Legal/Regulatory Issues Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) CEO Bill Prentice last week submitted comments in response to CMS’ 2027 Inpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule. In particular, Mr. Prentice provided feedback on a request for information regarding the inclusion of ASCs in the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) or “other similar episode-based…
No state in the union has fewer ASCs than Vermont does, at just two. But it appears that it will soon gain a third. According to reporting by Vermont Public, regulators at the Green Mountain Care Board have unanimously greenlit planned multispecialty ASC Upper Valley Surgery Center in Hartford, which…
Ascension announced that it has “received approval” from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to move forward with its acquisition of AMSURG’s ASC business. “This regulatory milestone is a significant step toward our expected official closing in the near future,” stated the nonprofit health system, which anticipates adding more than 250 ASCs…
Maryland has become the 21st U.S. state to require the use of surgical smoke evacuation systems in its ORs. On May 26, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed House Bill 1087 into law. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2028. The law requires all healthcare facilities in Maryland that perform surgical procedures…
According to Triangle Business Journal (link; subscription required), North Carolina lawmakers are advancing legislation to “roll back” parts of the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) law. Senate Bill 1040 (read the full text here) cleared the N.C. Senate Health Committee earlier this month and now heads to the Senate Appropriations/Base…
Insurance Business reports that Allstate has sued Florida Orthopedics and Neurosurgery, which does business as University Orthopedic Care, along with its two owners, “under federal racketeering law, accusing it of running a kickback-driven billing scheme that cost the insurer millions.” In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the…
The Surgery Center of Southern Oregon (SCSO) in Medford will close on June 30 after nearly three decades of operation. KOBI-TV, which broke the story last week, reported that the closing will cause the loss of 84 jobs. Local health system Asante partly owned SCSO and had worked since October…
The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) has published an analysis of Medicare claims from KNG Health Consulting that projects that ASCs will save Medicare $84.8 billion from 2025 to 2034. Previously, stated ASCA, KNG used Medicare claims to determine that ASCs saved Medicare $43.2 billion between 2015 and 2024, and…
People magazine last week reported on a husband’s reaction to his wife’s death at a surgery center. The outlet writes that a 48-year-old woman underwent a 10-hour surgery at a plastic surgery center. She stopped breathing the next day, was revived with CPR, but was pronounced brain-dead. The patient had…
Oregon health system Asante, which last year closed a community hospital citing financial difficulties, is seeking to “dodge state review” of a surgery center purchase, according to The Lund Report, which covers health news in Oregon and Washington. The outlet reports that Asante “quietly asked the state for permission to…
