Jon Vick, president of ASCs Inc., a firm in Valley Center, Calif., which advises surgery center owners on strategic partnering and joint ventures, has seen has client base pick up 50 percent over last year's level.
"We're busier than we've ever been," he says. "Every day I'm getting new inquiries."
When consultants like Mr. Vick are busy, it doesn't mean ASC owners are happy. Quite the opposite. "Every time there is something in the market that increases the level of risk, we get more inquiries," he says.
ASCs with few owners see bleak future
A lot of his new customers are ASCs with just a few owners or even a single owner. They knock on his door because fortunes have changed — they may be steadily losing out-of-network opportunities, for example — and see a grim future on their own.
"Any center that is owned by just a few doctors is at risk," Mr. Vick says. "It's difficult to recruit more physicians. The center doesn’t have track record to create a high level of confidence. It needs a partner."
Some of them even want to partner with a hospital. They want better rates but often the tradeoff is total loss of autonomy. "The hospital wants to take over," he says. "It wants complete control. Hospitals are interested in turning ASCs into higher-paying HOPDs, which require 100 percent ownership by the hospital to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid payments.
Partner with a good management company
Mr. Vick advises these owners to first link up with a management company, then have the management company negotiate a deal with the hospital to make it a minority partner. "A management company that knows what it’s doing will get a much better deal than the physicians would," he says.
Mr. Vick's job is to get them hooked up with the right management company. "There are probably a half dozen companies that are a good fit for a particular ASC, but the doctor doesn’t know which they are," he says.
Learn more about ASCs Inc.
Read more insight from Jon Vick:
- 8 Changes for ASCs in the Next 10 Years With Jon Vick of ASCs Inc.
- Predictions for the Immediate Future of ASCs With Jon Vick of ASCs Inc.