Tracking Big Shifts in Health Policy and ASC Strategy with Alan Condon & Laura Dyrda

Summary

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Summary

Episode: Tracking Big Shifts in Health Policy and ASC Strategy with Alan Condon & Laura Dearda
Release Date: July 3, 2025
Host: Scott Becker
Guests: Laura Dearda & Ewan Condon

Introduction

In this episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, host Scott Becker engages with two distinguished leaders from Becker’s editorial team, Laura Dearda and Ewan Condon. The discussion centers on significant shifts in U.S. health policy and strategic movements within Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs).

Current Health Policy Changes: The Big Bill Act

Laura Dearda opens the conversation by highlighting the intense focus on Washington, D.C., where the Senate is deliberating the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." This proposed legislation aims to introduce substantial cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and related healthcare tax provisions.

Laura Dearda [01:16]: "The Congressional Budget office estimated around 17 million Americans would lose coverage under the current bill."

Backed by President Donald Trump, the bill faces internal Republican divisions. Some members express concerns over the national debt's escalation, while others worry about the potential loss of healthcare access for millions. The bill's progress is under a tight July 4 deadline set by Trump, adding urgency to the legislative process.

Impact on Rural Health Care

Dearda emphasizes the bill's potential adverse effects on rural healthcare, where many patients rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or ACA plans. Efforts by Republican Senator Susan Collins to secure additional funding for rural health care faced setbacks, underscoring the uncertainty faced by these communities.

Dearda [02:30]: "Rural health care in particular would take a hit... 17 million Americans would lose coverage under the current bill."

Healthcare leaders are bracing for the bill's passage by considering workforce reductions, service closures, and exploring new revenue streams. Strategies include philanthropic efforts, forging new partnerships, outsourcing services, and consolidating with larger systems to maintain access to care.

Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions: Ascension's Strategy

Ewan Condon delves into Ascension’s recent strategic moves, highlighting their acquisition of Cedar Park Medical Center in Texas for approximately $436 million. This acquisition marks Ascension’s expansion in Texas, adding to their portfolio of 13 hospitals and 22 care sites in the state.

Ewan Condon [05:00]: "Ascension acquired full ownership of Cedar Park Medical Center in Texas... for around $436 million in cash."

Conversely, Ascension is also divesting assets, including four hospitals, 35 clinics, and an ASC in Michigan to Beacon Health System. This move is part of Ascension’s broader strategy to realign its national footprint and stabilize its finances.

Condon [06:45]: "Ascension has sold or consolidated 34 hospitals across the country... continuing a significant financial turnaround."

The Rise of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs)

The conversation shifts to the growing prominence of ASCs in the healthcare landscape. Ascension's potential acquisition of Amserg, a leading ASC operator, for approximately $4 billion signifies a major investment in outpatient care.

Condon [08:11]: "Ascension potentially acquiring Amserg would see them acquire around 250 ASCs in multiple states... expanding its outpatient footprint."

Laura Dearda echoes this sentiment, discussing the ongoing consolidation within the surgery center sector. Independent ASCs face increasing challenges as large health systems and private equity firms invest in and acquire these centers to enhance their service offerings and technological capabilities.

Laura Dearda [09:43]: "There's a lot of movement in the surgery center space... becoming more and more challenging to remain independent."

Future Outlook and Strategy

Both guests agree that the healthcare environment is rapidly evolving. The shift towards outpatient care, driven by both policy changes and strategic realignments by major health systems like Ascension, is reshaping how healthcare services are delivered and managed.

Dearda [11:00]: "It’s truly valuable still to have surgery centers, especially in orthopedic spine and some of the other specialties."

Ascension’s strategic acquisitions and divestitures reflect a broader trend of health systems optimizing their portfolios to focus on core strengths and emerging care models. The focus on ASCs highlights a move towards more flexible, cost-effective outpatient services that cater to the changing preferences of both providers and patients.

Notable Quotes

• Laura Dearda [01:16]: "The Congressional Budget office estimated around 17 million Americans would lose coverage under the current bill."
• Ewan Condon [05:00]: "Ascension acquired full ownership of Cedar Park Medical Center in Texas... for around $436 million in cash."
• Condon [08:11]: "Ascension potentially acquiring Amserg would see them acquire around 250 ASCs in multiple states... expanding its outpatient footprint."
• Laura Dearda [09:43]: "There's a lot of movement in the surgery center space... becoming more and more challenging to remain independent."

Conclusion

The episode concludes with Scott Becker thanking Laura Dearda and Ewan Condon for their insightful discussions. The conversation underscores the critical intersections of health policy, financial strategies, and the evolving landscape of healthcare service delivery. As policy decisions loom and health systems like Ascension navigate strategic realignments, the future of U.S. healthcare appears poised for significant transformation.

