What We’re Watching
“It's an exhilarating time to be in the ASC space. I wouldn't work in any other. It's great to see physicians regaining and maintaining their autonomy and independence, which they often achieve when they have shares in an ASC and guaranteed block time.”
Good morning! This week is about the money hiding in plain sight. Our new checklist shows how top ASCs prevent 86% of claim denials by scoring claims for risk before they ever reach a payer. Our latest guide is a conversation with Janet Carlson, an operator who built centers from scratch and ran one that made Newsweek's best-of list, on what she wishes she knew about revenue cycle timing, credentialing, and where AI actually helps. She also settles a question most operators get wrong: when should you really start designing your revenue cycle strategy? Add in fresh CMS rules pushing more volume toward ASCs, a surprise-billing loophole paying surgical assistants $22,000 an hour, and two deals worth watching. Let's get into it.
This Week's Reads
The articles published this week on exactrx.ai dig into what that means operationally, and what it looks like when payers get there first. This week we have two new articles, one on stopping denials before they start, one on building a center the right way.
Deals Tracker
As a UC San Diego graduate, this one hit close to home. The two systems finalized a partnership to stabilize and improve patient care across North San Diego County. It went into effect July 1, 2026.
US Heart & Vascular added two Atlanta-area cardiology practices, Cardiology of Atlanta and Cardiovascular Clinic of North Georgia, strengthening its independent network with advanced imaging, value-based care, and clinical research.
What to Watch Next
CMS just proposed how it will pay hospital outpatient departments and ASCs in 2027, and the direction favors lower-cost settings. The comment period is open, so operators still have a window to weigh in before the rates lock.
A law meant to end surprise medical billing has instead handed some surgical assistants enormous paydays, in cases earning far more than the surgeons they assist. It is a sharp reminder that payment policy and real-world billing rarely move in step, and the space between them is where the money goes.
Upcoming Events
Are you going to ASC News’s Investment and Operations Conference in Denver this week? If you are, let us know! We’d love to buy you a cup of coffee.
PRO-TIP ON RCM AT SURGERY CENTERS:
“If the surgeon books the surgery at the clinic site, your revenue cycle partner should start working that CPT code on the back end the minute it's scheduled, so you can anticipate any pushback.”
What are you seeing on the ground? Whether it is a denial pattern, a payer behavior, or a cost that keeps showing up in the wrong place, hit reply. We read everything.
This newsletter goes out to a focused group of operators, finance leaders, and revenue cycle professionals working in ambulatory and outpatient settings. If someone forwarded this to you and it felt relevant, it probably was.