Pennsylvania ASC Profit Margins Far Outstrip Hospitals; State Hospital Association Criticizes ASC Model

There are now 271 ambulatory surgery centers in the state of Pennsylvania — up from 72 in 200 — and ASC profit margins far outstrip those of general acute-care hospitals, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

The number of ASCs far exceeds the number of hospitals, at 165. ASC total profit margins increased to 25.19 percent in 2011, compared to 6.9 percent for general acute care hospitals — in part due to the fact that Medicaid accounts for a small percentage of ASC revenue compared to acute care hospital revenue.

The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania has criticized the ambulatory surgery center model, saying the financial and clinical demands on acute-care hospitals will increase as surgery centers treat "healthier, and usually better insured, patients," according to HAP president and CEO Carolyn F. Scanlan.

Related Articles on Surgery Center Transactions & Valuation:
Medical Facilities Corporation Announces September Dividend
Highmark, Pennsylvania's Largest Insurer, to Build 10 Medical Malls With ASCs
Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center Announces New Surgery & Birthing Center

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