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Transcript

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[Scott Becker]

This is Scott Becker with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by two of the best leaders of the editorial team in the history of the world. Well, at least at Becker's Healthcare, two of the greatest of all time. We've got Laura Dearda and Ewan Condon and each of us are going to spend a moment telling us about one of the key issues watching in healthcare currently. Right. It's been a busy, busy time. There's obviously lots of concerns about Medicaid cuts, hospital and cell systems, 60% hitting some margins, 40% not. But let me turn it over. Laura, why don't you give us one of the stories you're following closely and then, Alan, I'll ask you to do the same. Thank you both for joining us today on the Beckers Health Care Podcast.

[Laura Dearda]

Laura Absolutely. Thank you so much, Scott. So to expand on what you've been talking about, I mean, right now all eyes are in Washington, D.C. and the Senate as they aim to vote for the one big beautiful bill act, which includes significant cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and health care related tax provisions. As it currently is. The legislation is backed by President Donald Trump. And Republicans are somewhat divided on the bill, with some concerned about the national debt over the next decade, how it might contribute to that. And then, you know, others are really concerned about their constituents losing access to health care. The Congressional Budget office estimated around 17 million Americans would lose coverage under the current bill. So that's a huge concern for them. And you know, it's still a lot of back and forth over the next couple of days. I can imagine as the Republicans scramble to get this on Donald Trump's desk, he set a July 4 deadline for signing the bill into law. So we'll keep a close, close eye on that. Democrats oppose the bill for many of the reasons that Republicans that oppose the bill do. And you know, the Republicans are working around the clock to get that vote as well as on the procedural motions, amendments to develop a bill that the Senate and House can put before Mr. Trump. Rural health care in particular would take a hit. This new bill as rural health care really focuses on a lot of patients who have Medicare, Medicaid or insurance over the ACA plans. An effort by Republican senator from Maine, Susan Collins to get $25 billion more for rural health care to mitigate some of those Medicaid changes actually failed in a vote. So, you know, we're not exactly sure what would happen, but it's definitely top of mind for those who represent states with a lot of rural healthcare that's trying to figure out how to make this work. As the bill continues to flow through, hospital health system leaders are watching this closely and ready to take action once the final bill is signed into law. Already this year we've seen hospitals conduct some workforce reductions as well as service closures. And then, you know, we are looking at possibly more drastic measures if Medicaid is cut further. C Suite executives are preparing by boosting their philanthropic efforts as well as adding revenue streams where possible and then forging new partnerships, trying to figure out how to outsource services and consolidate with some, you know, other larger systems, whether it's for profit, academic, nonprofit systems as well, trying to figure out how it's going to make sense to keep access to care. And actually one of, you know, kind of a sign of this trend continuing and we would expect to further accelerate is ascension, based in St. Louis, recently acquired full ownership of Cedar Park Medical center in Texas for around $436 million in cash. The community health system sold this 80% ownership stake in the 126 bed hospital to Ascension Seton, which is a subsidiary of Ascension that operates around 13 hospitals and 22 care sites in Texas. So, you know, I think it wouldn't be a new trend, but we definitely would expect that to accelerate as time goes on and, you know, see a lot of changes coming down the pipe as a result. But all eyes are on Washington, D.C. and waiting to see what will happen with this bill.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you very, very much. A ton of uncertainty out there. And Alan, taking you to the same question. What's one of the key issues that you're watching currently? What's top of mind that's on your mind?

[Ewan Condon]

