A Florida physician, pharmacist and Navy veteran lost the appeal of their conviction in a $4.4 million Tricare fraud scheme, according to a June 20 article in JDSupra from the law firm Burr & Forman. 

Lodi, Calif., orthopedic surgeon Gary Wisner, MD, was convicted of defrauding CMS and Medi-Cal over four years, the California Justice Department said June 17.

Plastic surgery is the specialty with the most physicians most likely to report net worth exceeding $5 million, according to Medscape's "Physician Wealth & Debt Report 2021."

The number of surgical procedures is forecasted to reach 105,814,000 procedures in 2022 and increase to 122,881,000 operations a year by 2027, led by the most significant growth in procedures performed in ASCs, according to a Research and Markets report.

The current physician payment system is potentially unsustainable in the long term, according to a June report from Medicare trustees to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Walgreens is edging further into the healthcare sector with the June 16 launch of its clinical trials business.

As small businesses have recently adopted new technology and expanded their networks to facilitate remote work, cyberattacks over the last two years have jumped 152 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported June 7.

Although some ASCs are struggling amid high operating costs and low reimbursements, there are many numbers showing the industry is getting stronger. 

Medicare would have saved $194 million in 2018 if indirect billing for nurse practitioners and physician assistants were eliminated, but directly billing these providers would adversely affect small primary care practices, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs. 

Here are six hospitals that have opened or have plans to open ASCs that Becker's has reported on since June 2:

Here are eight studies for ASC leaders that Becker's has reported on since the beginning of May.

Trinity Health of New England's Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn., redirected a majority of patients who need outpatient surgery to its ASC on June 9 due to staffing shortages. 

Six things to know about physician assistant pay:

Florida is home to the third-most ASCs of any state in the nation, and it ranks 16th in ASCs per capita.

Leawood, Kan.-based ValueHealth, an ASC company focused on value-based surgical offerings, is gaining steam in 2022 with outpatient partnerships. 

Valentyna Glushenko, MD, and Arkady Glushenko, MD, a husband and wife physician duo, are running a front-line hospital in Slovyansk, Ukraine, The Washington Post reported June 11. 

Minas Kochumian, MD, paid $9.49 million to settle allegations that he submitted false claims to CMS and Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, for procedures and tests that were never performed, the Justice Department said June 10.

From physician influence to fear of COVID-19 infection, 17 ASC leaders joined Becker's to discuss what's drawing patients to ASCs over hospitals. 

Since April 1, CVS Health has let go of a subsidiary and requested a state bill be vetoed over concerns it would raise drug costs. 

UnitedHealth Group, parent company of ASC management company United Surgical Partners International, saw three lawsuits filed against it since April 1.