Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) remain central to HCA Healthcare’s (NYSE: HCA) long-term outpatient expansion strategy, despite the company’s heavier focus on urgent care, physician clinics and freestanding emergency departments in recent years. “We think about ambulatory surgery centers as just part of our approach to the marketplace,” CEO Sam Hazen said during a March 4 investor call. “Unlike some other companies, we don’t typically own surgery centers or other outpatient facilities … [Read more...]
ASC Dealbook: Eye Health America Expands into Central Georgia; Community Health Systems Completes Florida Divestiture
Eye Health America buys Eye Center of Central Georgia Eye Health America (EHA) has partnered with Eye Center of Central Georgia (ECCG), bringing the eye care provider’s total number of partnerships to 30 and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to 14. This move extends EHA’s presence in Georgia, where it already operates two centers. The ECCG team expects to benefit from EHA’s additional resources and support, allowing for enhanced services and expanded reach to patients in central Georgia. … [Read more...]
‘Keep Patients at the Top of Everything You Do’: How ASCs Are Raising the Clinical Bar
A confluence of factors, including patient preference and federal approvals, are spurring the shift of complex procedures into the outpatient space. Yet from the physician perspective, one of the chief motivators is a better surgical experience. “I do, at this point, at least 80% of my spine surgery cases in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC), and that means I don’t have to run them through the hospital,” Dr. Jason Cuéllar of Cuéllar Spine said during the Ambulatory Surgery Center New … [Read more...]
‘There Are Opportunities to Expand Both in the Hospital and Beyond’: Ardent Health Doubles Down on Ambulatory Growth Strategy
One of the newer publicly traded health care companies on the market – Ardent Health Partners Inc. (NYSE: ARDT) – has been very clear about its ambulatory care ambitions. Executives at the Brentwood, Tennessee-based Ardent Health doubled down on those ambitions Thursday, emphasizing that outpatient expansion is central to the company’s vision for the future as more patients look for convenient sites of care outside of the hospital. “During 2024, we advanced our ambulatory growth strategy, … [Read more...]
Mass General Brigham Taps Regent Surgical to Boost Ambulatory Surgery Access
Mass General Brigham has announced a new collaboration with Regent Surgical. The collaboration – unveiled Tuesday – is aimed at expanding ambulatory surgery center (ASC) capabilities across New England. The joint effort seeks to reduce wait times, enhance patient access and lower costs by moving more procedures into high-quality, lower-cost outpatient settings, executives from both organizations said in a press release. Massachusetts has the fewest ASCs per capita … [Read more...]
Debt, Knowledge Gaps Pose Barriers for Younger Physicians on Path to ASC Ownership
As more procedures transition to outpatient settings, new opportunities are emerging for physicians to become ambulatory surgery center (ASC) owners or partners. Yet younger physicians, in particular, face several hurdles on the path to ownership. “[Younger physicians] don't know about the value proposition of an ASC short and long term,” Janet Carlson, executive director of ambulatory surgery centers with Commonwealth Pain & Spine, told Ambulatory Surgery Center News. “They don't see … [Read more...]
What ASC Leaders Need to Know About Indiana’s Site-Neutral Proposal
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in Indiana could face a major reimbursement shift if new state legislation mandating site-neutral payments passes. In a recent Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) audio update, Charlie Leonard, a member of ASCA’s public affairs team, spoke with ASCA Director of Government Affairs Stephen Abresch about Indiana House Bill (HB) 1003. The bill proposes to reimburse certain surgical procedures at physician office rates, regardless of whether they are … [Read more...]
‘On the Right Side of Health Care’: Factors Fueling ASC Transaction Activity
The ambulatory surgery center (ASC) space is one of the more attractive sub-sectors in all of health care. That standing is partly because of surgery centers’ value proposition – typically the lower-cost setting compared to hospital-based surgeries. It’s also because of patient preferences, with health care consumers appreciating the streamlined ASC experience. In many ways, ASCs are a “win” for all health care stakeholders, according to Scott Fraser, founder and managing partner of Fraser … [Read more...]
ASCA Urges CMS to Expand ASC Covered Procedures List, Rethink Payment Methodology
The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) is calling on federal regulators to help support surgery centers across the U.S. In a Feb. 19 letter to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), ASCA laid out a series of recommendations aimed at bolstering ambulatory surgery center (ASC) payments while also expanding the number of procedures eligible for ASC reimbursement. The industry group also asked CMS to consider recalibrating quality reporting measures. These … [Read more...]
Community Health Systems Boosts Outpatient Surgery Volumes with 14% Growth in ASC Cases
Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) saw a significant boost in outpatient surgical volumes in its fourth quarter. That was largely thanks to ambulatory surgery center (ASC) growth, too, according to CHS CEO Tim Hingtgen.. “We are very well positioned for outpatient surgery, and as a result, same-store ASC cases increased 14% last year,” Hingtgen said during his company’s 2024 fourth-quarter earnings call. The CEO added that CHS ended the year with a total of 47 ambulatory surgery … [Read more...]