Medicare would have saved $194 million in 2018 if indirect billing for nurse practitioners and physician assistants were eliminated, but directly billing these providers would adversely affect small primary care practices, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs. 

Here are six hospitals that have opened or have plans to open ASCs that Becker's has reported on since June 2:

Here are eight studies for ASC leaders that Becker's has reported on since the beginning of May.

Trinity Health of New England's Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn., redirected a majority of patients who need outpatient surgery to its ASC on June 9 due to staffing shortages. 

Six things to know about physician assistant pay:

Florida is home to the third-most ASCs of any state in the nation, and it ranks 16th in ASCs per capita.

Leawood, Kan.-based ValueHealth, an ASC company focused on value-based surgical offerings, is gaining steam in 2022 with outpatient partnerships. 

Valentyna Glushenko, MD, and Arkady Glushenko, MD, a husband and wife physician duo, are running a front-line hospital in Slovyansk, Ukraine, The Washington Post reported June 11. 

Minas Kochumian, MD, paid $9.49 million to settle allegations that he submitted false claims to CMS and Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, for procedures and tests that were never performed, the Justice Department said June 10.

From physician influence to fear of COVID-19 infection, 17 ASC leaders joined Becker's to discuss what's drawing patients to ASCs over hospitals. 

Since April 1, CVS Health has let go of a subsidiary and requested a state bill be vetoed over concerns it would raise drug costs. 

UnitedHealth Group, parent company of ASC management company United Surgical Partners International, saw three lawsuits filed against it since April 1. 

Six federal healthcare updates Becker's has covered since May 27:

Eighty-five percent of providers cited cost as a drawback to hiring temporary physicians, according to AMN Healthcare's "2022 Survey of Locum Tenens."

About 70 percent of physicians think some version of a single-payer healthcare system is best for the U.S., according to Medscape's "Physicians' Views on Today's Divisive Social Issues Report 2022." 

About 66 percent of surgery centers are wholly owned by physicians, with the rest of the market owned solely or in collaboration with hospitals and corporations, according to a June report from Definitive Healthcare. 

Below are 17 stories Becker's has reported on in 2022 involving United Surgical Partners International, Surgery Partners and Surgical Care Affiliates.

Here are two recent updates from the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association:

With rising operation costs, nurse shortages and a push toward industry consolidation, independent physicians and ASCs are having a hard time staying independent. 

A large majority of physicians named healthcare access and substance abuse in their top five social issues, according to Medscape's "Physicians' Views on Today's Divisive Social Issues Report 2022."