Nov 19, 2014 3 min read

The number of ambulatory surgery centers – those that provide multi-specialty surgical care to patients who don’t require overnight hospitalization – increased by four across Pennsylvania last year, while those in Southwestern Pennsylvania stood pat, according to a study released Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council reported the state added four ASCs during the reporting period, bringing the total to 285 units, for a 0.5 percent increase over fiscal year 2012.

The ASCs reported 1.1 million outpatient visits and $1.2 billion in net outpatient revenue during FY13.

PHC4 reported the 285 ASCs make up the majority of all health care facilities in the state, which include general acute care hospitals (173) and non-general acute care hospitals (75).

The average operating and total margins for ASCs statewide decreased from FY12 to FY13, with the average operating margin decreasing to 24.94 percent (from 25.74 percent) and the total margin decreasing to 25.13 percent (from 26.92 percent), continuing a trend of marginal annual changes that began in fiscal 2008.

The number of procedures performed at ASCs increased 0.5 percent in 2013. Medicare and Medical Assistance covered 41.9 percent of outpatients at ASCs during fiscal 2013, down from 43.9 percent in FY 2012.

Southwestern Pennsylvania, designated as Region 1 by PHC4, includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, contains 47 ASCs, but did not add any last year.

There are four for-profit ambulatory surgery centers in Washington County: Peters Township Surgery Center; Southwestern PA Eye Surgery Center in Washington; Spartan Health Surgery Center in Monongahela; and Tri-State Surgery Center, which is moving from Leonard Avenue in Washington to a new facility in South Strabane Township.

Peters Township Surgical Care, which opened during FY12, treated 1,260 patients in FY13, with $1.32 million in net patient revenue, on total operating expenses of $2.19 million. It received 34.42 percent of net patient revenue from Medicare.

Southwestern PA Eye Surgery Center in Washington served 3,913 patients in FY13, with net patient revenue of $3.52 million on total operating expenses of $2.92 million. It had operating and total margin of 16.98 percent. It received 54.6 percent of net patient revenue from Medicare, and 6.23 percent from Medical Assistance.

Spartan Health Surgery Center saw 4,004 patients, for net patient revenue of $2.73 million, down from $3.13 million reported in FY12.

Its total operating expenses last year were $2.35 million, up 3.17 percent over the past three years. Its FY13 operating margin was 13.93 percent. Forty-six percent of its net patient revenue came from Medicare payments, with another 7.33 percent from Medical Assistance.

Tri-State Surgery Center, the largest of the four outpatient centers, served 6,195 patients in FY13, down slightly from the 6,507 visits it logged in the previous fiscal year.

It had net revenue of $5.25 million on total operating expenses of 4.95 million. Its operating margin was 6.32 percent, and 19.07 percent of its revenue came from Medicare payments, with another 6.7 percent from Medical Assistance.

PHC4 is an independent state agency that collects, analyzes and reports information that can be used to improve the quality and restrain the cost of health care in Pennsylvania.