Certificate-of-need laws, which regulate the development of healthcare facilities, have been the subject of controversy in some states where healthcare leaders and legislators view them as stifling competition in the healthcare sector. 

An Elevance-backed healthcare company based in Puerto Rico — MMM Holdings — has agreed to pay more than $15 million to resolve allegations that it violated kickback laws through a gift card incentive program intended to induce Medicare enrollments.

Becker's has reported on three physician fraud cases since Dec. 16. 

From gold card programs to reimbursement cuts, physicians across several specialties have clashed with payers over 2024 due to major policy changes. 

Here is a state-by-state breakdown of seven ASC closures Becker's reported on in 2024:

A family medicine physician in Three Rivers, Mass., will pay $220,000 to settle allegations he prescribed controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice.

Two Arizona residents have pleaded guilty to defrauding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona's Medicaid agency, through their behavioral health clinic. 

On Dec. 21, President Joe Biden signed a spending bill to keep the federal government operating into 2025, leaving the planned 2.83% across-the-board Medicare physician payment cut untouched. 

ConnectOnCall, a Delaware-based subsidiary of healthcare software company Phreesia, has suffered a data breach affecting up to 914,138 individuals. 

SCA Health's Permineter Surgery Center in Atlanta closed Dec. 20, according to a notice on SCA Health's website. 

Russel, Pa.-based Pine Grove Ambulatory Surgery Center unexpectedly closed Dec. 19, according to a statement on its Facebook page. 

A former Huntsville, Ala., family physician and her wife were sentenced in federal court for drug crimes, healthcare fraud and COVID-19 disaster relief fraud Dec. 18, WHNT reported Dec. 19. 

Cyberattacks and data breaches have become increasingly common across the healthcare sector, a trend that is likely to continue into 2025.

Physicians are protesting the planned closure of Sharon (Pa.) Regional Medical Center, according to a Dec. 17 report from WKBN.

Fairfax, Va.-based Inova Northern Virginia Surgery Center has agreed to pay $50,000 to resolve a lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which claimed the ASCillegally fired an employee because of her disability and age. 

Around 54% of U.S. residents state that they are "comfortable and prepared to support" President-elect Donald Trump when he is inaugurated in January, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey.

Bankruptcies in healthcare hit a five-year high in 2023, when 12 hospitals and health systems filed for bankruptcy. This trend has slowed in 2024, as average operating margins have improved across the hospital sector. 

As Tenet Healthcare Corp. braces for 2025, outpatient investments, including ASCs, will likely be key drivers of the company's financial success in the new year. 

Kevin Do, MD, a physician in Pasadena, Calif., agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the California workers' compensation fund of more than $3 million.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for HSS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has begun meeting with Republican senators on Capitol Hill ahead of his confirmation hearing, according to a Dec. 16 report from NBC News.