Becker's Healthcare January 20, 2026
As ASCs push into higher-acuity care, leaders say the most underestimated threat isn’t demand, it’s the widening gap between rising labor, supply and anesthesia costs and shrinking or misaligned reimbursement.
Executives warn that compressed professional fees, staffing shortages and growing payer and regulatory complexity are straining reliability and margins, making long-term performance depend more on workforce sustainability and operational standardization than expansion.
Question: What pressure on ASCs do you think is being underestimated at the moment?
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Robert Aycock, MD. Founder and Medical Director of Greenbrae Surgery Center (Larkspur, Calif.): I believe the insurance rates given to ASCs is being underestimated. The increases, if any, are not in line...
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