Survey: ASC leader satisfaction falls slightly amid compensation reductions
Satisfaction of ambulatory surgery (ASC) leaders with their current jobs/positions has fallen in the past year, according to the 2025 OR Manager Career/Salary Survey. After reaching a 5-year high of 81% in 2024’s survey, the favorable satisfaction rating fell to 72%. However, that percentage aligns with surveys from several years…
CMS launches 6-year model to curb wasteful Medicare spending with AI-driven reviews
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the launch of a new model using artificial intelligence (AI) to target unnecessary Medicare spending, the agency reported in an October 17 update. The voluntary model will run from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2031, and aims to…
CMS narrows surveys to immediate jeopardy, harm during shutdown
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has activated shutdown rules that confine Medicare survey and certification work to health and safety essentials, according to an October 21 memo from the agency. Per the revised memorandum, excepted work during the federal shutdown includes investigations of complaints and…
AI-driven CMS pilot model could slow ASC care despite fraud-fighting goals
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is enlisting artificial intelligence (AI) to combat wasteful spending, but ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) warn the plan could slow care and increase administrative strain, Ambulatory Surgery Center News October 20 reports. The agency’s new Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR)…
Telehealth in limbo: Providers split on continuing Medicare services during shutdown
Editor's Note Telehealth providers are divided over whether to continue serving Medicare patients after reimbursement expired alongside the federal government shutdown, Modern Healthcare October 9 reports. The impasse has forced organizations to weigh patient access against financial risk, with many issuing advance beneficiary notices warning patients they may be responsible…
ASCs surge as hospitals and investors chase outpatient growth
Editor's Note Hospitals, physicians, and private equity are accelerating their push into lower-cost outpatient care. According to Colliers US Healthcare Services Research Report Q3 2025, published on September 22, ambulatory surgery center (ASCs) procedure volumes are projected to grow 9% between 2023 and 2028—outpacing hospital outpatient department growth at 7%—and…
Nearly half of US physicians now work for large systems: GAO links consolidation to higher costs
Editor's Note Physician independence continues to decline as hospitals, insurers, and private equity firms expand their ownership of medical practices, according to a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published on September 22. The report found that 47% of physicians were employed by or affiliated with hospital systems in 2024,…
High prices, not overuse, keep US healthcare costs far above peer nations
Editor's Note The US continues to outspend every other wealthy nation on healthcare, not because Americans use more services but because the prices of those services are far higher, Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker September 4 reports. The analysis compares US healthcare prices and utilization with 11 similarly wealthy countries and…
Study finds Medicare paid nearly $2 billion for unnecessary back surgeries
Editor's Note More than 200,000 older Americans underwent back surgeries they likely did need, costing Medicare and Medicare Advantage a combined $1.9 billion, Axios October 9 reports. The findings, based on an analysis by the Lown Institute, raise new concerns about overuse of high-cost procedures with limited benefit, as federal…
CDC shifts COVID-19 vaccination to individual decision-making, separates chickenpox shot for toddlers
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its immunization schedules to emphasize individual-based decision-making for COVID-19 vaccination and to recommend that toddlers receive a standalone varicella (chickenpox) vaccine rather than the combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) shot, a CDC October 6 release reports.…
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