Six Emerging Trends Shaping ASC Performance

Here's what to expect on this week's episode. 🎙️ We’re kicking off a short series called Trust the Data by sharing an excerpt from a recent webinar we hosted for our referral partners. During the presentation, Ryan walks through findings from HST’s most recent State of the ASC Industry Report. The report brings together three years of benchmarking data from 682 surgery centers across 45 states and nearly 4.8 million cases. The presentation explores six emerging trends shaping ASC performance, including uneven revenue cycle improvement, underused operating room capacity, patient collection leakage, gaps in accounts receivable follow-up, the efficiency of smaller centers, and the impact of specialty mix on growth and profitability. After the presentation, Ryan covers CMS’s proposed 2.4% average ASC payment update for 2027 and explains why high-volume procedures could still receive lower reimbursement. He also looks at congressional proposals that could bring new price transparency requirements directly to surgery centers. The episode closes with the uplifting story of three young heart transplant patients whose friendship helped carry them through nearly yearlong hospital stays. Resources Mentioned: 2026 State of the ASC Industry Report: https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report/ ASCA Analysis of the 2027 Proposed Payment Rule: https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/news-and-publications/news/2026/2027-proposed-payment-rule ASC Price Transparency Coverage: https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-news/senate-committee-advances-price-transparency-bill/ Patients Deserve Price Tags Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2355/text House Energy and Commerce Committee Announcement: https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/the-house-committee-on-energy-and-commerce-advances-17-bills-to-the-full-house-of-representatives The Power of Friendship Helps Three Young Patients Through Heart Transplants: https://www.aha.org/tellingthehospitalstory/stories/power-friendship-helps-three-young-texas-childrens-hospital-patients-through-heart-transplants Brought to you by HST Pathways.