ASC valuation multiples have been fluctuating in transactions over the last year, according to a report from VMG Health's Annual Healthcare M&A Report 2023.

According to Michael Meyers, president and CEO of Manhasset, N.Y.-based medtech company Meyers & Gerard Medical, Optum's quick growth and acquisition of physician groups is a cause for concern. 

Optum, parent company of ASC chain SCA Health, is the largest employer of physicians in the country. 

Amish Oza, MD, medical director of Marion, Ohio-based Midwest Internal Associates, has purchased an 8,500-square-foot medical office building that formerly housed Midwest Spine & Pain for $1.85 million, according to a June 1 report from Columbus Business First.

Although the ASC industry is slowly consolidating, the industry as a whole has remained independent amid increasing healthcare consolidation. 

Dallas-based United Surgical Partners International is the largest ASC chain in the country. 

Here are 10 new partnerships between healthcare organizations, physician groups and more to know, as reported by Becker's in May.

Orlando (Fla.) Health has purchased a two-story medical office building from pharmaceutical chain Walgreens for $4.1 million, according to a May 31 report from the Orlando Business Journal.

About 9.3 acres of undeveloped commercial land in Rogers, Ark., has sold for $6.1 million to medical office building investor Prime Medical Investment, an affiliate of Texas-based Prime Healthcare Properties, according to a May 30 report from Talk Business & Politics.

New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health is set to fill three open spaces at a Yaphank, N.Y., strip mall anchored by a 198,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter, according to a May 25 report from The Real Deal.

Anthony Sclafani, MD, director of facial plastic surgery and otolaryngology professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, joined Becker's to discuss the benefits — and disadvantages — of consolidation.

As care delivery continues to become more consumer-centric, several big retailers are looking to secure a place in the retail clinic market, according to a May 18 blog post from Definitive Healthcare.

Here are three big ASC moves that Becker's has reported on since April 28: 

Hartford HealthCare has been approved to acquire two ASCs in Connecticut, the Hartford Business Journal reported May 12. 

Following plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Envision Healthcare reached a restructuring agreement with its stakeholders.

ASCs around the country are facing reimbursements that are not keeping up with the rising cost of living, leading to a declining number of truly independent, physician-owned ASCs. 

Michael Davis, MD, surgical director and chief of urology at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque, joined Becker's to evaluate the benefits — and downsides — of the growing trend of consolidation in healthcare.

How to increase your total ASC value

Orlando (Fla.) Health has purchased another medical office building near its main campus for $7.38 million, according to a May 8 report from local news station WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal. 

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare continues to double down on developing outpatient facilities and increasing outpatient procedure migration, according to an April 21 first-quarter earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha.