Becker's Healthcare January 26, 2026
Reimbursement issues, staffing shortages and rising costs are just a few of the challenges facing ASC leadership teams in 2026.
Here are 20 statistics demonstrating the scale and scope of the ASC industry’s biggest challenges in 2026:
Reimbursement
1. CMS finalized a 2.6% ASC payment increase for 2026 and signaled continued use of the hospital market basket.
2. For 2026, the ASC conversion factor is $56.322, compared with $91.415 for hospital outpatient departments, a gap that ASC leaders say continues to underscore longstanding structural payment challenges, even as CMS acknowledges surgery centers can safely perform a broader range of procedures.
3. CMS final physician fee schedule rule for 2026 includes a QP-conversion factor of $33.57, representing a 3.77%...
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