ASC Daily Briefing — July 2, 2026
🆕 New Today
FTC clears Ascension–AmSurg merger with ASC divestitures. The FTC (June 2–4, 2026 consent order) required Ascension Health to divest seven AmSurg ambulatory surgery centers — in Nashville TN, Panama City FL, Tulsa OK, Waco TX, and Wichita KS — as a condition of its $3.9B acquisition of AmSurg. Six centers go to SC Affiliates and one (Panama City) to Florida Gastroenterology Center; Ascension has since closed the deal. This signals continued FTC antitrust scrutiny of ASC roll-ups and local-market concentration — relevant for any ASC M&A, joint venture, or de novo development in overlapping markets. Source: FTC Press Release
Note: The CY 2027 OPPS/ASC Proposed Rule (CMS-1835-P) has not yet posted — watch the Federal Register mid-July. All other items surfaced today are already captured on the Standing Compliance Reference or in recent briefings (CY 2026 Final Rule, IPO phase-out, ASCQR measure removals, price transparency enforcement, PA demonstration, AAAHC v44/v45, TJC Physical Environment, DNV 4th accreditor, CMS AO oversight rule).