to our agreements, including the lenders under the New Credit Facility, causing them to fail to meet their obligations to us.

Increases in inflation and rising interest rates may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Inflation in the U.S. has recently accelerated and is currently expected to continue at an elevated level in the near-term. Current and future inflationary effects may be driven by, among other things, supply chain disruptions and governmental stimulus or fiscal policies, and geopolitical instability, including the ongoing conflictconflicts between the Ukraine and Russia.Russia and in Israel and Gaza. Continuing increases in inflation, have in the past, and could in the future, impact our costs of labor and services and the margins we are able to realize on the operation of our facilities and services, all of which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Inflation has also resulted in higher interest rates, which in turn will result in higher costs of debt borrowing and could limit our growth strategy.

The industry trend on value-based purchasing may negatively impact our revenue.

There is a trend in the healthcare industry toward value-based purchasing of healthcare services, rather than per diem charges. These value-based purchasing programs include both public reporting of quality data and preventable adverse events tied to the quality and efficiency of care provided by facilities. Governmental programs including Medicare and Medicaid currently require hospitals to report certain quality data to receive full reimbursement updates. In addition, Medicare does not reimburse for care related to certain preventable adverse events. Many large commercial payors currently require hospitals to report quality data, and several commercial payors do not reimburse hospitals for certain preventable adverse events.

We expect value-based purchasing programs, including programs that condition reimbursement on patient outcome measures, to become more common and to involve a higher percentage of reimbursement amounts. We are unable at this time to predict how this trend will affect our results of operations, but it could negatively impact our revenue if we are unable to meet quality standards established by both governmental and private payers.

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The trend by insurance companies and managed care organizations to enter into sole-source contracts may limit our ability to obtain patients.

Insurance companies and managed care organizations are entering into sole-source contracts with healthcare providers, which could limit our ability to obtain patients since we do not offer the range of services required for these contracts. Moreover, private insurers, managed care organizations and, to a lesser extent, Medicaid and Medicare, are beginning to carve-out specific services, including mental health and substance abuse services, and establish small, specialized networks of providers for such services at fixed reimbursement rates. Continued growth in the use of carve-out arrangements could materially adversely affect our business to the extent we are not selected to participate in such networks or if the reimbursement rate in such networks is not adequate to cover the cost of providing the service.

TheAlthough the COVID-19 global pandemic continues to impactpublic health emergency expired in May 2023, our operations, business and financial condition, and our liquidity could be negatively impacted, particularly if the U.S. economy remains unstable for a significant amount of time or if patient volumes decline at our facilities.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 is affectinghas affected our facilities, employees, patients, communities, business operations and financial performance, as well as the broader U.S. economy and financial markets. DuringSince 2020, 2021 and 2022 COVID-19 resulted in fewer referrals to our facilities and lower voluntary admissions as individuals were less inclined to leave their homes and seek treatment. When employees and/or patients at a facility are infected with COVID-19, there is a risk that the virus will spread to others at the facility and impact the operations of such facility. COVID-19 is continuing to evolve and its full impact remains unknown and difficult to predict; however, it has adversely affected our business operations insince 2020 2021 and 2022 and could negatively impact our financial performance for 2023 or longer.in the future.

We could experience supply chain disruptions and significant price increases in equipment, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, which could cause delays in our ability to develop a de novo or joint venture facility or modify an existing facility. Pandemic-related staffing difficulties and equipment, pharmaceutical and medical supplies shortages may impact our ability to treat patients at our facilities. Such shortages could lead to us paying higher prices for supplies, equipment and labor and an increase in overtime hours paid to our employees.

The steps we have taken to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19 see “Item 1. Business — COVID-19 Impact,” may not be successful, and we could experience material decreases in Adjusted EBITDA in 2023 or longer. In addition, we may need to take further steps to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19, which actions could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Broad economic factors resulting from COVID-19, including reduced consumer spending, could also negatively affect our payor mix, increase the relative proportion of lower margin services we provide and reduce patient volumes, as well as diminish our ability to collect outstanding receivables. Business closings and layoffs in the areas in which we operate may lead to increases in the uninsured and underinsured populations and adversely affect demand for our services, as well as the ability of patients and other

payors to pay for services as rendered. Any increase in the amount or deterioration in the collectability of patient accounts receivable will adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations, requiring an increased level of working capital. If general economic conditions continue to deteriorate or remain uncertain for an extended period of time, our liquidity and ability to repay our outstanding debt may be adversely affected.

In addition, our results and financial condition may be further adversely affected by future federal or state laws, regulations, orders, or other governmental or regulatory actions addressing the current COVID-19 pandemic or the U.S. healthcare system, which, if adopted, could result in direct or indirect restrictions to our business. We may also be subject to negative press and/or lawsuits from patients, employees and others exposed to COVID-19 at our facilities. Such actions may involve large demands, as well as substantial costs to resolve. Our professional and general liability insurance may not cover all claims against us.

The foregoing and other continued disruptions to our business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted our business and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and our ability to service our indebtedness. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic (including governmental responses, broad economic impacts and market disruptions) has heightened the materiality of certain other risk factors described herein.

An increase in uninsured or underinsured patients or the deterioration in the collectability of patient accounts receivables could harm our results of operation.

Collection of receivables from third-party payors and patients is critical to our operating performance. Our primary collection risks relate to uninsured patients and the portion of the bill that is the patient’s responsibility, which primarily includes co-payments and deductibles. We determine the transaction price based on established billing rates reduced by contractual adjustments provided to third-party payors, discounts provided to uninsured patients and implicit price concessions. Contractual adjustments and discounts are based on contractual agreements, discount policies and historical experience. Implicit price concessions are based on historical

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collection experience. At December 31, 2022,2023, our estimated implicit price concessions represented approximately 15%16% of our accounts receivable balance as of such date.

Significant changes in business office operations, payor mix, economic conditions or trends in federal and state governmental health coverage could affect our collection of accounts receivable, cash flow and results of operations. If we experience unexpected increases in the growth of uninsured and underinsured patients or in bad debt expenses, our results of operations will be harmed.

Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If we are unable to maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis, may suffer adverse regulatory consequences or violations of NASDAQ listing rules and may breach the covenants under our financing arrangements. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. If we or our independent registered public accounting firm identify any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting in the future (including any material weakness in the controls of businesses we have acquired), their correction could require additional remedial measures which could be costly, time-consuming and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

We intend to retain our future earnings, if any, for use in our business or for other corporate purposes and do not anticipate that cash dividends with respect to common stock will be paid in the foreseeable future. Any decision as to the future payment of dividends will depend on our results of operations, financial position and such other factors as our board of directors, in its discretion, deems relevant. In addition, the terms of our debt substantially limit our ability to pay dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be a stockholder’s sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

Operational Risks

An incident involving one or more of our patients or the failure by one or more of our facilities to provide appropriate care could result in increased regulatory burdens, governmental investigations, litigation, negative publicity and adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Because many of the patients we treat suffer from severe mental health and chemical dependency disorders, patient incidents, including deaths, sexual abuse, assaults and elopements, have occurred in the past and could continue to occur from time to time.in the future. As a result of adverse patient incidents, we have experienced admissions holds, adverse regulatory action, civil litigation, negative publicity and negative impacts on referrals. If one or more of our facilities experiences an adverse patient incident in the future or is found to have failed to provide appropriate patient care, an admissions hold, loss of accreditation, license revocation or other adverse regulatory

action could be taken against us. Any such patient incident or adverse regulatory action could result in governmental investigations, judgments or fines and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we have been and could become the subject of negative publicity or unfavorable media attention, whether warranted or unwarranted, that could have a significant, adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock or adversely impact our reputation and how our referral sources and payors view us.

Our business growth and acquisition strategies expose us to a variety of operational and financial risks.

A principal element of our business strategy is to grow by acquiring other companies and assets in the behavioral healthcare industry. Growth through acquisitions exposes us to a variety of operational and financial risks. We summarize the most significant of these risks below.

