Contact: Joe Martin
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MARGINS HOLDING STEADY IN 2016 FOR PENNSYLVANIA AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTERS

Harrisburg, PA - September 26, 2017 - New figures released today by the Pennsylvania Healthcare Cost Containment Council (PHC4) show that total margins for Pennsylvania’s ambulatory surgery centers have decreased only 0.16 percentage points from the prior year. The latest financial figures reported by Pennsylvania’s Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) for fiscal year 2016 (FY16) dipped slightly. The average total margin decreased to 25.61% from 25.77% over the previous year; and the average operating margin decreased to 25.35% from 25.62% in the previous year.

“This report presents financial information on Pennsylvania’s ambulatory surgery centers. PHC4 produces a series of reports measuring the financial health of Pennsylvania’s hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers,” said Joe Martin, executive director of PHC4. “The information in the report reveals that the total number of ASCs operating in Pennsylvania has remained unchanged at 286 facilities and the statewide average operating and total margins have only changed slightly over the past several years.” said Martin.

• Pennsylvania’s ASCs reported 1.1 million total outpatient visits during FY16 and $1.3 billion total net outpatient revenue.
• During FY16, the average outpatient revenue per visit was $1,147 for the ASCs.
• The net outpatient ASC revenue increased 3.8% from $1.252 billion in FY15 to $1.3 billion in FY16.
• ASCs performed 974,873 outpatient procedures in FY16 which is a 2.7% increase from the 949,284 performed in the prior year.
• The total number of outpatient procedures performed during FY16 at ASCs represented 26.4% of the total outpatient procedures in Pennsylvania, the remaining 73.6% were performed at general acute care hospitals.

PHC4’s report on ambulatory surgery centers is the second in its three-part Financial Analysis series. Volume One, released in April 2017, reported on the financial health of general acute care hospitals. Volume Three, to be released later this year, will focus on non-general acute care hospitals (rehabilitation, psychiatric, long-term acute care and specialty hospitals).

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council is an independent state agency charged with collecting, analyzing and reporting information that can be used to improve the quality and restrain the cost of health care in Pennsylvania.