Hospitals, insurers and employers looking to thrive in the competitive healthcare landscape are eyeing surgery centers and urgent care centers as a means to provide quality care at a reduced cost, according to Fox Business.
Here are five things to know:
1. Many hospital operators are investing in ASCs as hospital demand drops. American Hospital Association data shows Tenet Healthcare's hospital admission has either remained stagnant or dropped between 1 percent and 3 percent for the majority of quarters since late 2015.
2. RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Frank Morgan, a hospital analyst, told Fox Business ASC investments prove to be an essential strategy to appeal to patients, who are looking for lower cost options.
3. UC Berkeley researchers found employees and retirees with California Public Employees' Retirement System insurance paid between $2,500 and $5,000 less when having cataract surgery and knee arthroscopies at ASCs as opposed to hospitals.
4. Hospital Corporation of America Chairman and Chief Executive Milton Johnson said the company plans to open 120 freestanding urgent care centers by the end of 2017. This figure is a 40 percent increase in new facilities since 2015.
5. Over the past five years, HCA's market share in Nashville increased from 32 percent to 35 percent. HCA added three ASCs, four freestanding emergency rooms and 10 urgent care centers during that time.