The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the final 2025 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligibility determinations, updated with Medicare Part B claims and Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) data through Sept. 30, 2025. All clinicians are encouraged to verify their status using the QPP Participation Status Tool, as eligibility may have changed, particularly for those who joined a new practice within the past year. Updates to rural special status are also expected by the end of December.
Author: Abhay Panchal
Congress is running out of time to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of December. A Senate vote to extend the subsidies failed, and a Republican alternative plan also didn’t gain enough support. Without action, millions of Americans could face sharply higher insurance premiums or lose coverage altogether, with KFF projecting average premium increases of 114%. Hospitals and health leaders warn that the lapse would force families to make difficult financial decisions, delay care, or drop insurance, increasing uncompensated care burdens on health systems. While there are some bipartisan efforts…
Ambient AI scribes are being adopted at an unprecedented pace across U.S. health systems, with clinicians embracing the technology as a direct antidote to documentation burden and burnout, according to new reporting from Healio. Early real-world data show meaningful reductions in after-hours EHR work, measurable drops in burnout rates, and growing patient satisfaction as physicians reclaim face-to-face time. But alongside rapid uptake, unresolved issues remain — including consent, data retention, liability, and AI errors — raising questions about governance as ambient listening tools move from pilot projects to core clinical infrastructure.
New York Gastroenterology Associates, one of the city’s largest independent GI practices, is moving pathology fully into the digital era by adopting Proscia’s AI-enabled Concentriq platform. The shift replaces traditional microscope workflows with high-resolution, data-rich digital slides—speeding diagnoses, supporting pathologists, and opening the door to AI-driven insights in GI diseases like cancer. Beyond day-to-day efficiency, the move positions NYGA to collaborate more closely with life sciences and pharma partners as precision medicine and digital pathology converge. Why this matters: GI practices are no longer just care delivery hubs—they’re becoming data and research engines. NYGA’s bet signals where pathology, AI, and…
Researchers at Harvard have identified how colibactin — a toxin produced by certain gut bacteria — directly damages human DNA in ways long associated with colorectal cancer, according to a new study published in Science. The work, led by Emily Balskus and Victoria D’Souza, shows that colibactin creates rare and highly toxic DNA inter-strand cross-links, binding both strands of the DNA double helix together. These lesions disrupt normal DNA replication and repair, increasing the likelihood of mutations that can drive cancer development. Using living bacteria to generate the unstable toxin in real time, the team demonstrated that colibactin preferentially targets…
Multi-cancer early detection blood tests, designed to identify cancer signals from a single blood draw, are rapidly gaining interest from patients, employers, and health systems — despite the fact that none are yet approved by U.S. regulators. In a detailed examination, The New York Times reports that demand is accelerating even as physicians and researchers remain uncertain about how these tests should be used, interpreted, or paid for. The most prominent test, Galleri, has now been prescribed more than 420,000 times, according to its manufacturer, GRAIL, which plans to seek FDA approval in 2026. Proponents argue these tests could help…
In a recent ASGE blog, Harish Gagneja, MD of Austin Gastroenterology, examines whether private equity partnerships can truly support the long-term sustainability of independent medical practices. He explores why specialty groups are increasingly attractive to investors, the operational lift PE can provide, and the risks of short-term financial incentives—arguing that durable partnerships depend on physician-led governance, transparency, and alignment around patient care rather than rapid exits.
The U.S. gastroenterologist shortage is no longer a temporary staffing problem—it’s a structural crisis decades in the making. Fewer trainees entering the field, frozen Medicare funding for fellowships, early retirements, and soaring demand for procedures like colonoscopy and ERCP have created a widening annual deficit, driving salaries, locum costs, and hospital strain to historic highs. The warning is stark: for many health systems, the only thing costlier than hiring a gastroenterologist is not having one at all.
An international Delphi study from the OperA project identified unresolved legal, ethical, and equity challenges as major obstacles to integrating AI into gastrointestinal endoscopy. Fourteen experts reached consensus on 10 priority issues across data governance, medicolegal responsibility, and bias—highlighting the need for stronger data protection, clarity on liability for AI-assisted decisions, and more diverse training datasets to ensure fair and accountable use of AI in GI practice.
Facing rising labor costs, payer compression, and administrative drag, GI Partners of Illinois is rejecting the idea that margin erosion is inevitable. Instead, the group is defending profitability through five deliberate levers—site-of-service shifts, GI-only ASC expansion, enterprise AI to cut friction, AI-enabled revenue recapture, and scale-driven payer negotiations—positioning operations, not cost-cutting, as the core strategy for sustainability in 2026.