Becker's ASC Review

34 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP What would it take to sell your ASC? Owners weigh in By Marcus Robertson I ndependent, physician-owned ASCs seem to get bought out more and more often by private equity, health systems and big ASC chains. Becker's ASC Review spoke with four ASC owners about what it would take to convince them to sell. Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and brevity. Ali Sadrieh, DPM. Founder and owner of Evo Advanced Foot Surgery (Los Angeles): I would never sell, because nobody gets it. And I think there's a moral obligation for ev- ery doctor not to sell. I don't care what the brand is, none of these companies get it. At the end of the day, they're driven by spreadsheets. Why is it okay to treat patients with spread- sheets? This isn't a retail operation. No practice should be. Private equity doesn't understand excellence in quality. That's why private equity is broken. I'll sell my equipment to companies, but I'm not going to sell [my practice] to an institution or a brand. Eugene Cherny, MD. Owner of Heartland Plastic Sur- gery (Des Moines, Iowa): My ASC was gained at great time and cost because this is a wretched certificate of need state. I would certainly sell to the highest bidder. At the mo- ment, we are keeping it in my practice because the ASC gives incredible added value to the practice. This is a time when venture capital is getting interested in aesthetic prac- tices as well. We foresee only future growth in value of an ASC, especially in CON states. Dave Demangone, MD. Owner of Willoughby (Ohio) Surgery Center: I built and own my building, so the price would be the value of my professional practice, the ASC business, and the real estate value of the building. I'd ask the same amount no matter the buyer, although the price may fluctuate pending on whatever else the buyer offered as part of the deal. Avi Bhandary, MD. Founder and Owner of Mana Spine (Orlando, Fla.): Private equity would be my preference. A sale would be largely contingent on the iterative process of the parent company, operational acumen, and taking on a role that leans toward value creation rather than that of captured value. n Reimbursement for total joints, spine and big ENT cases to go up, ASC admin says By Marcus Robertson C ori Prisco, DNP, RN, administrator at Fort Lee, N.J.- based Hudson Crossing Surgery Center, joined "Becker's Ambulatory Surgery Centers Podcast" to discuss ASC payer trends in the near future. Question: How do you see some of the payer trends and contracting changing in the next few years? Dr. Cori Prisco: I see us being able to use the data we have to show the payers that this just makes sense. We provide value, we provide efficiency. A lot more procedures are go- ing to be brought to the outpatient setting than we've ever seen before, because we're able to contain costs, and pay- ers are going to see that. We're going to be able to negotiate better rates for some of these larger procedures, like the total joints, bigger ENT cases and spine cases. Centers that aren't doing these cases are looking to expand their programs because the payers are starting to pay for them, and they're starting to pay well for them. At the same time, we have to make sure we're verifying benefits and making sure this new technology is all go- ing to be covered so we can still contain costs. And then I think we're seeing more employer direct healthcare plans emerging. So I think individually, surgery centers are going to be negotiating directly with more of these plans. n

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