November/December 2025 • Vol. 2025 No. 9
Ascension's $3.9B
outpatient play
After achieving a $2.6 billion financial
turnaround in two years and restructuring
its hospital portfolio, St. Louis-based
Ascension is pushing even further, lining
up a bold bet on ambulatory surgery
centers and making outpatient and value-
based care central to its future strategy.
CMS adds 547 codes to
ASC payable list
CMS will make significant changes to ASC
and outpatient surgery reimbursement
next year.
continued on page 23 continued on page 6
continued on page 9
The big trends for ASCS
heading into 2026
In a Nov. 7 episode of Becker's Spine and Orthopedic Podcast,
Earl Kilbride, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Austin (Texas)
Orthopedic Institute, discussed the issues shaping healthcare
and ASCs in 2025.
25+
STORIES INSIDE
The 2026 challenges keeping ASC leaders up at night p. 7
16TH ANNUAL MEETING
April 13 - 16, 2026
Hyatt Regency // Chicago, IL
SAVE THE DATE
IN THIS ISSUE:
Big physician risks
facing ASCs
p. 6
AI use in ASCs
p. 10
How OrthoWest
created a win-win
payer partnership
p. 12
The titans of
physician M&A
p. 18
The unclear future
of healthcare
mergers
p. 20
GI breakthroughs
p. 17
