Editor's Note We’ve raised the bar—for the first time in 13 years, the OR Business Management Conference will feature a dedicated lineup of content specifically for ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders. Join an intimate gathering of ASC administrators, directors, and C-suite executives to dig deeper into financial, operational, and strategic…

Read More

Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a new rule establishing the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model, a 6-year, mandatory initiative to enhance access to kidney transplants, improve care quality, and reduce disparities. Managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the program…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule for the 2025 calendar year, updating payment systems and quality reporting requirements across healthcare settings, JD Supra November 19 reports. Effective January 1, 2025, the rule outlines significant changes to Medicare payments and conditions for participation…

Read More

Editor's Note More than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries were performed on older adults from 2019 to 2021, costing Medicare approximately $2 billion and exposing patients to avoidable risks, according to a November 14 analysis from the Lown Institute. The evaluation focused on spinal fusion, laminectomy, and vertebroplasty procedures, which are…

Read More

Editor's Note   In a November 12 letter to Congress, the American Hospital Association (AHA) outlined its priorities for the lame-duck legislative session, focusing on measures to stabilize hospitals and health systems facing significant financial and operational pressures. If enacted, these recommendations would support the nation’s healthcare infrastructure amid rising…

Read More

Editor's Note Republicans secured a 51-seat majority in the US Senate after victories in Ohio and West Virginia, promising a power shift that will see GOP leaders shaping decisions on pressing issues like drug pricing, public health agency reform, and rural healthcare. On November 6, STAT published an overview of…

Read More

Editor's Note Doctors facing inflationary and operational cost increases are decrying recently finalized 2025 Medicare reimbursement rates, according to a November 4 report in Healthcare Dive. The 2025 rates reduce physician payments by 2.9% while increasing rates for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) by 2.9%, the outlet…

Read More

Editor's Note When it comes to the 2024 presidential election, “Neither candidate addresses a return to the fundamental tenet of healthcare: the patient-physician relationship,” reads the closing line of an “election guide” from Richard Menger MD MPA. In the preceding paragraph, Menger also argues that both candidates also neglect issues…

Read More

Editor's Note A Senate report reveals that Medicare Advantage insurers are increasingly prioritizing profits over patient care by ramping up the use of prior authorization to deny necessary services, particularly post-acute care, for older adults, Becker’s Hospital Review reported October 17. In May 2023, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations…

Read More

Editor's Note On October 14, Anesthesiology News published a monograph featuring clinical perspectives on how “those working in the trenches of postsurgical pain management” are preparing for the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act, which outlines new, separate Medicare reimbursement for certain non-opioid analgesics in outpatient and ambulatory…

Read More