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Regional ambulatory surgery centers overall had higher operating margins — income exceeding expenses — than the state average in 2016, according to a new report from a state agency.
The data comes from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, an independent state agency set up to collect and analyze data with the goal of restraining costs and improving care. The report looked at 2016 income and expenses for ambulatory surgery centers, facilities that offer medical or surgical outpatient procedures.
Statewide, 286 licensed ASCs had an overage operating margin of 25.35 percent. PHC4 breaks down the state into 9 regions; Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties are in the nine-county region 6, which encompasses the northeast corner of the state.
Region 6 had the highest operating margin among the nine regions: 39.9 percent. The narrowest operating margin was 11.2 percent in region 9, which is Philadelphia.
Within Region 6, Regional Hospital Surgery Center in Scranton had the biggest operating margin at 86.4 percent. Wilkes-Barre’s Center for Same Day Surgery hit 83.8 percent. Scranton Endoscopy hit 64.75 percent, with all others below 50 percent.
While those doubtless pulled up the average for the 19 ASCs in region 6, there were some that pulled it down almost as dramatically.
Two regional ASCs had negative operating margins: Renaissance Center at -2.9 percent and Riverview ASC at -0.37 percent. Hazleton Endoscopy barely hit the positive column with an operating margin of 0.03. Two others had operating margins below 10 percent: Angelina Theresa Bucci Surgery Center at 1.32 percent, and East Stroudsburg ASC at 5.1 percent.