Radar
Every weekday we sweep five desks against primary sources. Here's what we checked, what's on the radar but not yet a story, and the dates ahead — so a quiet news day reads as diligence, not a gap.
5 desks checked over a 1 day window — Policy, Reimbursement, Deals, Specialties, Data.
- 0 stories published
- 0 calendar updates
- 0 tracker changes
No new story cleared the bar this sweep — a correct outcome. We don't manufacture news; we publish only when a primary source shows ASC economics moving.
On the radar
Tracked, not yet a story — each anchored to a primary source.-
What exactly UnitedHealthcare eliminated for GI endoscopy
UnitedHealthcare's own notice describes ending advance notification and site-of-service review, and names no procedure codes. A gastroenterology society release describes the elimination of prior authorization for five specific CPT codes. Those are different instruments, and ASC News reports only what the payer's notice states until the difference is resolved. No second UHC notice has appeared.
Advance notification and prior authorization carry materially different consequences for a scheduling office.
Primary source ↗ -
CMS-3484 — Conditions for Coverage deregulation proposed rule
The HHS regulatory agenda published 2026-08-14 projected this proposed rule for August 2026 without naming a day. August has passed and no CMS proposed rule has published. Conditions for Coverage is the instrument that governs ASCs, but the agenda entry does not name them and no rule text exists.
Nothing is proposed until the rule publishes.
Primary source ↗ -
CY2027 OPPS/ASC final rule
The comment period on the proposed rule closed 2026-08-31. The final rule that sets effective CY2027 ASC rates follows the annual cycle, typically in November; CMS has not published a projected final-action date, so that expectation rests on the cycle rather than on an announced date.
Proposed CY2027 figures are not effective rates and stay out of the reimbursement tracker.
Primary source ↗ -
H.R.8091 / S.4963 — Outpatient Surgery Access Act of 2026
No new action verified this window. Both bills were last re-verified static from the official bill-status record as of 2026-09-14: the House bill has had no action since its 2026-03-25 committee referral, and the Senate companion has sat in Finance since 2026-07-14.
Would tie the ASC annual update to the hospital outpatient factor — directly ASC-economic if it ever moves.
Primary source ↗ -
CMS quarterly ASC rate files — July 2026 update stands
The July 2026 approved-code and payment-rate file remains the most recent posted; no October 2026 file has appeared yet. The page that hosts these files has answered inconsistently across recent checks. The annual CY2026 update factor is unchanged.
A new quarterly file would move this note, not the annual update factor.
Primary source ↗ -
USPI facility count turned down
Tenet reported 541 ASC interests at 2026-03-31 and 538 at 2026-06-30 in its own quarterly earnings exhibits, and neither release explains the change. Watching the Q3 release.
Three fewer interests is small, but the direction is new for the largest ambulatory platform.
Primary source ↗ -
Anthem out-of-network facility penalty — California expansion
Reported in trade press to expand to California, but the primary Anthem policy document still lists only the original 11 states. Holding until a primary California notice or court order appears.
California Hospital Association v. Anthem (LA County Superior Court) bears on enforceability.
Primary source ↗
Dates ahead
Verified dated items the sweep is tracking. Full calendar →- Sep21 Policy DOJ v. OhioHealth — Tunney Act comment deadline
- Oct01 Reimb. UnitedHealthcare ends GI endoscopy advance notification
- Oct01 Reimb. Aetna Market Fee Schedule update — IL, IN, MO
- Oct01 Policy Connecticut PA 26-68 — first CON sections effective
- Oct08 Event MedPAC public meeting
- Oct14 Event NASS 41st Annual Meeting · San Antonio
- Oct29 Event Becker's 32nd Annual ASC · Chicago
- Nov05 Event MedPAC public meeting
- Nov15 Policy CY2027 OPPS/ASC final rule (expected)
- Dec10 Event MedPAC public meeting
- Jan14 Event MedPAC public meeting
- Mar04 Event MedPAC public meeting
- Mar31 Event ASCA 2027 · Orlando, FL
- Apr08 Event MedPAC public meeting
- Jul01 Policy Connecticut PA 26-68 — full CON process effective
- Jan01 Policy Medicare Inpatient-Only list fully eliminated
Recent sweeps
35 sweeps on record.- Tue, Sep 15 Swept — no new stories. 5 desks checked.
- Mon, Sep 14 Swept — no new stories. 5 desks checked.
- Fri, Sep 11 2 stories published UnitedHealthcare ends GI site-of-service review Oct. 1 — the friction it drops sat on hospitals, not ASCs ·MedPAC will test how new ASCs change outpatient surgical volume
- Fri, Aug 14 1 story published Year two of the inpatient-only phase-out proposes 637 more services — and skips musculoskeletal
- Thu, Aug 13 Swept — no new stories. 5 desks checked.
- Wed, Aug 12 Swept — no new stories. 5 desks checked.
- Tue, Aug 11 1 story published USPI's surgical cases fell 1.2% in Q2. HCA's outpatient surgeries fell 3.4%. Price carried both.
- Mon, Aug 10 1 story published Surgery Partners' same-facility cases grew 0.3% in Q2. Price did the rest.
- Mon, Jul 27 1 story published DOJ's proposed OhioHealth judgment voids the contract clauses that block steering to ASCs
- Fri, Jul 24 1 story published Surgery Partners agrees to sell its Idaho Falls hospitals to Intermountain for ~$795M