When the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its new Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model this summer, the agency framed the program as an effort to cut down on unnecessary spending, fraud and abuse in Medicare. But for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), the six-year test could mean new layers of prior authorization, administrative work and uncertainty around how advanced technologies will be applied in clinical decisions. The voluntary … [Read more...]
Government Shutdown Brings New Uncertainty for Surgery Centers
The federal government officially shut down on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to reach agreement on a short-term spending bill. The immediate fallout will mean furloughs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers and stalled services across multiple agencies. For ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), the impact may not be as direct as it is for hospitals or other federally funded programs, but industry leaders say ripple effects could be on the horizon if Congress does not act soon. “If … [Read more...]
ASC Leader Shares Lessons From a 2-Year Journey to Implement EHRs
While once mostly used mainly in hospitals, electronic health record systems (EHRs) are growing in popularity in outpatient settings. Yet integrating EHRs in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) setting, where margins are tight and staff limited, is no small feat. Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center President Melissa Rice said the payoff is worth it. “Upfront, it could look a little mundane, but it also then saves you time on the back end,” Rice said on ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care Podcast. … [Read more...]
ACES Looks to Redefine Surgical Staffing with Aviation-Enabled Model, Eyes ASC Partnerships
Trauma surgeon Ronen Elefant is flying surgeons into rural hospitals and outpatient clinics, inspired by his own experiences in health care. ACES, short for Aviation-Commuting Employment Solutions, is a startup that aims to help rural hospitals and smaller towns that struggle to recruit surgeons. “The problem that it solves is bringing top-notch surgeons to rural areas that otherwise would not get the best of the best,” Elefant told ASC News. “Most surgeons who are at the top of their … [Read more...]
Where ASC Leaders Plan to Invest in 2026
Already looking ahead to 2026, ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders are making plans for where they’ll put their dollars to work. Outpatient demand continues to climb, and with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) steadily opening the door to more procedures in the ASC setting, operators are thinking carefully about how to match that growth with the right investments. To get a better sense of what’s on the radar of surgery centers, ASC News asked operators to pull … [Read more...]
ASCs Risk Millions by Relying on ‘Smoke Signal’ Staffing
Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) operators can break the firefighting cycle of last-minute staffing by using data, forecasting and a ready bench of familiar, flexible clinicians. And utilizing third-party staffing solutions doesn’t just fill gaps; smarter staffing can also minimize full-time employee turnover and save facilities tens of thousands of dollars annually – and millions over time. Medely executive Phil Galligan explored these and other staffing topics during a recent ASC News … [Read more...]
Bariatric Surgery Outperforms GLP-1s, Strengthening Case for Outpatient Expansion
Despite the GLP-1 craze, bariatric surgery may result in greater weight loss at significantly lower cost, according to a recently published study. The findings strengthen the case for expanding bariatric programs in outpatient settings. “Obesity is a heterogeneous disease,” researcher George Eid said in a podcast interview with JAMA Network. “Not everybody responds the same way; not everybody will have the same effect. Some patients will require surgery. You have a subgroup where … [Read more...]
Atrium Health Expands Specialty Care with Carolina NeuroSurgery & Spine Integration
Atrium Health is adding Carolina NeuroSurgery & Spine Associates (CNSA), a Charlotte-based practice with about 300 employees, 70 physicians and advanced practice providers, to its health system. The integration will take effect in October. “It’s a natural progression for us to engage in deeper collaboration with CNSA to address the evolving challenges and opportunities in modern health care,” Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, senior vice president at Atrium Health, said in a press release. “By … [Read more...]
ASC Pipeline: Corewell Health Breaks Ground on $75M ASC; MaineHealth to Invest $70M in Orthopedic Hub
Corewell Health’s new surgery center in Royal Oak Corewell Health has begun construction on a new $75 million ambulatory surgery center (ASC) and medical office building in Royal Oak, Michigan. The 89,000-square-foot facility, called the Corewell Health Care Center, is expected to be completed in 2027 after an 18- to 24-month construction. The project will include a surgery center designed for low-complexity outpatient procedures such as orthopaedic, low-risk spine, gallbladder, appendix, … [Read more...]
ASC Industry Braces for More Red Tape as CMS Pushes Medicare Prior-Authorization Demo
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in 10 states will soon face new prior-authorization requirements for a handful of procedures, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expands its oversight efforts into the space. The five-year demonstration, announced earlier this month, is designed to test whether earlier documentation review can reduce improper payments while still protecting beneficiary access, according to CMS. CMS has long turned to prior authorization as a way to … [Read more...]