Bend Surgery Center

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...]

The ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry is entering 2026 with plenty of momentum, fueled by a shifting regulatory landscape plus rising demand from patients and payers alike. But there are sizable hurdles ASC operators will need to clear as they move forward. To help set the scene, Ambulatory Surgery Center News connected with 12 ASC leaders and market experts, asking them about the trends, challenges and opportunities likely to define 2026 most. Those who participated in this … [Read more...]

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...]

Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) operators are no strangers to change. But as procedure migration accelerates and specialties like cardiovascular care become more common in the outpatient setting, ASC leaders are being forced to rethink everything from payer strategy to staffing models. “We all have costs. We all see the increase in costs,” Todd Currier of Bend Surgery Center in Oregon said at the Arizona Ambulatory Surgery Center Association’s 2025 Annual Conference in Scottsdale. “Having … [Read more...]

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is calling for big changes to how – and where – surgical procedures are performed. Specifically, federal regulators are pushing to eliminate the Medicare Inpatient Only List (IPO) while significantly expanding the ASC Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL). The agency floated those plans on July 15 when it released its 2026 ASC payment system proposed rule. While there’s much to unpack in the more than 900-page proposed rule, such … [Read more...]

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are confronting an evolving landscape of reimbursement pressures, heightened prior authorization hurdles and new pushes for price transparency.  “Authorization has been a huge issue throughout 2024,” Todd Currier, CEO and administrator of Bend Surgery Center, said during a recent Ambulatory Surgery Center News webinar. “Trying to get pre-ops done for surgical cases, it just, it’s grown our backlog to cases and delayed procedures. ... It delays care, which is … [Read more...]

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) continue to face swift and significant consolidation trends, which will likely pick up even more in the coming year. Both private equity firms and health systems are intensifying their involvement in the outpatient surgical market, creating new challenges and opportunities for independent ASCs. Smaller, physician-owned ASCs have historically thrived on agility, personalized service and cost efficiency, Todd Currier, CEO and administrator of Bend Surgery … [Read more...]

As a new year begins, leaders within the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) sector are bullish on growth and focused on the innovations needed to meet rising demand. The needs and expectations of payers and patients are shaping the strategies that executives are pursuing, with the shift to more value-based reimbursement models and the aging population being major tailwinds propelling ASC growth. But headwinds also are blowing, including challenges in attracting and retaining staff, … [Read more...]

You can often take the pulse of any industry by analyzing the words of its leaders. And while there were plenty of interesting quotes from ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders in our reporting this year, a few stood out for their thoughtfulness, candor and relevance. From pricing transparency and strategic partnerships, to navigating compliance and the growing shift towards high-acuity procedures, these quotes capture the essence of the challenges and opportunities facing ASCs … [Read more...]

Bend Surgery Center has steadily grown over the years, making a name for itself in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry. A big part of its success has been its organizational culture and commitment to excellence, according to administrator Todd Currier. Founded in the late 1990s, Bend Surgery Center has expanded from relatively modest beginnings to become a roughly 44,00-square-foot multi-specialty ASC with several operating rooms. Today, the surgery center has a patient volume of … [Read more...]