Rural areas are tough places for ASCs to thrive. The population is spread out, and many rural states have the obstacle of certificate of need policies, which require physicians to obtain approval to open or expand ASCs.
Given the obstacles rural ASCs face, it's no surprise that most are in urban areas. Of the surgery centers open in 2020, 93.4 percent were in urban settings, according to the March Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report to Congress. The commission advises Congress on Medicare payments to healthcare providers and health plans.
Here are 10 more stats on types of ASCs open in 2015 and 2020, the last two years for which MedPAC provided data for comparison purposes:
ASCs in 2015:
For profit: 95.1 percent
Nonprofit: 3.5 percent
Government: 1.4 percent
Urban: 92.9 percent
Rural: 7.1 percent
ASCs in 2020:
For profit: 95.2 percent
Nonprofit: 3.6 percent
Government: 1.2 percent
Urban: 93.4 percent
Rural: 6.6 percent