Yeah, I think a pleasure to be on with both of you, Scott and Laura. And I think just to pull out one key trend and a couple deals you've been following very, very closely. As Laura just alluded to it there with Ascension, significant turnaround involved in a ton of transactions in various different markets across the country. But July 1st, the time recording here, they officially just two deals just officially got over the line. And just to kind of hone in on some of those deals and kind of what it means for the broader health system as part of its turnaround, its realignment as a health system in certain markets, it did acquired full ownership of a big hospital in Texas for about $440 million from community health Systems, one of the largest for profit systems in the country. That deal, Community Health Systems previously had an 80% ownership stake in this hospital in Texas. Ascension acquired that 80% ownership stake, now acquires 100% of that hospital. I believe it operates 14 hospitals now in Texas, growing its presence in that. In that region. That deal was announced in April 15th. You know, really rapidly got over the line. That's just over two months between that deal being announced, definitive agreement signed and officially crossing the line after passing those regulatory hurdles separately July 1 as well. On the divestiture side, Ascension has sold four hospitals, 35 clinics and an ASC to Beacon Health System Health System, headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. All those hospitals, clinics and that ASC are in Michigan, which really essentially over the last couple of quarters sold multiple hospitals in that state. Really unwinding its presence over the last few quarters. So the deal sees Beacon Health, big Indiana system, expand its reach into Michigan, now an 11 hospital regional provider. So significant growth there. For Ascension, the deal, like I said, really marks a significant unwinding of its presence in Michigan as it continues a real sweeping effort to reshape its national footprint and continue to stabilize its finances. Over the last 18 months or so, just a quick breakdown nationwide, Ascension has sold or consolidated 34 hospitals across the country, including 15 of those hospitals, and are actually in Michigan alone. So three of them were sold to my Michigan Health. The four hospitals I just mentioned sold to Beacon Health and then eight other hospitals were offloaded and rebranded under a substantial joint venture with Henry Ford Health. So significant reorganizational realignment, Ascension really reevaluating its market structure, hospitals where it wants to really grow. And then last point I mentioned to this, we touched on it recently. Ascension, they're signing a definitive agreement to acquire Amserg, a significant ASC operator, for around about $4 billion. So a ton of activity, ton of transactions going on at Ascension as it really looks to reshape, reevaluate and recontinuing a significant financial turnaround. Fantastic leadership there. But just a quick note on those official deals that officially got crossed the line July 1st.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you very, very much. And so the remaking also of the surgery center world with Amsa Gen. Do you want to give us one more moment on that or any thoughts there?

[Ewan Condon]

Yeah, absolutely. I think it's a great question. And no doubt this ascension potential acquisition of amserg, no doubt a deal that is on the minds of health systems across the country. We've seen recent quarters nonprofit systems taking a deeper dive into the ASC world. Hospital systems like Providence Memorial Health, Banner Health signing these joint venture agreements with ASC operators to build, both develop and acquire asc. But this deal Ascension potentially acquire Amsterdam would be a significant acquisition. Like I said, around about $4 billion or so would see Ascension acquire, I believe around 250 ASCs in multiple states across the country. Really expanding its outpatient footprint. No doubt a big signal as to where care continues to migrate to. Amcerg, I believe, is the second largest ambulatory surgery center operator behind usbi, which is of course the outpatient division of Tennis Healthcare, the big for profit system. So a huge, huge deal in the works there. No doubt will be closely monitoring that over the coming quarters to see how regulators view it if it gets across the line. But big, big signal into where ascension is making a bet, making its bets to where care is going as we see more and more complex care migraine out of the hospitals into these ASCs and outpatient settings. So a close, really interesting deal to watch over the next few months.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you very, very much. And Laura, anything else you wanted to comment on that you're watching closely, you know, including in this surgery center area?

[Laura Dearda]

Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, Alan is spot on. Definitely looking at this transaction as being, you know, kind of a monumental shift within the system. You know, going from surg had been part of physician surger services organization and vision, you know, and separated out from them in the last year and then, you know, joining in with a large catholic health system becoming part of that health system owned organization. Obviously to, you know, you can see a lot of ascension strategic investments there. But also just looking at the surgery center world, you know, still a lot of movement in that space. We've seen a continued slow movement away from the independent surgery center that it is more adjoining the large chains becoming partially owned by hospitals or health systems or selling to the hospitals and health systems. I think, you know, it's physicians and surgeons who championed the surgery center space in the last two decades or so. You know, really growing out their organizations and their centers. There's a lot of opportunities to now, you know, sell to the health system, sell to private equity or, you know, continue to grow as an independent. But I think it's certainly becoming more and more challenging, as always to do that just given the investments that are needed in order to have the right technology platforms, bringing on new partners, continue, you know, bringing on cases that are going to have the right reimbursement structures to keep the business business going. So I think there's a lot of eyes on, you know, the macroeconomic trends in the surgery center world. I think there's a lot of positive things going there because as Alan mentioned, you know, so many cases and procedures are going outpatient. And it really is a truly valuable still to have surgery centers, especially in, you know, orthopedic spine and some of the other specialties. But, you know, also understanding that within the larger ecosystem of ASCs, of, you know, the health care in general, it'll be just interesting to see how, you know, surgery centers and physician leaders navigate the next several years or so and trying to figure out what's going to make the most sense for them and then to understanding how they're wanting and potentially could be building their practices, bringing on, you know, early career physicians as new partners and that kind of thing and how they want to really grow their businesses. There's so many different opportunities today, so I'll just be excited to see how that continues to shift within the broader ASC space.

[Scott Becker]

Laura, thank you so much. Alan, thank you so much. So glad to get a chance to visit with you, both of you today. Laura Dearda, Ellen Condon, two of the great leaders at Becker Southcare, just phenomenal journalists, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you.

[Laura Dearda]

And Scott.