As hospitals continue to record stagnant or falling inpatient surgery procedures, ambulatory surgery centers will see their volumes increase, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service.
Patient utilization in hospitals, especially for elective surgeries, has decreased significantly over the past five years for several reasons. Millions of Americans lost health insurance due to rising unemployment, and those with insurance have been forced to pay more of their healthcare costs through high-deductible health plans.
In addition, private payers, Medicare and Medicaid have been looking for ways to reduce their own costs, and consequently, they have turned to lower-cost ASCs for surgeries. On average, ASCs are reimbursed 57 percent of hospital rates for similar procedures.
Moody's found that from 2007 through 2012, hospital same-facility inpatient surgery cases dropped 0.22 percent per year, on average. At ASCs, same-facility surgery cases grew between 0.5 percent and 1 percent.
Moody's analysts said the 5,000-plus ASCs in the United States will continue to record growth in surgery cases this year and more years going forward. In particular, the large for-profit ASC companies like AmSurg, Symbion, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgery Partners and United Surgical Partners International — which together own 14 percent of the ASC market — will fare the best because they can leverage economies of scale and attract more physician joint ventures, which could provide a "steady supply of patient referrals," according to the report.
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