ASC executives are looking ahead for 2022 budgeting, but uncertainty related to COVID-19 will continue to throw a wrench in short-term strategic plans.
At the Becker's Orthopedic, Spine + ASC Virtual Event on Aug. 12, three surgery center leaders discussed how they are navigating the roadblocks in planning for 2022. Below is an excerpt from the panel, lightly edited for clarity and style.
Question: What is the top challenge for budget planning today?
Doug Wisor, MD. CEO of National Spine & Pain Centers (Rockville, Md.): We're a private equity-backed portfolio company. We're seeing various degrees of recovery in healthcare services that can often vary between politics, whether the state is red or blue, and willingness of patients to come out for elective care. Now with the Delta variant, there are various levels of vaccination and willingness to get the vaccine. The biggest challenge is getting back to baseline, which for us will be our 2019 numbers.
Lianne McDowell. CEO and Administrator of South Portland Surgical Center (Tualatin, Ore.): In my area, staffing and nursing wages are very competitive. In the last couple of months, I've seen a big increase in wages for nurses. There is a lack of staffing and nursing, there is a lot of competition with the hospital benefits and wages that are really skyrocketing, not just 2 percent or 3 percent, but more like 20 percent to 30 percent increases.
That is my biggest challenge going forward, not only in the rest of this year, but in 2022. First and foremost, right now as I head into the future, we are getting back up and running at 100 percent capacity, and we've seen our case volumes return to normal. We will have to adjust for the wage increases going forward.
Anna Weaver, MSN, RN. ASC Administrator of Brunswick Surgery Center (Leland, N.C.): For me, the biggest challenge is keeping abreast of all the CMS policies and changes, and which procedures have been added to the ASC setting. They're looking in 2022 to move some procedures back to the inpatient-only list. I'm sure all of us have worked throughout our careers to understand why the different settings have a different payment structure. Looking at the increases, there was around $90 million that will be appropriated in 2022 for ASCs as compared to 2021. How does that play out? What CPT codes are we going to be able to take to an ASC without worrying about removal or setbacks? That will be a challenge ahead for ASCs and practice leaders.