Reimbursement issues, staffing shortages and rising costs are just a few of the challenges facing ASC leadership teams in 2026.
Here are 20 statistics demonstrating the scale and scope of the ASC industry’s biggest challenges in 2026:
Reimbursement
1. CMS finalized a 2.6% ASC payment increase for 2026 and signaled continued use of the hospital market basket.
2. For 2026, the ASC conversion factor is $56.322, compared with $91.415 for hospital outpatient departments, a gap that ASC leaders say continues to underscore longstanding structural payment challenges, even as CMS acknowledges surgery centers can safely perform a broader range of procedures.
3. CMS final physician fee schedule rule for 2026 includes a QP-conversion factor of $33.57, representing a 3.77% increase from the current conversion factor of $32.35. For non-QPs, the final rule increases the conversion factor by 3.26%, from $32.35 to $33.40.
4. The average anesthesia reimbursement rate in 2023 was $21.88 per unit, a 5.5% decline from 2019, according to medical billing servicer Coronis Health.
5. Medicare reimbursement fell from $22.27 per unit in 2019 to $21.12 in 2023, a trend highlighted in a VMG Health report.
Anesthesia shortages
6. The projected shortage of anesthesiologists by 2036 will hit 6,300, according to a 2025 Medicus Healthcare Solutions white paper.
7. Fifty-nine percent of practicing anesthesiologists are 55 or older, with 17% nearing retirement age.
8. Anesthesiologists have the highest desire to leave their roles out of all physician specialists, with 40.6% expressing an interest in leaving their current jobs within the next two years, according to a June 2025 report from the American Medical Association.
9. Certified-registered nurse anesthetists also represent a significant portion of the anesthesia workforce, especially in rural areas, where 75% of CRNAs report practicing independently.
10. By 2033, the U.S. is projected to face a shortage of about 12,500 CRNAs, nearly 22% of the current workforce. However, demand remains high, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting 38% growth in the field by 2032, making a CRNA one of the fastest-growing healthcare roles.
Operational costs
11. A Vizient report from July found medical supply chain costs are expected to increase 2.41% in 2026, up from the predicted 2.3% in January. IT services, capital equipment and surgical supply costs were pointed to as change drivers.
12. Healthcare costs for commercial payers are projected to increase by up to 8.5% in 2026, driven by persistent inflation, rising utilization of behavioral health services, and escalating prescription drug spending, according to a new report from PwC’s Health Research Institute.
13. A SullivanCotter survey found that compensation for advanced practice providers in medical and surgical specialties rose 2.8% and 2.4%, respectively, from 2024 to 2025.
14. Between 2022 and 2025, median total cash compensation climbed 22.9% for CRNAs and 40.7% for CAAs.
15. For surgical technologists working in ambulatory settings, mean annual salaries jumped from $57,500 in 2024 to $63,910 in 2025, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Staffing concerns
16. More than 138,000 nurses have left the workforce since 2022, according to an April study from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
17. Researchers project a shortage through 2032 of 328,100 registered nurses, 42,100 licensed practical nurses and 33,800 nurse practitioners.
18. Forty-two percent of active physicians are expected to reach retirement age within the decade, according to a recent Medicus report.
19. Sixty-one percent of ASC leaders said recruiting new surgeons is their biggest physician-related risk for 2026, according to a VMG Health survey.
20. In an August Medscape report, 63% of physicians said they see a shortage of qualified applicants in their local market, compared to 23% who do not and 13% who are unsure.
