No briefing ran on September 3, so this edition covers September 2 – September 4, 2026. New Today ASCA’s comment letter on CMS-1850-P is now public, and its lead ask is elimination of the ASC weight scalar — with a projection that ASC payment falls to 44% of HOPD by 2027. ASC Focus published ASCA…

No new items today. No new CMS, Federal Register, or accrediting organization developments affecting ASC Medicare certification or accreditation surfaced on September 2, 2026. See the ASC Standing Compliance Reference for the items currently in effect. Direct Source Checks Federal Register — zero documents published on or after August 28, 2026 matching “ambulatory surgical center,”…

Note: no briefing ran on August 28 or August 31, so this edition covers the window August 28 – September 1, 2026. New Today AAAHC filed its formal comment letter on CMS-1850-P (August 28, 2026) — and it confirms CMS has approved the v45 Standards. AAAHC President & CEO Noel M. Adachi submitted the association’s…

New Today AAAHC’s August Triangle Times Today (published today) is the first document that explains how v45 will actually be scored — and the answer changes the risk profile of the AI standards considerably. Most of the new AI Standards are designated Level 0: if cited as deficient, no Plan of Correction is required and…

🆕 New Today FTC approved the final consent order in the Ascension Health–AmSurg deal (August 25, 2026), requiring divestiture of seven ASCs. Ascension must divest seven AmSurg ambulatory surgery centers across Nashville TN, Panama City FL, Tulsa OK, Waco TX, and Wichita KS as a condition of the $3.9B acquisition — six going to SC…

New Today No new items today. See the ASC Standing Compliance Reference for items currently in effect. Direct source checks this run: the Federal Register API returned zero documents referencing “ambulatory surgical center” — or the broader “ambulatory surgery center / accrediting organization” terms — published on or after August 22, 2026. ASC Focus Digital…

No new items today. See the ASC Standing Compliance Reference for the items currently in effect. Direct source checks this run: the Federal Register API returned zero documents referencing “ambulatory surgical center” published on or after August 21, 2026. ASC Focus Digital Debut loaded cleanly — the most recent article remains the HIPAA Biannual Update…

New Today No new items today. See the Standing Compliance Reference for the items currently in effect. This run covered the weekend gap since the August 21 briefing and surfaced nothing not already captured. Direct source checks: the Federal Register returned zero documents referencing “ambulatory surgical center” published on or after August 19, 2026. ASC…

New Today Surgical smoke evacuation is now mandated in 22 states — Maryland, Michigan, and Delaware are the newest. Michigan HB 4779 (signed July 21, 2026) is effective immediately and requires health facilities including ASCs to use a smoke plume evacuation system during any surgical procedure involving heat-producing equipment likely to generate smoke. Delaware HB…

New Today AAAHC v45 Standards take effect for surveys conducted on or after December 15, 2026. Yesterday’s briefing flagged the missing effective date as an open question; AAAHC’s announcement page confirms it. That is roughly 17 weeks out, and it lands mid-December, so any ASC with a survey window opening in Q1 2027 (or an…