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Pennsylvania sees growth in surgery center numbers

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, October 18, 2006

The number of surgery centers in Pennsylvania has surged over the past decade, with the total reaching 202 this past May, up significantly from the 44 that operated in 1996, according to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette citing a report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

The report shows that surgery centers are growing in numbers and reporting strong profit margins. Surgery centers earned 20.87 cents on every dollar of revenue, up 9.4 cents in four years.

The proliferation of surgery centers has members of the hospital community calling on legislators and regulators to consider whether this increase is tied to rising healthcare costs.

"As the state's population has remained relatively stable, the number of outpatient procedures has increased by 34.5% in the past five years, with nearly three-fourths of that growth occurring in [surgery centers]," said Carolyn F. Scanlan, president of the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Proponents of surgery centers argue that surgery centers provide cheaper healthcare than hospitals because the centers do not have the overhead costs associated with hospital-based services.

To read the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story, click here.

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