With no certificate-of-need law, a fast-growing population and a regulatory environment that has historically favored outpatient development, Texas is one of the most active ASC markets in the country Here is where things stand. 1. Texas is a free-market ASC…
Patsy Newitt
A former chiropractic clinic chain executive has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return related to an illegal tax shelter used to conceal nearly $1.3 million in taxes, the Justice Department said in a June 5 news release. Stuart…
The federal government’s proposed expansion of a major joint replacement payment model could open the door for certified registered nurse anesthetists to qualify for better Medicare reimbursement. Under the proposed FY 2027 Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule, CMS would expand…
Eight months after UnitedHealthcare cut certified registered nurse anesthetist reimbursement by 15%, the financial burden unleashed on ASCs is still building. The UHC cut applies to QZ-billed CRNA services in selected states and eliminates payments tied to several add-on and…
A proposal that would strip Medicare coverage from widely used peripheral nerve block procedures is still active nearly eight months after five Medicare Administrative Contractors published draft local coverage determinations in October. The proposed LCDs would classify therapeutic peripheral nerve…
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Although staffing shortages and reimbursement pressure get a lot of attention in ASC conversations, Tom Valentine, the new president of Wellbridge Surgical, thinks the harder problem is physician recruitment in a rapidly consolidating workforce. According to Mr. Valentine, hospitals have…
Anesthesiologist average advertised salaries shifted significantly between the final quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, with several states posting gains well into six figures, according to data from anesthesia career platform BagMask.com. Here are the states with…
The FTC’s consent order requiring Ascension to divest seven ASCs before closing its $3.9 billion acquisition of Amsurg sent a clear message to the industry that outpatient surgery is valuable enough to fight over, and regulators are now watching local…
In the highest annual total in the history of the statute, the Department of Justice’s False Claims Act settlements and judgments exceeded $6.8 billion in fiscal year 2025, with more than $5.7 billion of those recoveries tied to healthcare. That…
From a state oversight process that killed an ASC rather than saved it to the federal government’s largest ASC antitrust action in history, here are five controversies that every operator should know. 1. The Oregon ASC that regulators couldn’t save …