18
Thought Leadership
Consumerism, labor costs & more: The biggest
disrupters to the ASC industry
By Alan Condon
R
ising consumerism, outpatient migra-
tion and increased labor costs are add-
ing to the challenges the ASC industry
continues to face amid the pandemic.
ree surgery center executives spoke with
Becker's about the biggest disrupters facing
the ASC industry in their markets.
Editor's Note: Responses were lightly edited for
style and clarity.
Question: What outside force do
you see as the biggest disrupter of
the ASC industry?
Andre Blom. CEO, Illinois Bone & Joint
Institute (Des Plaines): We believe that the
single biggest disrupter in the ASC will be
the patient. As pricing and arbitrage becomes
more transparent, it will become a more
engaging component of patient choice in care
plan design when it comes to their health
coverage. We are at the beginning of the
"shopping" era — where it used to be just pa-
tient feedback and more subjective informa-
tion, the shi in site of service will be driven
more by what is available to the patient from
a price, outcome and safety standpoint.
COVID-19 absolutely affected patient choice
when it comes to surgeries on the elective
side of the spectrum. We need to all pay
attention to how and why patients are part-
nering with these decisions. Network options
will have to be designed in a manner that
encapsulates all the needs of the patient —
inclusive of financial awareness.
Mark Mineo. Director, Millard Fillmore
Surgery Center (Williamsville, N.Y.): e
outside force that has been the biggest dis-
ruption has been the federal stimulus and the
weekly increase to unemployment benefits.
It is hard to not only hire but retain positions
and people when their salaries are close to or
are superseded by unemployment, plus the
stimulus. is drove up the cost of these posi-
tions, which, in the past, tended to be lower-
cost labor. Now positions that are licensed
and/or certified are making only a few dollars
more than [janitorial and sterile processing
department] positions that require minimal
or no education. As the market continues
down this road, it seems that more individu-
als are jumping around where more money
is offered. is causes both instability and,
again, more increase in costs.
Zachary Welch. Administrator, Wake
Orthopaedics (Raleigh, N.C.): e contin-
ued expansion of procedures that will move
from inpatient only to the ASC environment
will continue to force ASCs to remain inno-
vative and capable of taking on these services.
Continued advancements in anesthesia,
pain management and postoperative care
have positively reinforced the shi of cases
that were previously viewed as only possible
within the four walls of a hospital. n
Physician vs. healthcare CEO pay: 5 notes
By Laura Dyrda
H
ealthcare executives and surgeons are often cited
as the highest paid people in healthcare, but how
do their salaries compare?
Five notes:
1. Medscape reported the average compensation for pri-
mary care physicians was $242,000 in 2021, and average
pay for specialists was $344,000. Plastic surgeons reported
the highest average compensation at $526,000 while
orthopedic surgeons followed at $511,000.
2. Physician pay was up slightly year over year for pri-
mary care physicians but dropped by $2,000 for special-
ists, according to the Medscape report. ENT physicians
experienced the biggest pay drop, at 9 percent, from
2019 to 2020. Orthopedic surgeons, family medicine
physicians and infectious disease specialists all reported
flat pay, while plastic surgeons had a 10 percent jump
in compensation.
3. Physicians operating their own practices also earned
higher compensation on average than hospital employees.
Self-employed physicians reported $352,000 on
average, compared with $300,000 for hospital-em-
ployed physicians.
4. By comparison, healthcare CEO total compensation hit
$15.5 million in 2020, according to the AFL-CIO's annual
executive compensation report, the most recent data avail-
able. The highest paid health system executive was Samuel
Hazen, CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare,
who reported $30.4 million in annual pay. Ronald Rit-
tenmayer, CEO of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, earned
$16.7 million and Alan Miller, CEO of King of Prussia, Pa.-
based Universal Health Services, received $13.2 million.
5. Individual hospital CEO salaries are harder to pin down.
However, a 2019 Dignity Healthcare report showed the av-
erage compensation for hospital CEOs with annual revenue
below $50 million was $274,300 while top executives at
hospitals with annual revenue above $1 billion make $1.4
million on average.
