Here are the CEO and CFOs of the five biggest ASC chains:

Heather Cianfrocco, CEO of Optum, was named on Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" list.

Private practice physicians are facing mounting challenges threatening financial stability and ability to provide care. 

The former CEO of a hospital in Rockdale, Texas, has agreed to pay more than $5.3 million to resolve allegations of paying kickbacks to physicians for laboratory referrals. 

San Diego-based lab company Precision Toxicology, operating as Precision Diagnostics, agreed to pay $27 million to resolve allegations it submitted false claims for medically unnecessary urine drug tests and provided free items to physicians who referred expensive laboratory testing business to them. 

ASC leaders agree that effective leadership goes beyond managing operations, and it requires continuous learning and adaptation to stay ahead in the dynamic industry.

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare is the parent company of United Surgical Partners International, the country's largest ASC chain. 

In a new ranking, Wallethub named Carmel, Ind., the best small city to live in for its low unemployment rate, low rent costs and high median annual household income, among other factors. 

Hoang Ho, MD, will be closing her private practice in Allen, Texas, and joining the Baylor Scott & White Family Medicine Clinic, according to a notice on the practice's website.

 From commercial payers to physician organizations, six physician leaders joined Becker's to discuss the healthcare power players they are watching. 

 Physician autonomy has become a core concern as the workforce faces growing consolidation, with large healthcare systems, corporate entities and insurance companies increasingly influencing clinical decision-making and operational practices.

The nature of the Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) is to provide efficient, high-quality  surgical care while promoting financial sustainability.

Here are three key disruptors that are making physicians nervous:

As physician practices and ASCs face rising costs and declining reimbursements, many are forced to shutter — Becker's has reported on five ASC closures so far in 2024. 

The ASC industry is historically fragmented, but slowly consolidating as practice costs soar. 

Family medicine physician Gustaco Villarreal, MD, will close his practice in Laredo, Texas, on Nov. 1, Laredo Morning Times reported Sept. 20. 

Five ASC leaders joined Becker's to discuss the future of ASCs. 

From site-neutral payment reform to consolidation, four ASC leaders joined Becker's to discuss the market trends shaping the ASC industry. 

OptumCare, based in Basking Ridge, N.J., is set to lay off 160 employees, according to a WARN notice posted on the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development website. 

Hospitals continue to look to ASCs for growth opportunities as they face mounting financial pressures and struggle to maintain operating margins."