Elective surgery delays and the resulting losses for hospitals and surgery centers will drive up costs for employers, payers and patients, ConsumerMedical concluded based on a recent data analysis.

Traverse City, Mich.-based Copper Ridge Surgery Center hired a finance controller, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Three surgery centers that filed for bankruptcy in the past year:

The CDC's ICD-10-CM code update for fiscal year 2021 includes 57 new musculoskeletal codes, according to Part B News.

As healthcare organizations develop strategies to secure financial well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, they can glean critical insights from workflow, business intelligence and denial management technologies.

At the onset of the pandemic, increasing use of three codes — 31500 for emergency intubations, 99291 for intensive care unit treatment and 99233 for complex hospital visits — reflected rising numbers of COVID-19 patients, according to Tony Mira, president and CEO of Anesthesia Business Consultants.

Ninety-seven percent of U.S. medical practices have taken a financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey by the Medical Group Management Association.

Industry groups representing hospitals and health systems across the nation sued HHS last year, challenging a rule that requires hospitals to disclose the rates they negotiate with insurers beginning in 2021. On June 23, a federal judge granted HHS' motion for summary judgement.

Chicago-based Sinai Health System received a $7 million grant for its planned ASC in Ogden Commons, an 11-acre mixed-use development in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood, the system announced June 18.

Looming cuts to Medicare reimbursement could be the final straw for private practice surgeons already in financial straits, according to the Surgical Care Coalition, a group of 12 industry organizations opposing the planned cuts.

Ambulatory surgery centers have long faced challenges in collecting reimbursement, and that became increasingly difficult as patients shouldered more financial responsibility for their care. However, those challenges have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and have resulted in an increased need for centers to accelerate revenue collection due to temporary income loss from suspended procedures.

New Medicare prior authorization requirements will take effect for certain hospital outpatient department services July 1, according to Bricker & Eckler's Shannon DeBra.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper extended 2020 deadlines for certificate-of-need applications and released initial projections on healthcare demand in 2021, JD Supra reports.

CMS granted Intersect ENT's Sinuva Sinus Implant transitional pass-through payment status for reimbursement under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgery Center Payment System.

Costs and infection rates. Those are two healthcare measures made more important than ever by the COVID-19 pandemic — and they're also two areas where ASCs have hospitals beat by a long shot, according to Shakeel Ahmed, MD, CEO of Atlas Surgical Group.

New York City-based Gramercy Surgery Center has reopened for elective surgeries with new safety protocols and staff salary guarantees in place, according to CEO Austin Cheng.

The prevalence of out-of-network billing varies significantly across provider specialties, according to research from the Health Care Cost Institute. 

Medscape rounded up ICD-10 codes physicians may need to use this summer.

Aetna will cover minimally invasive arthrodesis of the sacroiliac joint under a new policy, which was outlined in a May 29 announcement from medical device company SI-Bone.

A significant number of Americans have put off medical treatment during the pandemic, and job losses could lead more adults to rely on Medicaid when they do seek care, according to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation May 13-18.