As higher-acuity procedures continue to migrate to ASCs, anesthesia groups are being asked to support more complex care while navigating persistent workforce and financial pressures. For Gary John Mullen, MD, CEO of Raleigh, N.C.-based Sovereign Anesthesiology Partners, the answer is…
Anesthesia
Not long ago, an ASC paying an anesthesia stipend was considered to be a red flag. Today, it’s the norm. Before COVID-19, about 10% to 15% of ASCs required an anesthesia subsidy, according to Adam Spiegel, CEO of Irving, Texas-based…
For many ASCs, anesthesia stipends, recruiting struggles and soaring provider pay are a new and painful reality. For CCI Anesthesia, they’ve been the cost of doing business for two decades. Founded in 2004, Pensacola FL.-based CCI has focused on rural…
For ASCs with heavy Medicaid and Medicare volume, anesthesia stipends are often a government payment gap passed down to the facility. “California’s Medicaid program values an anesthesiologist’s time at between $40 and $50/hour, leaving the burden of the delta between…
As anesthesia staffing pressures continue to challenge ASCs, some leaders are looking for ways to build more stable teams while maintaining greater control over costs and care delivery. For Lori Pagan, CEO of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Orthopaedics NorthEast, that has…
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Anesthesia groups are increasingly insisting on contracts built on revenue guarantees. The share of ASCs expecting to pay anesthesia stipends jumped from 28% in 2024 to 44% in 2025, according to a VMG Health report, a 57% increase in a…
The U.S. is projected to be short 6,300 anesthesiologists by 2036 and 12,500 CRNAs by 2033, according to a 2025 Medicus Healthcare Solutions white paper, and the strain is not spread evenly. Here are five groups absorbing much of the…
The anesthesia workforce shortage has become one of the most persistent pressures on surgical care, and ASCs are feeling it on their balance sheets. About two-thirds of ASC leaders consider anesthesia coverage among their top three financial challenges in 2026,…
For more than 15 years, Gary Lawson, MD, has run a small anesthesia practice in Southwest Florida. In that time, he says he has been able to retain the same staff despite the rapidly changing field. As ASCs face anesthesiologist…
As anesthesia stipends climb, some ASC leaders are taking the bill to the payer negotiating table. Their argument is that payers who benefit from moving cases to a cheaper site of service should also pay for the anesthesia coverage that…