Becker's ASC Review

8 ASC MANAGEMENT What ending noncompetes would mean for surgery centers, physicians: 8 takeaways By Laura Dyrda P resident Joe Biden signed an executive order July 9 encouraging the Federal Trade Commission to limit or ban noncompete agreements. Eight takeaways for ASC executives: 1. e federal government estimated around half of private sector businesses have non- compete agreements as part of employee contracts for around 36 million to 60 million workers, including many physicians and healthcare workers. 2. Limiting or eliminating noncompete agree- ments would make it easier for physicians to leave hospital employment for ASC ownership in the same community. However, it would also increase competition between surgery centers to attract and retain top surgeons and staff because the centers wouldn't be able to enforce their own noncompete agreements. 3. e Biden administration hopes the ex- ecutive order will raise wages by promoting competition between employers. e execu- tive order says the noncompete agreements cost American households $5,000 per year by causing lower wages and less competition. 4. Lina Khan, FTC chair, has argued against noncompete agreements that reduce com- petition, according to NPR, making it likely she could move forward with the executive order's request. She wrote in a 2019 article that noncompete agreements may keep employees from changing jobs and reduce their bargaining power. 5. An FTC ban on noncompete agreements would benefit low-wage workers and high- skilled workers such as physicians and other healthcare professionals, Evan Starr, PhD, a University of Maryland economist, told NPR. In recent years, courts in Texas and Iowa have ruled in favor of ASCs when enforcing noncompete agreements that require physi- cians bring cases to one particular center. 6. Noncompete agreements protect employ- ers' trade secrets, including strategic plans and patient or client contact information lists. Without the noncompete agreements, former employees may be able to share that information with their new employers, Carson Sullivan, partner of employment law practice Paul Hastings, told Forbes. 7. e Biden administration also encouraged the FTC and DOJ to boost antitrust guidance that prevents employers from sharing infor- mation about pay and benefits to suppress wages. e Justice Department is investi- gating claims that large ASC companies colluded to suppress senior-level employee wages from 2010 to 2017. 8. e executive order could increase employee poaching between competitors, ac- cording to the Forbes article, including ASC companies, medical device companies and medical practices. It is common for mid-level and senior executives from these industries to exit one company for another. n Spine surgeon opening ASC in Florida in late 2021 By Alan Condon S pine surgeon Chukwuka Okafor, MD, is opening an ASC this year to capitalize on the accelerating trend of outpatient migration, The Ledger reported July 6. Four notes: 1. OSpine Surgical Center, a 5,000-square-foot facility with two operating rooms, will be behind the Spine Institute of Central Florida, which opened in 2010. 2. Dr. Okafor performs about 50 spine procedures at his office in Lakeland, Fla., and another 25 a month in the hos- pital setting, according to the report. 3. More than 10 percent of spine procedures were per- formed in an ASC in 2018, with 30 percent of procedures projected to be done at surgery centers by the mid-2020s, according to management consulting firm Bain & Co. 4. Dr. Okafor performs more complex spine surgeries at South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City and has privileges at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. n Kentucky surgeons leave hospital employment to open private practice, ASC By Patsy Newitt T wo orthopedic surgeons left their hospital em- ployment to establish the Louisville (Ky.) Hip & Knee Institute and build an ASC, according to an article written by the practice published June 24 in Louisville Business First. Joseph Greene, MD, and Jonathan Yerasimides, MD, founded the institute in January. They also operate Jeffersonville, Ind.-based Landmark Surgical Suites, a multimillion-dollar ASC. "I wanted to build something that improved and person- alized the patient experience outside of the big system setting," Dr. Greene said. Dr. Greene specializes in partial and total knee replacement, anterior hip replacement and revision joint replacement. Dr. Yerasimides specializes in primary and revision hip replacement. n

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