Integration risks

We must integrate our acquisitions with our existing operations. This process includes the integration of the various components of our business and of the businesses we have acquired or may acquire in the future, including the following:

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Integrating a newly acquired facility could be expensive and time consuming and could disrupt our ongoing business, negatively affect cash flow and distract management and other key personnel from day-to-day operations.

We may not be able to successfully combine the operations of acquired facilities with our operations, and even if such integration is accomplished, we may never realize the potential benefits of the acquisition. The integration of acquisitions with our operations requires significant attention from management, may impose substantial demands on our operations or other projects and may impose challenges on the combined business including, but not limited to, consistencies in business standards, procedures, policies, business cultures and internal controls and compliance. Certain acquisitions involve a capital outlay, and the return that we achieve on any capital invested may be less than the return that we would achieve on our other projects or investments. If we fail to complete the integration of acquired facilities, we may never fully realize the potential benefits of the related acquisitions.

Successful integration depends on the ability to effect any required changes in operations or personnel, which may entail unforeseen liabilities. The integration of acquired businesses may expose us to certain risks, including the following: difficulty in integrating these businesses in a cost-effective manner, including the establishment of effective management information and financial control systems; unforeseen legal, regulatory, contractual, employment or other issues arising out of the combination; combining corporate cultures; maintaining employee morale and retaining key employees; potential disruptions to our on-going business caused by our senior management’s focus on integrating these businesses; and performance of the combined assets not meeting our expectations or plans. A failure to properly integrate these businesses could have a corresponding material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects.

Benefits may not materialize

When evaluating potential acquisition targets, we identify potential synergies and cost savings that we expect to realize upon the successful completion of the acquisition and the integration of the related operations. We may, however, be unable to achieve or may otherwise never realize the expected benefits. Our ability to realize the expected benefits from potential cost savings and revenue improvement opportunities is subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, such as changes to government regulation governing or otherwise impacting the behavioral healthcare industry, reductions in reimbursement rates from third-party payors, reductions in service levels under our contracts, operating difficulties, client preferences, changes in competition and general economic or industry conditions. If we are unsuccessful in implementing these improvements or if we do not achieve our expected results, it may adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Assumptions of unknown liabilities

Facilities that we acquire may have unknown or contingent liabilities, including, but not limited to, liabilities for uncertain tax positions, liabilities for failure to comply with healthcare laws and regulations and liabilities for unresolved litigation or regulatory reviews. Although we typically attempt to exclude significant liabilities from our acquisition transactions and seek indemnification from the sellers of such facilities, the purchase agreement for some of our significant acquisitions contain minimal representations and warranties about the entities and business that we acquired. In addition, we have no indemnification rights against the sellers under some purchase agreements and all of the purchase price consideration was paid at closing. Therefore, we may incur material liabilities for the past activities of acquired entities and facilities. Even in those acquisitions in which we have such rights, we may experience difficulty enforcing the sellers’ obligations, or we may incur material liabilities for the past activities of acquired facilities. Such liabilities and related legal or other costs and/or resulting damage to a facility’s reputation could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Competing for acquisitions

We face competition for acquisition candidates primarily from other for-profit healthcare companies, as well as from not-for-profit entities. Some of our competitors may have greater resources than we do. As a result, we may pay more to acquire a target business or may agree to less favorable deal terms than we would have otherwise. Our principal competitors for acquisitions have included UHS and private equity firms. Also, suitable acquisitions may not be accomplished due to unfavorable terms. Further, the cost of an acquisition could result in a dilutive effect on our results of operations, depending on various factors, including the amount paid for an acquired facility, the acquired facility’s results of operations, the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, effects of subsequent legislation and limits on rate increases. In addition, we may have to pay cash, incur debt, or issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition, which could adversely affect our financial results, result in dilution to our stockholders, result in increased fixed obligations or impede our ability to manage our operations. There can be no assurances that we will be able to acquire facilities at historical or expected rates or on favorable terms.

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Antitrust and other legal challenges

We may face antitrust and other legal challenges when acquiring facilities or other businesses, which could negatively impact our ability to close acquisition transactions. Antitrust enforcement in the healthcare industry is currently a priority of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and many state agencies, including with respect to hospital acquisitions. Additionally, many states require CONs in order to acquire a hospital or other healthcare facility. The acquisition of hospitals and other healthcare facilities also often requires licensure approvals or reviews and complex change of ownership processes for Medicare and other payers. The increasingly challenging antitrust enforcement environment and other regulatory review or approval processes could significantly delay or even prevent our ability to acquire facilities and other businesses and increase our acquisition costs, which could adversely affect our overall growth strategy.

Managing growth

Some of the facilities we have acquired or may acquire in the future may have had significantly lower operating margins prior to the time of our acquisition or may have had operating losses prior to such acquisition. If we fail to improve the operating margins of the facilities we acquire, operate such facilities profitably or effectively integrate the operations of the acquired facilities, our results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Joint ventures may use significant resources, may be unsuccessful and could expose us to unforeseen liabilities.

As part of our growth strategy, we have completed, and have announced plans to complete, a number of joint ventures and strategic alliances. These joint ventures may involve significant cash expenditures, debt incurrence, additional operating losses and expenses, and compliance risks that could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations. Further, there is often a significant delay between our formation of a joint venture and the time that a de novo facility can be constructed and have a positive financial impact on our results of operations.

The nature of a joint venture requires us to consult with and share certain decision-making powers with unaffiliated third parties, some of which may be not-for-profit healthcare systems. If our joint venture partners do not fulfill their obligations, the affected joint venture may not be able to operate according to its business or strategic plans. In that case, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected or we may be required to increase our level of financial commitment to the joint venture. Moreover, differences in economic or business interests or goals among joint venture participants could result in delayed decisions, failures to agree on major issues and even litigation. If these differences cause the joint ventures to deviate from their business or strategic plans, or if our joint venture partners take actions contrary to our policies, objectives or the best interests of the joint venture, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted. In addition, our relationships with not-for-profit healthcare systems and the joint venture agreements that govern these relationships are intended to be structured to comply with current revenue rulings published by the Internal Revenue Service, (“IRS”), as well as case law relevant to joint ventures between for-profit and not-for-profit healthcare entities. Material changes in these authorities could adversely affect our relationships with not-for-profit healthcare systems and related joint venture arrangements.

We incur significant transaction-related costs in connection with acquisitions and other strategic transactions.

We incur substantial costs in connection with acquisitions and other strategic transactions, including transaction-related expenses. In addition, we may incur additional costs to maintain employee morale, retain key employees, and to formulate and execute integration plans. Although we expect that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of acquired businesses, should allow us to more than offset incremental transaction and acquisition-related costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all.

We care for a large number of vulnerable individuals with complex needs and any care quality deficiencies could adversely impact our brand, reputation and ability to market our services effectively.

Our future growth will partly depend on our ability to maintain our reputation for providing quality patient care and, through new programs and marketing activities, increased demand for our services. Factors such as increased acuity of our patients, health and safety incidents at our facilities, regulatory enforcement actions, negative press or general customer dissatisfaction could lead to deterioration in the level of our quality ratings or the public perception of the quality of our services (including as a result of negative publicity about our industry generally), which in turn could lead to a loss of patient placements, referrals and self-pay patients or service users. Any impairment of our reputation, loss of goodwill or damage to the value of our brand name could have a material

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adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Many of our service users have complex medical conditions or special needs, are vulnerable and often require a substantial level of care and supervision. There is a risk that one or more service users could be harmed by one or more of our employees, either intentionally, through negligence or by accident. Further, individuals cared for by us have in the past engaged, and may in the future engage, in behavior that results in harm to themselves, our employees or to one or more other individuals, including members of the public. A serious incident involving harm to one or more service users or other individuals could result in negative publicity. Such negative publicity could have a material adverse effect on our brand, reputation and ADC, which would have a corresponding negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, the damage to our reputation or to the reputation of the relevant facility from any such incident could be exacerbated by any failure on our part to respond effectively to such incident.

Our ability to grow our business through organic expansion either by developing de novo or joint venture facilities or by modifying existing facilities is dependent upon many factors.

Our ability to grow our business through organic expansion is dependent on capacity and occupancy at our facilities. Should our facilities reach maximum occupancy, we may need to implement other growth strategies either by developing de novo or joint venture facilities or by modifying existing facilities.

