“When the wage increase was implemented, it seemed like it would primarily affect large groups,” Pradnya Mitroo, MD, president of Fresno (Calif.) Digestive Health, told Becker’s. “But that’s not really true — it impacts smaller groups like ours as well because we have to compete for staff. Even though we’re a smaller practice, we’ve still had to raise all our salaries.”
At the same time, physicians are facing financial pressures from reimbursement cuts. While practice costs continue to soar, the 2025 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System has set the physician fee schedule conversion factor for 2025 at $32.35, down from $33.29 in 2024.
To adapt, Dr. Mitroo and her team have embraced a “hybrid” model at an ASC by partnering with private equity-backed AmSurg and local hospitals.
“Since insurance companies haven’t increased reimbursements to match those rising costs, partnering with a hospital became the best way to sustain our ability to hire staff, provide quality care and receive fair reimbursement,” Dr. Mitroo told Becker’s.
This collaboration offers higher reimbursement rates than an independent ASC while keeping costs lower for patients compared to full hospital settings.
“It’s an in-between model — higher reimbursement than our original ASC, but not as expensive for patients as a hospital setting,” she said.
Dr. Mitroo and her team are also looking into different staffing models, including implementing kiosks at their front desk to reduce staffing needs.
“We would still have some front-desk support, mainly for tasks like checking eligibility, but patients could check in using the kiosks,” she said.
Additionally, AI-powered tools are being explored to streamline patient scheduling and prescreening. Specifically, AI solutions for colonoscopy patient screening could enable direct scheduling, reducing the need for additional administrative staff.
