If you’ve been looking for a clear, ASC-focused breakdown of the 2026 CMS final payment rule, this episode is for you. This week, ASCA’s Chief Advocacy Officer, Kara Newbury, joins us to break down the most important things ASC leaders should note coming out of the 1600+ page document (all in under half an hour). Kara takes us through the reimbursement rate, the weight scalar update and ASCA’s advocacy for its elimination, a major rate oversight on the most common ASC procedure, massive covered procedure list expansion, and more.

In our data segment, we look at patient payment behavior at ASCs and discuss some of the reasons why partial payments are rising and paid-in-full cases are declining, and how financial stress and insurance complexity are showing up in case cancellation rates.

Resources mentioned:

Ambulatory Surgery Center Association

Calendar Year 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center Final Rule

HST Pathways 2024 State of the Industry Report

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