Becker's ASC Review

14 ASC MANAGEMENT 3 HCA Healthcare leaders to know By Patsy Newitt H ere are three major leaders to know from Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, pulled from the company's website: Sam Hazen. CEO of HCA Healthcare. Mr. Hazen was named CEO of HCA Healthcare in 2019 after working for the company for 39 years. From 2016 to 2019, he served as president and COO, and from 2011 to 2015, he served in various senior positions, including president of operations. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Federation of American Hospitals and the HCA Healthcare Foundation. William Rutherford. Executive Vice President and CFO. Mr. Rutherford is responsible for the company's treasury department, office of the controller, information technology, government programs, development, investor relations, Parallon and HealthTrust Purchasing Group. He has served at HCA Healthcare for 33 years, formerly as director of operations support, CFO of the outpatient services group and CFO for the Georgia division, among other positions. Jennifer Berres. Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Berres leads a team of more than 1,600 HR professionals and is in charge of talent acquisition, leadership development, compensation benefits, labor and employee relations, and more. She joined HCA in 1993, and has served as the vice president of HR business partners and the vice president of talent management, among other roles. n Where ASC consolidation is headed By Riz Hatton P rashanth Bala, vice president of ASC operations at Shields Health in Quincy, Mass., spoke with Becker's to discuss the trajectory of ASC consolidation. Editor's note: is piece was edited lightly for brevity and clarity. Question: How do you see consolidation evolving? Prashanth Bala: Consolidation is an interesting question. Here in Massachusetts, we have seen private equity start to move into the orthopedic space. We've also seen it move into the vascular space. With it being such a small state, that has resounding impacts. So we're seeing how that's playing out now. I think only time will tell how much of a true impact private equity will have on care delivery or the access to care that such funds are able to help bring to the community. We're really optimistic that, even despite that, our partnerships are strong. at's our opportunity to continue to work with our partners to maximize our ability to transform healthcare and also provide that care for our communities. We're really excited about where we are and what we're doing in that space. Q: Can you talk more about the shift of orthopedics and cardiovascular into ASCs? PB: Office-based labs are starting to grow in Massachusetts and that's prevalent around the country. We're also looking at the office-based lab ASC hybrid space in Massachusetts and New England in general. at's probably the next foray that most organizations are going to have to start to look at if they aren't already. What's aer your bread and butter? Orthopedics is our bread and butter. We have other specialties within our mix as well within our multispecialty surgery centers. But I think the future really has those higher acuity cases that have predominantly been hospital procedures now coming to the outpatient setting, vascular surgeons and some cardiologists are just perfect for. So creating those opportunities — especially if their employment is such that they can take those cases to where they can, such as an ASC — does great things for the community, great things for the patients, and ultimately, for healthcare in general. n 3 pieces of legislation ASC leaders should know By Claire Wallace T he American Medical Association is involved in lobbying and advocacy efforts for legislation involving Medicare, physician's practices and more, according to an Oct. 4 report from the organization. Three pieces of legislation ASC leaders should know: 1. House bill 8800: This bill, sponsored by Reps. Ami Bera, MD, and Larry Bucshon, MD, aims to stop the scheduled 4.42 percent cut to the Medicare physician pay rate. 2. House bill 3173: This bill, which would reform prior authorization for Medicare Advantage plans, passed in the House. A companion bill now has 43 co-sponsors. 3. The Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act: This bill aims to extend telehealth flexibilities currently made possible under the COVID-19 public health emergency. It would extend flexibility in telehealth rules through Dec. 31, 2024. n

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