Our facilities typically need to be purpose-designed in order to enable the type and quality of service that we provide. Consequently, we must either develop sites to create facilities or purchase or lease existing facilities, which may require substantial modification. We must be able to identify suitable sites and there is no guarantee that such sites will be available at all, or at an economically viable cost or in areas of sufficient demand for our services. The subsequent successful development and construction of a de novo or joint venture facility is contingent upon, among other things, negotiation of construction contracts, regulatory permits and planning consents and satisfactory completion of construction. Similarly, our ability to expand existing facilities is also dependent upon various factors, including identification of appropriate expansion projects, permitting, licensure, financing, integration into our relationships with payors and referral sources, and margin pressure as de novo and joint venture facilities are filled with patients.

Delays caused by difficulties in respect of any of the above factors may lead to cost overruns and longer periods before a return is generated on an investment, if at all. We may incur significant capital expenditure but due to a regulatory, planning or other reason, may find that we are prevented from opening a de novo or joint venture facility or modifying an existing facility. Moreover, even when incurring such development capital expenditure, there is no guarantee that we can fill beds when they become available. Upon operational commencement of a de novo or joint venture facility, we typically expect that it will take 10 to 12 months, on average, to reach break-even results. Any delays or stoppages in our projects, the unsatisfactory completion or construction of such projects or the failure of such projects to increase our occupancy levels could have a material adverse effect on our ADC, which would have a corresponding negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business growth and acquisition strategies expose us to a variety of operational and financial risks.

A principal element of our business strategy is to grow by acquiring other companies and assets in the behavioral healthcare industry. Growth through acquisitions exposes us to a variety of operational and financial risks. We summarize the most significant of these risks below.

Integration risks

We must integrate our acquisitions with our existing operations. This process includes the integration of the various components of our business and of the businesses we have acquired or may acquire in the future, including the following:

Integrating a newly acquired facility could be expensive and time consuming and could disrupt our ongoing business, negatively affect cash flow and distract management and other key personnel from day-to-day operations.

We may not be able to successfully combine the operations of acquired facilities with our operations, and even if such integration is accomplished, we may never realize the potential benefits of the acquisition. The integration of acquisitions with our operations requires significant attention from management, may impose substantial demands on our operations or other projects and may impose challenges on the combined business including, but not limited to, consistencies in business standards, procedures, policies, business cultures and internal controls and compliance. Certain acquisitions involve a capital outlay, and the return that we achieve on any capital invested may be less than the return that we would achieve on our other projects or investments. If we fail to complete the integration of acquired facilities, we may never fully realize the potential benefits of the related acquisitions.

Successful integration depends on the ability to effect any required changes in operations or personnel, which may entail unforeseen liabilities. The integration of acquired businesses may expose us to certain risks, including the following: difficulty in integrating these businesses in a cost-effective manner, including the establishment of effective management information and financial control systems; unforeseen legal, regulatory, contractual, employment or other issues arising out of the combination; combining corporate cultures; maintaining employee morale and retaining key employees; potential disruptions to our on-going business caused by our senior management’s focus on integrating these businesses; and performance of the combined assets not meeting our expectations or plans. A failure to properly integrate these businesses could have a corresponding material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects.

Benefits may not materialize

When evaluating potential acquisition targets, we identify potential synergies and cost savings that we expect to realize upon the successful completion of the acquisition and the integration of the related operations. We may, however, be unable to achieve or may otherwise never realize the expected benefits. Our ability to realize the expected benefits from potential cost savings and revenue improvement opportunities is subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, such as changes to government regulation governing or otherwise impacting the behavioral healthcare industry, reductions in reimbursement rates from third-party payors, reductions in service levels under our contracts, operating difficulties, client preferences, changes in competition and general economic or industry conditions. If we are unsuccessful in implementing these improvements or if we do not achieve our expected results, it may adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Assumptions of unknown liabilities

Facilities that we acquire may have unknown or contingent liabilities, including, but not limited to, liabilities for uncertain tax positions, liabilities for failure to comply with healthcare laws and regulations and liabilities for unresolved litigation or regulatory reviews. Although we typically attempt to exclude significant liabilities from our acquisition transactions and seek indemnification from the sellers of such facilities, the purchase agreement for some of our significant acquisitions contain minimal representations and warranties about the entities and business that we acquired. In addition, we have no indemnification rights against the sellers under some purchase agreements and all of the purchase price consideration was paid at closing. Therefore, we may incur material liabilities for the past activities of acquired entities and facilities. Even in those acquisitions in which we have such rights, we may experience difficulty enforcing the sellers’ obligations, or we may incur material liabilities for the past activities of acquired facilities. Such liabilities and related legal or other costs and/or resulting damage to a facility’s reputation could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Competing for acquisitions

We face competition for acquisition candidates primarily from other for-profit healthcare companies, as well as from not-for-profit entities. Some of our competitors may have greater resources than we do. As a result, we may pay more to acquire a target business or may agree to less favorable deal terms than we would have otherwise. Our principal competitors for acquisitions have included UHS and private equity firms. Also, suitable acquisitions may not be accomplished due to unfavorable terms. Further, the

cost of an acquisition could result in a dilutive effect on our results of operations, depending on various factors, including the amount paid for an acquired facility, the acquired facility’s results of operations, the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, effects of subsequent legislation and limits on rate increases. In addition, we may have to pay cash, incur debt, or issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition, which could adversely affect our financial results, result in dilution to our stockholders, result in increased fixed obligations or impede our ability to manage our operations. There can be no assurances that we will be able to acquire facilities at historical or expected rates or on favorable terms.

Antitrust and other legal challenges

We may face antitrust and other legal challenges when acquiring facilities or other businesses, which could negatively impact our ability to close acquisition transactions. Antitrust enforcement in the healthcare industry is currently a priority of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and many state agencies, including with respect to hospital acquisitions. Additionally, many states require CONs in order to acquire a hospital or other healthcare facility. The acquisition of hospitals and other healthcare facilities also often requires licensure approvals or reviews and complex change of ownership processes for Medicare and other payers. The increasingly challenging antitrust enforcement environment and other regulatory review or approval processes could significantly delay or even prevent our ability to acquire facilities and other businesses and increase our acquisition costs, which could adversely affect our overall growth strategy.

Managing growth

Some of the facilities we have acquired or may acquire in the future may have had significantly lower operating margins prior to the time of our acquisition or may have had operating losses prior to such acquisition. If we fail to improve the operating margins of the facilities we acquire, operate such facilities profitably or effectively integrate the operations of the acquired facilities, our results of operations could be negatively impacted.

We incur significant transaction-related costs in connection with acquisitions and other strategic transactions.

We incur substantial costs in connection with acquisitions and other strategic transactions, including transaction-related expenses. In addition, we may incur additional costs to maintain employee morale, retain key employees, and to formulate and execute integration plans. Although we expect that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of acquired businesses, should allow us to more than offset incremental transaction and acquisition-related costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all.

We care for a large number of vulnerable individuals with complex needs and any care quality deficiencies could adversely impact our brand, reputation and ability to market our services effectively.

Our future growth will partly depend on our ability to maintain our reputation for providing quality patient care and, through new programs and marketing activities, increased demand for our services. Factors such as increased acuity of our patients, health and safety incidents at our facilities, regulatory enforcement actions, negative press, civil liability or general customer dissatisfaction could lead to deterioration in the level of our quality ratings or the public perception of the quality of our services (including as a result of negative publicity about our industry generally), which in turn could lead to a loss of patient placements, referrals and self-pay patients or service users. Any impairment of our reputation, loss of goodwill or damage to the value of our brand name could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Many of our service users have complex medical conditions or special needs, are vulnerable and often require a substantial level of care and supervision. Our service users have in the past been harmed by one or more of our employees, and could in the future be harmed by our employees, either intentionally, through negligence or by accident. Further, individuals cared for by us have in the past engaged, and may in the future engage, in behavior that results in harm to themselves, our employees or to one or more other individuals, including members of the public. A serious incident involving harm to one or more service users or other individuals could result in negative publicity. Such negative publicity could have a material adverse effect on our brand, reputation and ADC, which would have a corresponding negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, the damage to our reputation or to the reputation of the relevant facility from any such incident could be exacerbated by any failure on our part to respond effectively to such incident.

