The Archive
Every story we've published, searchable and filterable by desk and format.
June 2026
- The ASC Reimbursement Tracker
Medicare ASC rates for the procedures that drive center economics, straight from the CMS addenda — with the policy changes that move them.
- Where ASC payment actually stands in 2026 — and what's queued for 2027
A 2.6% update, 560 procedures added to the covered list, the inpatient-only list phasing out, and a payment-parity bill in the House: the CY2026 rule reset the board.
- Ascension closes AMSURG deal as FTC carves out seven centers — six go to Optum
The $3.9 billion acquisition closed June 4 under an FTC consent order requiring divestitures in five markets, with Optum's SCA Health buying six of the seven divested centers.
- Q1 splits the market: USPI adds facilities while HCA's outpatient surgeries slip
Tenet's ambulatory arm grew adjusted EBITDA 6.1% and added 10 facilities in the quarter; HCA's same-facility outpatient surgeries fell 1.7%.
- Total joints keep moving: Medicare TKA volume in ASCs rose 27.6% in 2024
MedPAC's March report counts 49,258 total knee replacements in ASCs in 2024 — up from roughly 10,800 in 2020, the year Medicare first covered the procedure there.
- Medicare ASC spending jumped 13% to $7.5B in 2024, MedPAC reports
The commission's March 2026 report counts 6,436 Medicare-certified ASCs — a net 140 more than 2023 — treating 3.4 million beneficiaries across 6.4 million services.
- CMS turns on prior authorization for ASC services in 10 states
A five-year Medicare demonstration now requires prior authorization for five service categories — including vein ablation and blepharoplasty — with claims subject to prepayment review if centers opt out.
- Payers are cutting prior auth — and pointing the freed-up volume at ASCs
UnitedHealthcare is eliminating authorization for 30% of services that required it; Anthem's Colorado plan now requires precertification for hospital-outpatient surgery while waiving it for ASCs.
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