Investment/M&A

NueHealth’s latest ambulatory surgery center (ASC) partnerships reflect a growth strategy with less emphasis on scale and more on preparing partners for value-based care. Leawood, Kansas-based NueHealth has owned, developed and/or managed over 150 surgical facilities across 30 states since its founding in 1997. Rather than acting solely as an operator or management vendor, though, the company pitches itself as a partner that can help ASCs manage full episodes of care, collect outcomes data … [Read more...]

Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) on Monday announced a strategic transaction involving health care services company Conifer Health Solutions. Strategically, the move reduces Tenet’s balance sheet and potentially sets the stage for a stronger 2025 financial performance. In turn, the transaction could also indirectly bolster growth around Tenet’s large ambulatory surgery center (ASC) platform, United Surgical Partners International (USPI). “The transaction will enable a thoughtful, … [Read more...]

Optum’s expansion into ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) tends to raise prices for competing insurers without shifting patient referrals toward those facilities. Optum – a division of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) with an expansive, nationwide ASC footprint – was the subject of a recent analysis in Health Affairs. Authors examined two central questions: whether acquired physician practices shifted referrals from hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) to ASCs, and whether Optum’s ASC … [Read more...]

HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) is doubling down on outpatient care as a core growth engine, even as ambulatory surgery center (ASC) volumes softened modestly at the end of 2025, executives said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 27. Leadership emphasized that outpatient revenue continued to grow faster than inpatient care, supported by ongoing investment in ASC development, technology and network expansion. The strategy, executives said, is designed to strengthen access, … [Read more...]

As the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry heads deeper into 2026, many of the most consequential forces shaping its future are not the ones making headlines. Beyond the familiar debates over reimbursement, procedure migration and consolidation, a sometimes quieter set of dynamics is emerging – issues that are unfolding incrementally, often outside formal rulemaking or earnings calls, but with the potential to materially alter how ASCs operate, compete and grow. To surface these … [Read more...]

Summit keeps expanding Summit Spine & Joint Centers has acquired Savannah Pain Management and Savannah Pain Center, adding an interventional pain management practice that includes one clinic and one ambulatory surgery center (ASC) in Savannah, Georgia, according to a Jan. 20 press release.  According to Summit, the deal expands the company’s reach in the Southeast and increases its scale in the Savannah market, where it opened its first clinic and ASC in 2023.  “We are looking forward to … [Read more...]

If 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) business model, it is also one that will test its limits. Rising labor costs, payer complexity, anesthesia shortages and margin pressure are operational realities that executives are confronting daily. The shift of higher-acuity cases into outpatient settings continues, but the economic and workforce infrastructure needed to support that growth has not always kept pace. For many operators, the challenge is … [Read more...]

Not every story that shapes the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry does so with splashy headlines or massive traffic numbers. Some of the most consequential developments unfold more quietly: through pilot programs, early-stage platforms, regulatory experiments or strategic bets that signal where the market may be headed next. In 2025, ASC News published several such stories that didn’t dominate the click charts but offered insight into how outpatient care is evolving beneath the … [Read more...]

From seismic policy shifts to blockbuster deals and the accelerating migration of higher-acuity care into the outpatient setting, 2025 was a defining year for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry. ASC News readers gravitated toward stories that captured an industry in transition – one balancing rapid growth and innovation with mounting regulatory action, reimbursement pressures, and questions about scale, ownership and independence. Clinical evolution was another important theme. … [Read more...]

Freedom Surgical partners with Olena Medical Freedom Surgical Center (FSC) has established a collaborative relationship with Olena Medical, a physician-owned provider of anesthesia, pain management and other medical specialties.  Olena Medical will provide FSC with comprehensive anesthesia services, including pre-operative evaluation, intra-operative anesthesia care and comprehensive post-operative management.  “Our goal is to provide anesthesia care that not only meets technical … [Read more...]