The cost of construction materials and labor has significantly increased, and we continue to grow our business through expansion of existing facilities and development of de novo and joint venture facilities.

Although we evaluate the financial feasibility of construction projects by determining whether the projected cash flow return on investment exceeds our cost of capital and have implemented efforts to realize efficiencies in our design and construction processes,

such returns may not be achieved if the cost of construction continues to rise significantly or the expected patient volumes are not attained.

Our business could be disrupted if our information systems fail or if our databases are destroyed or damaged.

Our information technology (“IT”) platforms support, among other things, management control of patient administration, billing and financial information and reporting processes. For example, patients in some of our facilities have an electronic patient record that allows our caregivers and nurses to see information about a patient’s care and treatment. Our IT systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, facility damage, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches including credit card or personally identifiable information breaches, vandalism, theft, natural disasters, catastrophic events, human error and potential cyber threats, including malicious codes, worms, phishing attacks, denial of service attacks, ransomware and other sophisticated cyber-attacks, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. Any failure in or breach of our IT systems could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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If we do not continually enhance our facilities with the most recent technological advances, our ability to maintain and expand our markets will be adversely affected.

As healthcare technology continues to advance, we expect information technology to play a greater role in our marketing and admissions processes and the operation of our facilities. To compete effectively, we must continually assess our automation needs and upgrade when significant technological advances occur. If our facilities do not stay current with technological advances in the healthcare industry, patients may seek treatment from other providers and/or physicians may refer their patients to alternate sources, which could adversely affect our results of operations and harm our business.

A cyber securitycybersecurity incident could have a material adverse impact on the Company, including substantial sanctions, fines, and damages and civil and criminal penalties under federal and state privacy laws, in addition to reputational harm and increased costs.

We have experienced adverse IT events in the past including a criminal ransomware attack on our computer network, which resulted in a temporary systems outage, as well as attempts of computer hacking, vandalism and theft, malware, computer viruses, malicious codes, worms, phishing and other cyber-attacks. To date, we have seen no material impact on our business or operations from these attacks or events. However, it is widely reported that healthcare companies are increasingly prime targets for cyber-attacks and we expect our systems to continue to be subject to attack on a regular basis.

The proliferation of ever-evolving cyber threats mean that we and our third-party service providers and vendors must continually evaluate and adapt our respective systems and processes and overall security environment, as well as those of any operations we acquire. As cyber criminals continue to become more sophisticated through evolution of their tactics, techniques and procedures, we have taken, and will continue to take, additional preventive measures to strengthen the cyber defenses of our networks and data. ThereThere is no guarantee that these measures will be adequate to safeguard against all data security breaches, system compromises, or misuses of data.

We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against the threat of security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by breaches, including unauthorized access to patient data and personally identifiable information stored in our IT systems, and the introduction of computer viruses or other malicious software programs to our systems, and cyber-attacks, email phishing schemes, malware, and ransomware. Moreover, a security breach, or threat thereof, could require that we expend significant resources to repair or improve our information systems and infrastructure and could distract management and other key personnel from performing their primary operational duties. In the event of a material breach or cyber-attack, the associated expenses and losses may exceed our current insurance coverage for such events. In addition, some adverse consequences are not insurable, such as reputational harm and third-party business interruption.

A cyber-attack that bypasses our IT security systems, or other adverse IT event, resulting in an IT security breach, loss of PHI or other data subject to privacy laws, loss of proprietary business information, or a material disruption of our IT business systems, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Any successful cybersecurity attack or other unauthorized attempt to access our systems or facilities could result in negative publicity which could damage our reputation or brand with our patients, referral sources, payors, or other third parties and could subject us to substantial sanctions, fines, and damages and civil and criminal penalties under federal and state privacy laws, in addition to litigation with those affected.

We may fail to deal with clinical waste in accordance with applicable regulations or otherwise be in breach of relevant medical, health and safety or environmental laws and regulations.

As part of our normal business activities, we produce and store clinical waste which may produce effects harmful to the environment or human health. The storage and transportation of such waste is strictly regulated. Our waste disposal services are outsourced and should the relevant service provider fail to comply with relevant regulations, we could face sanctions or fines which

could adversely affect our brand, reputation, business or financial condition. Health and safety risks are inherent in the services that we provide and are constantly present in our facilities, primarily in respect of food and water quality, as well as fire safety and the risk that service users may cause harm to themselves, other service users or employees. From time to time, we have experienced, like other providers of similar services, undesirable health and safety incidents. Some of our activities are particularly exposed to significant medical risks relating to the transmission of infections or the prescription and administration of drugs for residents and patients. If any of the above medical or health and safety risks were to materialize, we may be held liable, fined and any registration certificate could be suspended or withdrawn for failure to comply with applicable regulations, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Although we have facilities in 3938 states and Puerto Rico, we have substantial operations in Pennsylvania, California, ArizonaTennessee, Massachusetts and Tennessee,Arizona, which makes us especially sensitive to regulatory, economic, environmental and competitive conditions and changes in those states.

Revenue from Pennsylvania, California, ArizonaTennessee, Massachusetts and TennesseeArizona represented approximately 13%, 8%, 7%, 6% and 6% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, respectively. This concentration makes us particularly sensitive to legislative, regulatory, economic, environmental and competition changes in those states. Any material change in the current payment programs or regulatory, economic, environmental or competitive conditions in these locations could have a disproportionate effect on our overall business results. If our facilities in these locations are adversely affected by changes in regulatory and economic conditions, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business and operations are subject to risks related to natural disasters and climate change.

Some of our facilities are located in areas prone to hurricanes or wildfires. Natural disasters have historically had a disruptive effect on the operations of facilities and the patient populations in such areas. Our business activities could be significantly disrupted by wildfires, hurricanes or other natural disasters, and our property insurance may not be adequate to cover losses from such wildfires, storms or other natural disasters. Even if our facilities are not directly damaged, we may experience considerable disruptions in our operations due to property damage or electrical outages experienced in storm-affected areas by our personnel, payors, vendors and others. Additionally, long-term adverse weather conditions, whether caused by global climate change or otherwise, could cause an outmigration of people from the communities where our facilities are located. If any of the circumstances described above occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

A pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease in the markets in which we operate or that otherwise impacts our facilities could adversely impact our business.

If a pandemic, epidemic, outbreak of an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, or other public health crisis were to occur in an area in which we operate, our operations could be adversely affected. Such a crisis could diminish the public trust in healthcare facilities, especially facilities with patients affected by infectious diseases. If any of our facilities were involved, or perceived as being involved, in treating such patients, other patients might fail to seek care at our facilities, and our reputation may be negatively affected. Further, a pandemic, epidemic or outbreak might adversely impact our business by causing a temporary shutdown or diversion of patients, by disrupting or delaying production and delivery of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies or by causing staffing shortages in our facilities. Although we have disaster plans in place and operate pursuant to infectious disease protocols, the potential impact of a pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease with respect to our markets or our facilities is difficult to predict and could adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If we fail to cultivate new or maintain established relationships with referral sources, our business, financial condition orand results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our ability to grow or even to maintain our existing level of business depends significantly on our ability to establish and maintain close working relationships with physicians, managed care companies, insurance companies, educational consultants and other referral sources. We may not be able to maintain our existing referral source relationships or develop and maintain new relationships in existing or new markets. If we lose existing relationships with our referral sources, the number of people to whom we provide services may decline, which may adversely affect our revenue. If we fail to develop new referral relationships, our growth may be restrained.

We operate in a highly competitive industry, and competition may lead to declines in patient volumes.

