Three ASC leaders joined Becker's to discuss what healthcare trends they are the most wary of and why.
Question: What healthcare trend are you the most wary of?
Editor's note: These responses were edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
Crystal Aigner, BSN, RN. Administrator of Surgical Suites of Coastal Virginia (Williamsburg): Anesthesia staffing. Rightfully so, there is a significant focus on nursing shortages. However, I don't believe there is enough national focus on anesthesia staffing.
Leslie Jebson. Regional Administrator at Prisma Health (Greenville, S.C.): Workforce implications — changing worksite preferences/sporadic-extended schedules off/travelers.
Raghu Reddy. Chief Administrative Officer of SurgCenter of Western Maryland (Cumberland): I'm concerned regarding the increasing costs of doing business, and the reimbursement is not in line to accommodate these costs. CMS will have to address the payment parity between ASCs and HOPDs. There will have to be legislative action at the state and federal levels to ensure that ASCs thrive to reduce healthcare costs nationwide. ASCs are a mature market segment; this inequity between the rising costs and shrinking reimbursement may position the ASCs to fail or operate at unsustainable margins. On top of this, staffing shortages and increasing anesthesia subsidies are demoralizing the hard-working ASC physician investors, who invest a great deal of time creating efficiencies and providing the best possible outcomes at a much lower cost than the HOPDs. While the ASC market is poised for growth, the elephant in the room should be addressed relatively quickly.