ASC NewsPolicy, payment, and market intelligence for ambulatory surgery centers.https://asc.news/en-usThe ASC Reimbursement Trackerhttps://asc.news/article/reimbursement-tracker/https://asc.news/article/reimbursement-tracker/Medicare ASC rates for the procedures that drive center economics, straight from the CMS addenda — with the policy changes that move them.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMTWhere ASC payment actually stands in 2026 — and what's queued for 2027https://asc.news/article/asc-payment-2026-state-of-play/https://asc.news/article/asc-payment-2026-state-of-play/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.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:30:00 GMTAscension closes AMSURG deal as FTC carves out seven centers — six go to Optumhttps://asc.news/article/ascension-amsurg-close/https://asc.news/article/ascension-amsurg-close/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.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:00:00 GMTQ1 splits the market: USPI adds facilities while HCA's outpatient surgeries sliphttps://asc.news/article/q1-2026-surgical-volumes/https://asc.news/article/q1-2026-surgical-volumes/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%.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:45:00 GMTTotal joints keep moving: Medicare TKA volume in ASCs rose 27.6% in 2024https://asc.news/article/medicare-total-joints-asc-2024/https://asc.news/article/medicare-total-joints-asc-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.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:30:00 GMTMedicare ASC spending jumped 13% to $7.5B in 2024, MedPAC reportshttps://asc.news/article/medpac-2024-asc-spending/https://asc.news/article/medpac-2024-asc-spending/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.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:15:00 GMTCMS turns on prior authorization for ASC services in 10 stateshttps://asc.news/article/cms-asc-prior-auth-demo/https://asc.news/article/cms-asc-prior-auth-demo/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.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMTPayers are cutting prior auth — and pointing the freed-up volume at ASCshttps://asc.news/article/payers-prior-auth-site-of-care-2026/https://asc.news/article/payers-prior-auth-site-of-care-2026/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.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 09:45:00 GMT