The briefing

What changed in ambulatory surgery today — and why it matters.

A focused news and intelligence product for ASC operators, investors, and industry partners. Coverage centered on reimbursement, regulation, outpatient migration, specialty trends, and market moves.

The Board A working read on the sector. Updated with each briefing.

CY26 ASC update

+2.6% 3.3% MB − 0.7pp productivity
Medicare-certified ASCs

6,436 +2.2% in 2024 · MedPAC
FFS Medicare ASC spend

$7.5B +13.0% in 2024
ASC conversion factor

$56.32 vs $90.97 OPPS
CY27 proposed rule

~Jul expected · per annual cycle

Analysis Reimbursement · 13h ago

Where ASC payment actually stands in 2026 — and what's queued for 2027

The CY2026 final rule gave ASCs their broadest procedure-list expansion in years while holding the update at 2.6%. The CY2027 proposed rule — expected this summer — and a new House parity bill will decide whether the momentum compounds.

By ASC News staff · Staff reports

Illustrative · live charts arrive with Pro

Why it matters

Every line in your 2027 budget — rates, case mix, payer steering — traces back to decisions CMS finalized in this rule or queued for the next one.

Latest briefs

Brief 14h ago
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.

Why it matters: The two largest nonprofit-and-payer consolidators just got bigger in the same transaction — independent centers in overlap markets now negotiate against deeper networks on both sides.
Brief 14h ago
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%.

Why it matters: Surgical volume isn't disappearing — it's changing buildings. Where it lands is the whole game for operators, payers, and sellers weighing valuations.
Brief 14h ago
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.

Why it matters: Joint volume is the highest-revenue migration in the sector — capacity, block time, and payer contracting decisions made this year determine who captures it.
Brief 15h ago
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.

Why it matters: Spending growing four times faster than facility count means revenue per center is climbing — the strongest simple signal in the sector's favor.
Brief 15h ago
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.

Why it matters: Traditional Medicare has been the no-prior-auth refuge; this demonstration is the template for ending that, and affected centers need a request workflow now.

See all briefs →

Reimbursement Desk Edited by Brent Reilly

Payment, parity, and the long-running gap.

Open desk →

Tracker Updated 13h ago

The ASC Reimbursement Tracker

A standing reference: the CY2026 update, the conversion-factor gap, and national rates for the sector's marquee codes. Updated with our reimbursement coverage.

+2.6%CY2026 ASC payment update

$56.32ASC conversion factor

$90.97OPPS conversion factor

560procedures added to the CPL

Why it matters

Payment updates compound. Knowing which codes moved — and modeling them against your case mix — is the difference between a budget and a guess.

Analysis 13h ago
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.

By ASC News staff · 7 min
Brief 15h ago
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.

By ASC News staff · 3 min

Deals & Markets Edited by Brent Reilly

Who's buying. What it costs. Who's next.

Open desk →

Date	Transaction	Specialty	Geo	Value
Jun 04	Ascension closes AMSURG acquisition; FTC requires 7-center divestiture	Multi	National	~$3.9B
Jun 02	Optum's SCA Health acquires six AMSURG centers in FTC-ordered divestiture	Multi	TN, FL, OK, TX, KS	$ —
Mar 04	Surgery Partners enters dialysis access with 8-center Preferred Vascular buy	Vasc	GA, OH	$ —
Jan 21	NueHealth adds four ASC management partnerships, including a Platte City de novo	Multi	NJ, MO	$ —
Jan 01	Penn State Health takes full ownership of Surgery Center of Lancaster	Multi	PA	$ —

5 transactions tracked · Full deal tracker in Pro →

Specialty Desks Volume, payment, and migration signals

Where the cases are going.

All specialties →

Ortho

49,258 Medicare TKAs in 2024

+27.6% TKA volume YoY · MedPAC

1,208 centers · 21% of ASCs

21.7% share of ASC volume, top 3 codes

Ophthalmology

Cataract = 18% of all ASC volume

−0.2pp share vs 2019

Pain

808 centers · 14% of ASCs

+20.9% pain+ortho centers YoY

Cardiology

Ablation joins ASC list in 2026

+6.3% cardiology centers YoY

Spine

Lam/decompression revenue

13× vs 2019 · MedPAC

ASC News Pro · Tools & Calendar Operator-grade reference tools

The trackers the sector runs on.

See all tools →

Tracker

2026 Reimbursement Tracker

SpecialtyCPTCY2026

Ophthal 66984 $1,255.73

GI 45378 $510.49

Joints 27447 $9,393.16

Ortho 29827 $3,695.53

National unadjusted · CMS Addendum AA

Calendar

2026 ASC Policy Calendar

Jul 15CY2027 OPPS/ASC proposed rule (expected)
Sep 03MedPAC public meeting
Oct 08MedPAC public meeting
Nov 05MedPAC public meeting

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