Ambulatory Surgery Center Volumes Outpace Hospital Outpatient Growth Over Next Decade
Technology advances and the complex care needs of the nation’s aging population will drive growth in the outpatient services sector over the next decade, according to a Colliers healthcare services report. Expansion will be both into new geographies and new service areas, as hospitals move procedures to outpatient settings.
The ambulatory surgery center (ASC) segment is growing significantly, with 9% volume growth between 2023 and 2028 compared with 7% growth among all hospital outpatient department volumes. ASCs provide new profit sources, improve hospital capacity and efficiencies, attract staff and offer better access to care. ASC earnings reached $45 billion in revenues last year and are projected to grow to $57 billion by 2030, said the report.
The average cost of ASC procedures is less than half of hospital outpatient care and saves Medicare an average of $684 per procedure. Recent approvals by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of two dozen ASC-located procedure codes for reimbursement will allow more patients to use ASCs instead of hospitals, said Colliers.
The cost savings come from new drugs that are shortening recovery time and innovations in minimally invasive techniques that are allowing some surgeries to become outpatient eligible. ASCs typically house a single specialty, but there is a growing trend toward colocating service offerings by service level. For example, lower-level care facilities might include colonoscopy services and cataract procedures, while high-level centers may focus on cardiology and spine services.
Meanwhile, while ASCs are handling a larger scope of services, other services historically handled in outpatient facilities are transitioning to the provider’s office, said Colliers. Specialties such as dermatology, ophthalmology, pain management, and orthopedics are moving minimally invasive procedures into offices, further driving cost savings for providers and systems.
The surge in ASC popularity has drawn private equity and corporate entities investing in ASC infrastructure. Private equity investors favor direct ownership in ASCs so they can scale platforms, said the report. Between 2015 and 2019, the average annual private equity investment was $19.6 billion, but that fell to $12 billion during the pandemic. Last year, investments grew to $19.7 billion and are already at $18.9 billion through the first half of 2025.
Some of the larger systems have expanded their ASCs through strategic acquisitions. In June, Ascension Health agreed to acquire ASC management company AmSurg for almost $3.9 billion, adding 250 ASCs in 34 states to the Ascension network. The deal is expected to be final in the fourth quarter.
In the first quarter, Tenet Healthcare’s ASC network, United Surgical Partners International, added six new centers as it entered a joint venture with Choice Care Surgery Center. Tenet plans to invest $250 million annually towards M&A in ASCs as it focuses on growth opportunities, said the report.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM