November/December 2025 Issue of Becker’s ASC Review
ON THE COVER
The 2026 challenges keeping ASC leaders up at night
ASC leaders across the country say 2026 will bring escalating financial and operational pressure, from anesthesia provider shortages and stagnant reimbursement to rising supply costs and tightening payer contracts.
The trends demanding ASCs’ attention
In a Nov. 7 episode of Becker’s Spine and Orthopedic Podcast, Earl Kilbride, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Austin (Texas) Orthopedic Institute, discussed the issues shaping healthcare and ASCs in 2025.
Ascension’s $3.9B outpatient play
After achieving a $2.6 billion financial turnaround in two years and restructuring its hospital portfolio, St. Louis-based Ascension is pushing even further, lining up a bold bet on ambulatory surgery centers and making outpatient and value-based care central to its future strategy.
CMS adds 547 codes to ASC payable list
CMS will make significant changes to ASC and outpatient surgery reimbursement next year.
Big physician risks facing ASCs
Physician recruitment and retainment is a key issue for ASCs in the years ahead as the U.S. faces an anticipated shortage of physicians over the next decade.
AI use in ASCs
AI has become the center of many conversations among healthcare professionals looking to cut out inefficiencies and lessen administrative burdens for their practitioners.
How OrthoWest created a win-win payer partnership
Teaming up with Optum was an important aspect of getting outpatient orthopedics off the ground and soaring in recent years, Amar Patel, MD, a board member of OrthoWest, said.
The titans of physician M&A
A handful of major healthcare organizations are redrawing the physician landscape through aggressive acquisitions, vertical integration and high-stakes partnerships.
The unclear future of healthcare mergers
Health systems, physician groups and payers are merging into increasingly large and complex corporate structures, KFF Health News reported Nov. 10.
GI breakthroughs
Here are nine new studies, approvals, techniques and more than are advancing the gastroenterology industry, as reported by Becker’s since Aug. 22:
ASC MANAGEMENT
Why hospitals should see ASCs as opportunity, not revenue loss
Hospitals and health systems across the country are at an inflection point in their relationship with ASCs.
Optum to lay off 572 employees
UnitedHealth Group’s Optum, the parent company of ASC chain SCA Health, plans to lay off 572 employees in New Jersey.
CMS adds 547 codes to ASC payable list, bumps pay 2.6%: 5 notes
CMS will make significant changes to ASC and outpatient surgery reimbursement next year.
The biggest physician risks facing ASCs in 2026
Physician recruitment and retainment is a key issue for ASCs in the years ahead as the U.S. faces an anticipated shortage of physicians over the next decade.
The 2026 challenges keeping ASC leaders up at night
ASC leaders across the country say 2026 will bring escalating financial and operational pressure, from anesthesia provider shortages and stagnant reimbursement to rising supply costs and tightening payer contracts.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Building ‘excellence centers’: Dr. Manuj Agarwal on scaling high quality in ASCs
The Prostate Cancer Institute of America was founded in 2022 by Ajay Bhatnagar, MD, and has since grown into a national network collaborating with ASCs to deliver low-dose rate brachytherapy (also known as radioactive seed therapy) to patients.
The trends demanding ASCs’ attention
In a Nov. 7 episode of Becker’s Spine and Orthopedic Podcast, Earl Kilbride, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Austin (Texas) Orthopedic Institute, discussed the issues shaping healthcare and ASCs in 2025.
AI use in ASCs: Where are leaders seeing a difference?
AI has become the center of many conversations among healthcare professionals looking to cut out inefficiencies and lessen administrative burdens for their practitioners.
How ASCs can cut through the hype when seeking an AI vendor
AI holds major promise for healthcare — particularly for independent ASCs and physician practices whose smaller teams may face significant administrative and regulatory burdens in their day-to-day.
ORTHOPEDICS
How OrthoWest created a win-win payer partnership
Teaming up with Optum was an important aspect of getting outpatient orthopedics off the ground and soaring in recent years, Amar Patel, MD, a board member of OrthoWest, said.
Consolidation, ‘granular’ data crucial to orthopedics in 2026: Dr. Brian Cole
As healthcare costs rise and reimbursements lag behind, OrthoMidwest is doubling down on data-driven growth, Brian Cole, MD, said.
The nuances of ‘unnecessary’ spine surgery
The Lown Institute reported that spine surgeries deemed “unnecessary” have cost Medicare billions of dollars but the findings don’t show the full picture, some surgeons say.
Spine surgeons wait for ‘second bite’ in PE deals
A surge of private equity deals in the spine and orthopedic space during the last few years have yet to see solid payoff, some surgeons say.
The ‘perfect storm’ affecting orthopedics’ bottom line
Reimbursements in the orthopedic space have not kept up with rising inflation and operational costs, with surgeons, practices and organizations looking for changes.
GASTROENTROLOGY
The studies shaping GI’s future focus
In a viewpoint published Nov. 10 in Medscape, David Johnson, MD, chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, outlined four studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology 2025 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.
UC San Diego names inaugural liver disease chair
University of California in San Diego has appointed Rohit Loomba, MD, as the inaugural holder of the John C. Martin Endowed Chair in Liver Disease.
GI breakthroughs changing the industry
Here are nine new studies, approvals, techniques and more than are advancing the gastroenterology industry, as reported by Becker’s since Aug. 22:
TRANSACTIONS
The titans of physician M&A
A handful of major healthcare organizations are redrawing the physician landscape through aggressive acquisitions, vertical integration and high-stakes partnerships.
The venture-backed ASC operator where physicians call the shots
Los Angeles-based Commons Clinic is taking aim at healthcare consolidation with a venture-backed, physician-owned model that shifts surgeries to ASCs and lowers costs through bundled pricing.
How important is autonomy to independent physicians?
Sixty-five percent of self-employed physicians said autonomy was very important to them, according to Medscape’s Self-Employed Physicians Report published Nov. 11.
The unclear future of healthcare mergers
Health systems, physician groups and payers are merging into increasingly large and complex corporate structures, KFF Health News reported Nov. 10.
HEALTHCARE NEWS
How CFOs keep finance teams’ morale high in challenging times
Healthcare finance teams have faced no shortage of challenges in recent years. Becker’s asked three CFOs how they are working to bolster morale under difficult circumstances:
Strengthening CEO succession planning: 5 things to know
Without a clear succession plan, CEO exits can stall strategic initiatives, and this lack of preparedness is often felt throughout every layer of the organization, according to a Nov. 1 article from executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The rise of humble hospital C-suites
In an era of unprecedented turnover and mounting financial pressure, the most successful healthcare executives are discovering that leadership no longer begins, or ends, in the boardroom but instead lies with those who ask the best questions and learn from the frontlines.
‘We have to get ahead in the ambulatory business’: Ascension’s $3.9B outpatient play
After achieving a $2.6 billion financial turnaround in two years and restructuring its hospital portfolio, St. Louis-based Ascension is pushing even further, lining up a bold bet on ambulatory surgery centers and making outpatient and value-based care central to its future strategy.