The healthcare industry is highly competitive, and competition among healthcare providers (including hospitals) for patients, physicians and other healthcare professionals has intensified in recent years. There are other healthcare facilities that provide behavioral and other mental health services comparable to those offered by our facilities in each of the geographical areas in which we operate. Some of our competitors are owned by tax-supported governmental agencies or by non-profit corporations and may have certain financial advantages not available to us, including endowments, charitable contributions, tax-exempt financing and exemptions from sales, property and income taxes. Some of our for-profit competitors are local, independent operators or physician groups with

strong established reputations within the surrounding communities, which may adversely affect our ability to attract a sufficiently large number of patients in markets where we compete with such providers. We also face competition from other for-profit entities, who may possess greater financial, marketing or research and development resources than us or may invest more funds in renovating their facilities or developing technology.

If our competitors are better able to attract patients, recruit and retain physicians and other healthcare professionals, expand services or obtain favorable managed care contracts at their facilities, we may experience a decline in patient volume and our results of operations may be adversely affected.

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We may be unable to extend leases at expiration, which could harm our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We lease the real property on which a number of our facilities are located. Our lease agreements generally give us the right to renew or extend the term of the leases and, in certain cases, purchase the real property. These renewal and purchase rights generally are based upon either prescribed formulas or fair market value. Management expects to renew, extend or exercise purchase options with respect to our leases in the normal course of business; however, there can be no assurance that these rights will be exercised in the future or that we will be able to satisfy the conditions precedent to exercising any such renewal, extension or purchase options. Furthermore, the terms of any such options that are based on fair market value are inherently uncertain and could be unacceptable or unfavorable to us depending on the circumstances at the time of exercise. If we are not able to renew or extend our existing leases, or purchase the real property subject to such leases, at or prior to the end of the existing lease terms, or if the terms of such options are unfavorable or unacceptable to us, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Controls designed to reduce inpatient services may reduce our revenue.

Controls imposed by Medicare, Medicaid and commercial third-party payors designed to reduce admissions and lengths of stay, commonly referred to as “utilization review,” have affected and are expected to continue to affect our facilities. Inpatient utilization, average lengths of stay and occupancy rates continue to be negatively affected by payor-required preadmission authorization and utilization review and by payor pressure to maximize outpatient and alternative healthcare delivery services for less acutely ill patients. Efforts to impose more stringent cost controls are expected to continue. For example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, expanded the potential use of prepayment review by Medicare contractors by eliminating certain statutory restrictions on its use. Utilization review is also a requirement of most non-governmental managed-care organizations and other third-party payors. Although we are unable to predict the effect these controls and changes will have on our operations, significant limits on the scope of services reimbursed and on reimbursement rates and fees could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Human Capital Risks

Our facilities face competition for staffing, labor shortages and higher turnover rates that may increase our labor costs and reduce our profitability.

Our operations depend on the efforts, abilities and experience of our management and medical support personnel, including our addiction counselors, therapists, nurses, pharmacists, licensed counselors, clinical technicians, and mental health technicians, as well as our psychiatrists and other professionals. We compete with other healthcare providers in recruiting and retaining qualified management, program directors, physicians (including psychiatrists) and support personnel responsible for the daily operations of our business, financial condition or results of operations.

A shortage of nurses, qualified addiction counselors and other medical and care support personnel, combined with low unemployment rates for such personnel and intense competition from other healthcare facilities, has been a significant operating issue facing us and other healthcare providers. We may be required to enhance wages and benefits to hire nurses, qualified addiction counselors and other medical and care support personnel, hire more expensive temporary personnel or increase our recruiting and marketing costs relating to labor. We have resorted to using more expensive contract labor at certain of our facilities, and the use of temporary or agency staff could heighten the risk one of our facilities experiences an adverse patient incident. Further, because we generally recruit our personnel from the local area where the relevant facility is located, the availability in certain areas of suitably qualified personnel can be limited, particularly care home management, qualified teaching personnel and nurses. In addition, certain of our facilities are required to maintain specified staffing levels. To the extent we cannot meet those levels, we may be required to limit the services provided by these facilities, which would have a corresponding adverse effect on our net operating revenue. Certain of our treatment facilities are located in remote geographical areas, far from population centers, which increases this risk.

We cannot predict the degree to which we will be affected by the future availability or cost of attracting and retaining talented medical support staff. If our general labor and related expenses increase, we may not be able to raise our rates correspondingly. Increased turnover rates within our employee base can lead to decreased efficiency and increased costs, such as increased overtime and use of contract labor to meet demand and increased wage rates to attract and retain employees. Our failure either to recruit and

retain qualified management, psychiatrists, therapists, counselors, nurses and other medical support personnel or control our labor costs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Our performance depends on our ability to recruit and retain quality psychiatrists and other physicians.

The success and competitive advantage of our facilities depends, in part, on the number and quality of the psychiatrists and other physicians on the medical staffs of our facilities and our maintenance of good relations with those medical professionals. Although we

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employ psychiatrists and other physicians at many of our facilities, psychiatrists and other physicians generally are not employees of our facilities, and, in a number of our markets, they have admitting privileges at competing hospitals providing acute or inpatient behavioral healthcare services. Such physicians (including psychiatrists) may terminate their affiliation with us at any time or admit their patients to competing healthcare facilities or hospitals. If we are unable to attract and retain sufficient numbers of quality psychiatrists and other physicians by providing adequate support personnel and facilities that meet the needs of those psychiatrists and other physicians, they may stop referring patients to our facilities and our results of operations may decline.

It may become difficult for us to attract and retain an adequate number of psychiatrists and other physicians to practice in certain of the communities in which our facilities are located. Our failure to recruit psychiatrists and other physicians to these communities or the loss of such medical professionals in these communities could make it more difficult to attract patients to our facilities and thereby may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, our ability to recruit psychiatrists and other physicians is closely regulated. The form, amount and duration of assistance we can provide to recruited psychiatrists and other physicians is limited by the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, state anti-kickback statutes, and related regulations.

Some of our employees are represented by labor unions and any work stoppage could adversely affect our business.

Increased labor union activity could adversely affect our labor costs. At December 31, 2022,2023, a labor unionsunion represented approximately 350150 of our employees at twoone of our facilities through four collective bargaining agreements.facilities. We cannot assure you that employee relations will remain stable. Furthermore, there is a possibility that work stoppages could occur as a result of union activity, which could increase our labor costs and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. To the extent that a greater portion of our employee base unionizes and the terms of any collective bargaining agreements are significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it is possible that our labor costs could increase materially and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

We depend on key management personnel, and the departure of one or more of our key executives or a significant portion of our local facility management personnel could harm our business.

The expertise and efforts of our senior executives and the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, medical directors, physicians and other key members of our facility management personnel are important to the success of our business. TheDuring 2023, we hired a new chief financial officer and general counsel to replace executive officers who left the company during 2023. It may take time for new officers to be integrated into our business. In addition, the loss of the services of one or more of our senior executives or our facility management personnel could significantly undermine our management expertise and our ability to provide efficient, quality healthcare services at our facilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Legal Proceedings and Regulatory Risks

We are and in the future could become the subject of additional governmental investigations, regulatory actions and whistleblower lawsuits.

Healthcare companies in the U.S. may be subject to investigations by various governmental agencies. Certain of our individual facilities have received, and from time to time, other facilities may receive, subpoenas, civil investigative demands, audit reports and other inquiries from, and may be subject to investigation by, federal and state agencies. See Note 20—11 — Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying notes to our consolidated financial statements beginning on Page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information about pending investigations. These investigations can result in repayment obligations, and violations of the False Claims Act can result in substantial monetary penalties and fines, the imposition of a corporate integrity agreement and exclusion from participation in governmental health programs. If we incur significant costs responding to or resolving these or future inquiries or investigations, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Further, under the False Claims Act, private parties are permitted to bring qui tam or “whistleblower” lawsuits against companies that submit false claims for payments to, or improperly retain overpayments from, the government. Because qui tam lawsuits are filed under seal, we could be named in one or more such lawsuits of which we are not aware. We may also be subject to substantial reputational harm as a result of the public announcement of any investigation into such claims.

We could be subject to monetary penalties and other sanctions, including exclusion from federal healthcare programs, if we fail to comply with the terms of our existing CIA or any similar agreements in the CIA.future.

