What impact is the economy having on ASCs?
Marc Koch: In front of the backdrop of declining volume and payor mix shift to less favorable case reimbursement, ASCs are looking to anesthesia departments to share the pain. Anesthesia service providers fall into two broad categories: those with anesthesia departments that are cash flow positive and those that are cash flow negative. In the former instance, ASCs sometimes try to convert the ASP revenue stream to an ASC revenue stream. Nearly always and despite assurances from lawyers or crafty anesthesia organizations, these arrangements run afoul of state or federal laws and place the ASC and the owners at criminal or civil risk. Getting out from the underbelly of ASC anesthesia relations, some of the more wholesome ASCs will ask their anesthesia group to find ways to consolidate rooms, improve turnover, reduce supply expense or otherwise improve revenue or reduce expenses. Q: What is the most important thing an ASC can do in 2009 to preserve profits? MK: It is likely that most pati
