New York City-based Gramercy Surgery Center's CEO Austin Cheng has lost his bid to be put forth as the party's nominee in a special election runoff to replace unseated representative George Santos, according to a Dec. 7 report from CNN.

President Joe Biden's administration has been critical of noncompetes, particularly in healthcare, and some states have taken action to ban them. However, policy changes at the federal level haven't been enacted yet.

Artificial intelligence exploded in healthcare over the last 12 months, and surgery center leaders are watching its impact closely. Will AI make surgery centers more efficient or too complex?

The labor market tightened over the last year and surgery center leaders are keeping a close eye on the trends.

California had the most new surgery centers in 2023, followed by Florida, Texas and Wisconsin.

Healthcare has been plagued with staffing shortages, a looming physician exodus, an aging population, an increase in costs and a decline in provider pay — and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Here are five numbers that provide insight into what is on ASC leaders' minds going into 2024:

The growing physician shortage isn't stopping physicians from retiring. 

Here are 10 ASC and practice closures that Becker's has reported on in 2023:

Greenwich, Conn.-based psychologist Michael Lonski, PhD, was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment for operating a $2.6 million healthcare fraud scheme. 

This year has been a tumultuous one for ASCs. With issues such as reimbursement declines, physician shortages and rising burnout levels at the top of mind for industry leaders, there has been a lot to monitor.

Medical group operating costs are still outpacing revenue, according to data from the AMGA 2023 Medical Group Operations and Finance Survey, released Dec. 18.

Physicians believe that they need an average of $3.9 million saved to afford retirement, according to Medscape's 2023 "Physicians Eye Retirement Report," published Dec. 14. 

Multibillion-dollar insurance giant UnitedHealthcare Group is the largest health insurance company in the U.S. by market share. Here are five of the company's most impactful healthcare moves in 2023, as determined by Becker's page views:

As 2023 comes to a close and healthcare leaders nationwide are setting their sights on 2024, there are a few key trends that the majority of industry professionals are focusing on. 

"Disruptor" can be a dividing term in the healthcare industry. While some physicians are excited about new disruptions that promise to add ease to the surgical workflow, others are nervous about the entrance of new companies and big box retailers into the space. 

Norfolk, Neb.-based Fountain Point Surgery Center has partnered with healthcare services platform MDsave to provide patients and employers with access to outpatient options for surgery with no surprise bills.

The role of anesthesiology assistant is the most stressful job in healthcare, according to the most recent data from the Labor Department's Occupational Information Network. 

Amazon's foray into healthcare has kept physicians, health systems and executives alike wary throughout this past year.

Healthcare has continued to face residual COVID-19 challenges, with one of the most severe being provider and staff burnout.