During the second quarter of 2019, we reached a settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia relating to the manner in which seven of our CTCs in West Virginia had historically billed lab claims to the West Virginia

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Medicaid Program. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we entered into the CIA with the OIG imposing certain compliance obligations on us and our subsidiary, CRC Health, LLC, in connection with such settlement. Material, uncorrected violations of the CIA could lead to our suspension or exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs and repayment obligations. In addition, we are subject to possible civil penalties for failure to substantially comply with the terms of the CIA, including stipulated penalties ranging between $1,000 to $2,500 per day. We are also subject to a stipulated penalty of $50,000 for each false certification made by us or on our behalf, pursuant to the reporting provisions of the CIA. The CIA increases the amount of information we must provide to the federal government regarding our healthcare practices and our compliance with federal regulations. The reports we provide in connection with the CIA could result in greater scrutiny by regulatory authorities.

Even if we successfully comply with all terms of the existing CIA, we may be subject to similar agreements in the future if we are found to have violated laws against healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse. Any failure to comply with any such agreements could have a material impact on our financial performance and our ability to operate our business.

We are and in the future may become involved in legal proceedings based on negligence or breach of a contractual or statutory duty from service users or their family members or from employees or former employees.

From timeWe have been in the past and will continue in the future to time, we arebe subject to complaints and claims from service users and their family members alleging professional negligence, medical malpractice or mistreatment. We are also subject to claims for unlawful detention from time to time when patients allege they should not have been detained under applicable laws and regulations or where the appropriate procedures were not correctly followed.

Similarly, there maywe have been in the past and will continue in the future to be subject to substantial claims from employees in respect of personal injuries sustained in the performance of their duties. Current or former employees may also make claims against us in relation to breaches of employment laws.There may also be safeguarding incidents at our facilities which, depending on the circumstances, may result in custodial sentences or other criminal sanctions for the member of staff involved.

For example, as described in more detail in Note 11 – Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying notes to our consolidated financial statements, on July 7, 2023, in connection with one of the lawsuits in our Desert Hills Litigation, a jury awarded the plaintiff compensatory damages of $80.0 million and punitive damages of $405.0 million. We subsequently paid an aggregate amount of $400.0 million in exchange for the release and discharge of all claims arising from, relating to, concerning or with respect to this lawsuit, as well as two other related cases. An additional lawsuit based on similar facts has been filed and we could incur substantial damage awards or settlements in connection with this lawsuit or any future claims.

The incurrence of substantial legal fees, damage awards or other fines as well as the potential impact on our brand or reputation as a result of being involved in any legal proceedings could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We handle sensitive personal data which are protected by numerous U.S. laws in the ordinary course of business and any failure to maintain the confidentiality of such data could result in legal liability and reputational harm.

We collect, process and store sensitive personal data as part of our business. In the event of a security breach, sensitive personal data could become public. We are currently not aware of any material incidences of potential data breach; however, there can be no assurance that such breaches will not arise in future. Although we have in place policies and procedures to prevent such breaches, breaches could occur either as a result of a breach by our employees or as a result of a breach by a third party to whom we have provided sensitive personal data, and we could face liability under data protection laws.

Liability under data protection laws may result in sanctions, including substantial fines and/or compensation to those affected. Additionally, liability may cause us to suffer damage to our brand and reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We carry a large self-insured retention and may be responsible for significant amounts not covered by insurance. In addition, our insurance may be inadequate, premiums may increase and, if there is a significant deterioration in our claims experience, insurance may not be available on acceptable terms.

We arehave been in the past and will continue in the future to be subject to medical malpractice lawsuits and other legal actions in the ordinary course of business. Some of these actions, such as the Desert Hills Litigation, may involve large claims, as well as significant defense costs. We cannot predict the outcome of these lawsuits or the effect that findings in such lawsuits may have on us. We maintain liability insurance intended to cover service user, third-party and employee personal injury claims. Due to the structure of our insurance program under which we carry a large self-insured retention, there may be substantial claims in respect of which the liability for damages and costs falls to us before being met by any insurance underwriter. ThereAs was the case with the Desert Hills Litigation, there may also be claims in excess of our insurance coverage or claims which are not covered by our insurance due to other policy limitations or exclusions or where we have failed to comply with the terms of the policy. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain liability insurance coverage in the future on acceptable terms, or without substantial premium increases or at all, particularly if there is a deterioration in our claim experience history. A successful claim against us not covered by or in excess of our insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We handle sensitive personal data which are protected by numerous U.S. laws in the ordinary course of business and any failure to maintain the confidentiality of such data could result in legal liability and reputational harm.

We collect, process and store sensitive personal data as part of our business. In the event of a security breach, sensitive personal data could become public. We are currently not aware of any material incidences of potential data breach; however, there can be no

assurance that such breaches will not arise in the future. Although we have in place policies and procedures to prevent such breaches, breaches could occur either as a result of a breach by our employees or as a result of a breach by a third-party to whom we have provided sensitive personal data. We could face liability under data protection laws.

Liability under data protection laws may result in sanctions, including substantial fines and/or compensation to those affected. Additionally, liability may cause us to suffer damage to our brand and reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we fail to comply with extensive laws and government regulations, we could suffer penalties or be required to make significant changes to our operations.

Companies operating in the behavioral healthcare industry in the U.S. are required to comply with extensive and complex laws and regulations at the federal, state and local government levels relating to, among other things: billing practices and prices for services; relationships with physicians and other referral sources; necessity and quality of medical care; condition and adequacy of facilities; qualifications of medical and support personnel; confidentiality, privacy and security issues associated with health-related

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information and PHI; EMTALA compliance; handling of controlled substances; certification, licensure and accreditation of our facilities; operating policies and procedures; activities regarding competitors; state and local land use and zoning requirements; and addition or expansion of facilities and services.

Among the laws applicable to our operations are the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, the federal False Claims Act, the EKRA, and similar state laws. These laws impact the relationships that we may have with physicians and other potential referral sources. We have a variety of financial relationships with physicians and other professionals who refer patients to our facilities, including employment contracts, leases and professional service agreements. The OIG has issued certain safe harbor regulations that outline practices that are deemed acceptable under the Anti-Kickback Statute, and similar regulatory exceptions have been promulgated by CMS under the Stark Law. While we endeavor to ensure that our arrangements with referral sources comply with an applicable safe harbor to the Anti-Kickback Statute where possible, certain of our current arrangements with physicians and other potential referral sources may not qualify for such protection. Failure to meet a safe harbor does not mean that the arrangement automatically violates the Anti-Kickback Statute, but may subject the arrangement to greater scrutiny. Even if our arrangements are found to be in compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute, they may still face scrutiny under the newly enacted EKRA law. Moreover, while we believe that our arrangements with physicians comply with applicable Stark Law exceptions, the Stark Law is a strict liability statute for which no intent to violate the law is required.

Effective January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act, enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (the “CAA”), creates price transparency requirements, including (i) requiring providers to send to patients or their health plan a good faith estimate of the expected charges and diagnostic codes prior to furnishing scheduled items or services and (ii) prohibiting providers from charging patients an amount beyond the in-network cost sharing amount for services rendered by out-of-network providers, subject to limited exceptions. Price transparency initiatives like the No Surprises Act may impact our ability to obtain or maintain favorable contract terms, and may impact our competitive position and our relationships with patients and insurers.

These laws and regulations are extremely complex, and, in many cases, we do not have the benefit of regulatory or judicial interpretation. In the future, it is possible that different interpretations of these laws and regulations could subject our current or past practices to allegations of impropriety or illegality or could require us to make changes in our arrangements for facilities, equipment, personnel, services, capital expenditure programs and operating expenses. A determination that we have violated one or more of these laws could subject us to liabilities, including civil penalties, exclusion of one or more facilities from participation in the government healthcare programs and, for violations of certain laws and regulations, criminal penalties. Even the public announcement that we are being investigated for possible violations of these laws could cause our reputation to suffer and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, we cannot predict whether other similar legislation or regulations at the federal or state level will be adopted, what form such legislation or regulations may take or what their impact on us may be.

