Author: Patsy Newitt

Kaiser Permanente a 40-hospital system based in Oakland, Calif., has made huge moves in the last month. 

St. Louis-based Ascension has sold its St. Vincent's Health System to The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System Authority in a deal valued at $450 million, effective Nov. 1. 

Here are four hospitals that Becker's reported on shuttering in October:

CMS finalized a 2.83% physician pay cut in its 2025 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System released on Nov. 1. 

A Salem, Ore., radiologist has filed a lawsuit against a Kaiser Permanente-affiliated physician group alleging he faced retaliation after bringing forth fraud allegations against two other physicians, The Lund Report reported Nov. 1. 

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has permanently revoked the license of a cardiologist who owned and operated Matawan-Aberdeen Heart & Medical Center in Matawan, N.J., following his conviction in a $1.9 million fraud scheme. 

In the last month, five lawsuits have emerged with significant implications for the ASC industry, covering critical issues from fraud and reimbursement disputes to rising nuclear verdicts and malpractice settlements. 

ASCs are experiencing a development boom in the Sun Belt, a region that spans the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. The trend is being driven by demographic shifts, increased healthcare spending and regulatory factors.

Arjun Gangakhedkar, real estate and financial specialist for the recently formed ASC chain Ker Medical and principal at QHM Partners, joined Becker's to discuss two major risks to ASC real estate development. 

Meadville (Pa.) Medical Center is attempting to reach a deal with the financially troubled Dallas-based Steward Health Care to avoid the closure of physician practices affiliated with Sharon Regional Medical Center, The Meadville Tribune reported Oct. 31.