The construction and operation of healthcare facilities in the U.S. are subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation relating to, among other things, the adequacy of medical care, equipment, personnel, operating policies and procedures, fire prevention, rate-setting, compliance with building codes and environmental protection. Additionally, such facilities are subject to periodic inspection by government authorities to assure their continued compliance with these various standards. If we fail to adhere to these standards, we could be subject to monetary penalties or restrictions on our ability to operate.

All of our facilities that handle and dispense controlled substances must comply with strict federal and state regulations regarding the purchase, storage, distribution and disposal of such controlled substances. The potential for theft or diversion of such controlled substances for illegal uses has led the federal government as well as a number of states and localities to adopt stringent regulations not applicable to many other types of healthcare providers. Compliance with these regulations is expensive and these costs may increase in the future.

Property owners and local authorities have attempted, and may in the future attempt, to use or enact zoning ordinances to eliminate our ability to operate a given treatment facility or program. Local governmental authorities in some cases also have

attempted to use litigation and the threat of prosecution to force the closure of certain comprehensive treatment facilities. If any of these attempts were to succeed or if their frequency were to increase, our revenue would be adversely affected and our operating results might be harmed. In addition, such actions may require us to litigate which would increase our costs.

Many of our facilities are also accredited by third-party accreditation agencies such as The Joint Commission or CARF. If any of our existing healthcare facilities lose their accreditation or any of our de novo or joint venture facilities fail to receive accreditation, such facilities could become ineligible to receive reimbursement under Medicare or Medicaid.

Federal, state and local regulations determine the capacity at which many of our facilities may be operated. State licensing standards require many of our facilities to have minimum staffing levels; minimum amounts of residential space per student or patient

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and adhere to other minimum standards. Local regulations require us to follow land use guidelines at many of our facilities, including those pertaining to fire safety, sewer capacity and other physical plant matters.

Our facilities have in the past and will continue in the future to be subject to regular surveys by federal, state, and local regulators, accreditation agencies and certain referral sources. Such surveys have in the past and could in the future result in findings of immediate jeopardy, licensing restrictions and admissions holds. Such survey activity could in the future result in loss of certification, loss of accreditation, admissions holds and license revocation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We cannot guarantee that current laws, regulations and regulatory assessment methodologies will not be modified or replaced in the future. There can be no assurance that our business, results of operations and financial condition will not be adversely affected by any future regulatory developments or that the cost of compliance with new regulations will not be material.

We may be required to spend substantial amounts to comply with statutes and regulations relating to privacy and security of PHI.

There are currently numerous legislative and regulatory initiatives in the U.S. addressing patient privacy and information security concerns. In particular, federal regulations issued under HIPAA require our facilities to comply with standards to protect the privacy, security and integrity of PHI. These requirements includeinclude: the adoption of certain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards; development of adequate policies and procedures, training programs and other initiatives to ensure the privacy of PHI is maintained; entry into appropriate agreements with so-called business associates; and affording patients certain rights with respect to their PHI, including notification of any breaches. Compliance with these regulations requires substantial expenditures, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, our management has spent, and may spend in the future, substantial time and effort on compliance measures.

In addition to HIPAA, we are subject to similar, and in some cases more restrictive, state and federal privacy regulations. For example, the federal government and some states impose laws governing the use and disclosure of health information pertaining to mental health and/or substance abuse treatment that are more stringent than the rules that apply to healthcare information generally. As public attention is drawn to the issues of the privacy and security of medical information, states may revise or expand their laws concerning the use and disclosure of health information, or may adopt new laws addressing these subjects.

Violations of the privacy and security regulations could subject our operations to substantial civil monetary penalties and substantial other costs and penalties associated with a breach of data security, including criminal penalties. We may also be subject to substantial reputational harm if we experience a substantial security breach involving PHI.

We could face risks associated with, or arising out of changing laws and regulations, including those involving environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.

We are subject to various federal, foreign, state and local laws and regulations that:

Compliance with these laws and regulations could increase our costs of operation. Violation of these laws may subject us to significant fines, penalties or disposal costs, which could negatively impact our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. We could be responsible for the investigation and remediation of environmental conditions at currently or formerly owned, operated or leased sites, as well as for associated liabilities, including liabilities for natural resource damages, third-party property damage or personal injury resulting from lawsuits that could be brought by the government or private litigants, relating to our operations, the operations of facilities or the land on which our facilities are located. We may be subject to these liabilities regardless of whether we operate, lease or own the facility, and regardless of whether such environmental conditions were created by us or by a prior owner or tenant, or by a third partythird-party or a neighboring facility whose operations may have affected such facility or land. That is because liability

for contamination under certain environmental laws can be imposed on current or past owners, lessors or operators of a site without regard to fault. We cannot assure you that environmental conditions relating to our prior, existing or future sites or those of predecessor companies whose liabilities we may have assumed or acquired will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

State efforts to regulate the construction or expansion of healthcare facilities could impair our ability to operate and expand our operations.

A majority of the states in which we operate facilities have enacted CON laws that regulate the construction or expansion of healthcare facilities, certain capital expenditures or changes in services or bed capacity. In giving approval for these actions, these states consider the need for additional or expanded healthcare facilities or services. Our failure to obtain necessary state approval could (i) result in our inability to acquire a targeted facility, complete a desired expansion or make a desired replacement, (ii) make a

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facility ineligible to receive reimbursement under the Medicare or Medicaid programs or (iii) result in the revocation of a facility’s license or imposition of civil or criminal penalties, any of which could harm our business.

In addition, significant CON reforms have been proposed in a number of states that would increase the capital spending thresholds and provide exemptions of various services from review requirements. In the past, we have not experienced any material adverse effects from such requirements, but we cannot predict the impact of these changes upon our operations.

We are required to treat patients with emergency medical conditions regardless of ability to pay.

In accordance with our internal policies and procedures, as well as EMTALA, we provide a medical screening examination to any individual who comes to one of our hospitals seeking medical treatment (whether or not such individual is eligible for insurance benefits and regardless of ability to pay) to determine if such individual has an emergency medical condition. If it is determined that such person has an emergency medical condition, we provide such further medical examination and treatment as is required to stabilize the patient’s medical condition, within the facility’s capability, or arrange for the transfer of the individual to another medical facility in accordance with applicable law and the treating hospital’s written procedures. Our hospitals may face substantial civil penalties if we fail to provide appropriate screening and stabilizing treatment or fail to facilitate other appropriate transfers as required by EMTALA.

We are subject to taxation in the U.S., Puerto Rico and various state jurisdictions. Any adverse development in the tax laws of such jurisdictions or any disagreement with our tax positions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, our effective tax rate could change materially as a result of changes in tax laws.

We are subject to taxation in, and to the tax laws and regulations of, the U.S., Puerto Rico and various state jurisdictions as a result of our operations and our corporate and financing structure. Adverse developments in these tax laws or regulations, or any change in position regarding the application, administration or interpretation thereof, in any applicable jurisdiction, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, the tax authorities in any applicable jurisdiction may disagree with the tax treatment or characterization of any of our transactions, which, if successfully challenged by such tax authorities, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Certain changes in the mix of our earnings between jurisdictions and assumptions used in the calculation of income taxes, among other factors, could have a material adverse effect on our overall effective tax rate.

General Risk Factors

Provisions of our charter documents or Delaware law could delay or prevent an acquisition of us, even if the acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, and could make it more difficult for stockholders to change management.

Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. This is because these provisions may prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to replace or remove our management. These provisions include:

Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder, generally a person that together with its affiliates owns or within the last three years has owned 15% of voting stock, for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. Although we have elected not to be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that have the same effect as Section 203, except that they provide that Waud Capital Partners, L.L.C. (“WCP”), its affiliates and any investment fund managed by WCP will be deemed to have been approved by our board of directors, and thereby not subject to the restrictions set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that have the same effect as Section 203 of the DGCL. Accordingly, the

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provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that adopts a modified version of Section 203 of the DGCL may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of us.

As a result of these provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law, the price investors may be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock may be limited.

Fluctuations in our operating results, quarter to quarter earnings and other factors, including factors outside our control, may result in significant decreases in the price of our common stock.

The stock markets experience volatility, in some cases unrelated to operating performance. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock and, as a result, there may be significant volatility in the market price of our common stock. If we are unable to operate our facilities as profitably as we have in the past or as our investors expect us to in the future, the market price of our common stock will likely decline when it becomes apparent that the market expectations may not be realized. In addition to our operating results, many economic and other factors outside of our control could have an adverse effect on the price of our common stock and increase fluctuations in our quarterly earnings. These factors include certain of the risks discussed herein, outcomes of political elections, demographic changes, operating results of other healthcare companies, changes in our financial estimates or recommendations of securities analysts, speculation in the press or investment community, the possible effects of war, terrorist and other hostilities, adverse weather conditions, climate change, the impact of a pandemic, epidemic, or outbreak of an infectious disease, managed care contract negotiations and terminations, changes in general conditions in the economy or the financial markets or other developments affecting the healthcare industry.

Future sales of common stock by our existing stockholders may cause our stock price to fall.

The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales by us or our existing stockholders, particularly our largest stockholders, our directors and executive officers, in the market, or the perception that these sales could occur. These sales might also make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities at a time and price that we deem appropriate.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, if they were to change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely or if our operating results do not meet their expectations, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish regular reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. Moreover, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or if our operating results do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.

We incur substantial costs as a result of being a public company.

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting, insurance and other expenses, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We incur costs associated with complying with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), and related rules implemented by the SEC and NASDAQ. Enacted in July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act contains significant corporate governance and executive compensation-related provisions, some of which the SEC has implemented by adopting additional rules and regulations in areas such as executive compensation. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. Management expects these laws and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly, although management is currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. These laws and regulations could make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as our executive officers. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

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TableAs part of Contentsour Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) process, we identify risks and assign responsibility for managing each risk to the appropriate level of management. Cybersecurity is a risk identified in our ERM process. Management has implemented a comprehensive cybersecurity risk management strategy in line with industry standards and regulatory requirements. This strategy includes:

We continuously monitor our networks and systems and integrate threat intelligence feeds to evaluate evolving cyber threats. We conduct regular testing and simulation exercises, including engaging third-party service providers to perform penetration testing, to identify and address weaknesses in our defenses and engage third-party service providers to perform cybersecurity risk assessments, which are based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology framework. Cyber risks are considered and addressed for those third-party relationships deemed critical to our operations, as well as those with access to or custody of confidential data or customer non-public information, including PHI, and those services or products accessed in a cloud environment or involving generative artificial intelligence or other machine learning technologies.

The Audit and Risk Committee of the board of directors has responsibility of oversight for the Company’s enterprise risk assessment and risk management systems. Our Chief Information Officer (“CIO”), Senior Director of Information Security and other delegated positions are responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity risks. Our CIO has 15 years of experience in cybersecurity and a degree in management information systems. We also have a Cybersecurity Infrastructure Committee that meets monthly. We have implemented an incident response strategy as an element of our overall risk management approach. Our incident response plan entails clearly-defined roles and responsibilities, established communication protocols and measures to mitigate the impact of any cybersecurity incidents. We have experienced adverse IT events in the past, but to date, we have seen no material impact on our business or operations from these attacks or events. We prioritize the detection, response, and recovery from potential breaches and carry cybersecurity insurance which includes cyber breach response services. The scope and coverage of our cybersecurity insurance is reviewed on an annual basis. Risks and potential threats are identified and measured through these monitoring, testing, and response processes procedures and significant risks, and threats are reported by the CIO to the Audit and Risk Committee.

Item 2. Properties.

The following table lists, by state or country, the number of behavioral healthcare facilities directly or indirectly owned and operated by us at December 31, 2022:2023:

See “Item 1. Business— U.S.Business — Operations” for a summary description of the facilities that we own and lease. In addition, we currently lease approximately 61,000 square feet of office space at 6100 Tower Circle, Franklin, Tennessee, for our corporate headquarters. Our headquarters and facilities are generally well maintained and in good operating condition.

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

Information with respect to this item may be found in Note 20—11 — Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying notes to our consolidated financial statements beginning on Page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Our common stock is listed for trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ACHC.”

Stockholders

As of February 28, 2023,2024, there were approximately 541598 holders of record of our common stock.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

During the three months ended December 31, 2022,2023, the Company withheld shares of Company common stock to satisfy employee minimum statutory tax withholding obligations payable upon the vesting of restricted stock units, as follows:

Dividends

We have never declared or paid dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business and to repay indebtedness, and therefore we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Additionally, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends on our common stock is limited by restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to us, including restrictions under the terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to compliance with covenants in current and future agreements governing our indebtedness (including our Newthe Credit Facility and the indenture governing ourthe Senior Notes), and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant.

Item 6. [Reserved]

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include any statements that address future results or occurrences. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could” or the negative thereof. Generally, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. In particular, statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance contained are forward-looking statements.

We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

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Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to update any such statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments.

Overview

Our business strategy is to acquire and developbecome the indispensable behavioral healthcare facilitiesprovider for the high-acuity and improve our operating results within our facilities and our other behavioral healthcare operations.complex needs patient population. We striveare committed to improveproviding the operating results of our facilities by providingcommunities we serve with high-quality, services, expanding referral networks and marketing initiatives while meeting the increased demand forcost-effective behavioral healthcare services, throughwhile growing our business, increasing profitability and creating long-term value for our stockholders. This strategy includes five growth pathways: expansions of existing facilities, joint venture partnerships, de novo facilities, acquisitions and expansion across our continuum of our current locations as well as developing new services within existing locations.care. At December 31, 2022,2023, we operated 250253 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 11,00011,200 beds in 3938 states and Puerto Rico. During the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, we added 560595 beds, consisting of 290302 added to existing facilities

and 270293 added through the opening of one wholly-owned facility and two joint venture facilities, and we opened sevensix CTCs. For the year ending December 31, 2023,2024, we expect to add approximately 3001,200 total beds through additionsand open up to existing facilities, and we expect to open two wholly-owned facilities, two joint venture facilities and at least six CTCs.14 CTCs, excluding acquisitions.

We are the leading publicly traded pure-play provider of behavioral healthcare services in the U.S. Management believes that we are positioned as a leading platform in a highly fragmented industry under the direction of an experienced management team that has significant industry expertise. Management expects to take advantage of several strategies that are more accessible as a result of

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our increased size and geographic scale, including continuing a national marketing strategy to attract new patients and referral sources, increasing our volume of out-of-state referrals, providing a broader range of services to new and existing patients and clients and selectively pursuing opportunities to expand our facility and bed count in the U.S. through acquisitions, wholly-owned de novo facilities, joint ventures and bed additions in existing facilities.

On January 19, 2021, we completed the U.K. Sale pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement in which we sold all of the securities of AHC-WW Jersey Limited, a private limited liability company incorporated in Jersey and a subsidiary of the Company, which constituted the entirety of our U.K. operations.The U.K. Sale resulted in approximately $1,525 million of gross proceeds before deducting the settlement of existing foreign currency hedging liabilities of $85 million based on the current GBP to USD exchange rate, cash retained by the buyer and transaction costs. We used the net proceeds of approximately $1,425 million (excluding cash retained by the buyer) along with cash from the balance sheet to reduce debt by $1,640 million during the first quarter of 2021. As a result of the U.K. Sale, we reported, for all periods presented, results of operations and cash flows of the U.K. operations as discontinued operations in the accompanying financial statements.

Acquisitions

In July 2023, we signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Turning Point, a 76-bed specialty provider of substance use disorder and primary mental health treatment services that supports the Salt Lake City, Utah, metropolitan market. Turning Point provides a full continuum of treatment services, including residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services. The transaction closed on February 22, 2024.

On November 7, 2022, we acquired four CTCs located in Georgia from Brand New Start.

On December 31, 2021, we acquired the equity of CenterPointe for cash consideration of approximately $140 million. The acquisition was funded through a combination of cash on hand and a $70.0 million draw on the Revolving Facility. At the time of the acquisition, CenterPointe operated four acute inpatient hospitals with 306 beds and ten outpatient locations primarily in Missouri.

Results of Operations

The following table illustrates our consolidated results of operations for the respective periods shown (dollars in thousands):