US News & World Report names best ophthalmology ambulatory surgical centers in the US

US News & World Report has released its third annual insight into the Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) in the United States for ophthalmology—in addition to colonoscopy & endoscopy, orthopedics & spine, and urology.

US News & World Report defines an ASC as a “freestanding health care facility that specializes in providing surgical and diagnostic procedures that do not require an overnight stay.” In the specialty of ophthalmology, the organization looked at centers that performed cataract, retinal, or glaucoma surgery. The organization included a list of current procedural terminology codes (CPT) included in the evaluation for ophthalmology, including (but not limited to) CPT 0308T, 65920, 66825, 66840, 66940, 67039, 67208, 65820, and 66700. Overall, the organization looked at 40 CPTs across glaucoma, cataract, and retinal surgery.

Additionally, the organization also noted that some free-standing facilities where outpatient surgery occurs are classified as hospitals. This is because such facilities may be licensed under a CMS certification number belonging to an affiliated hospital and are officially part of the affiliated hospital’s outpatient department. Since the organization evaluates the best hospitals separately, those hospital-based facilities were not included in the analysis.

For the 2026 ratings, US News & World Report—in collaboration with Arcadia, a provider of advanced health data insights—evaluated Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims for services rendered during calendar years 2022 through 2024. Additionally, ASCs that were included in the ASC Quality Reporting (ASCQR) program in September 2025 and ASCs in the January 2026 NPPES database were evaluated.

In a change from last year’s process, the organization expanded the high-performing ratings to the top 15%, up from 10%, of ambulatory surgery centers based on their composite scores to “reflect the lower risk and higher safety of ambulatory procedures.”

Overall, the organization looked at 1,973 ASCs with ophthalmology programs out of the approximately 6,000 ASCs evaluated in total. Of the 1,973, 293 were classified as high performing, 1,480 were average, and 200 were simply “evaluated.” “High-performing” includes those in the top 15%, while the ones labeled as “evaluated” fell in the bottom 10% overall.

According to the organization, top-rated centers in ophthalmology saw, on average, a 40% reduction in severity-weighted complications compared to all ASCs evaluated.

Just as in 2025, California, Florida, and Texas ranked in the top 3 states with 42, 24, and 22 high-performing ASCs, respectively. This year, however, Florida jumped Texas to take second place in the nation. The 3 states do hold the highest number of ASCs, with 559 ASCs coming out of the 3 states, accounting for ~28% of all ASCs evaluated.

The highest-performing states in ophthalmology are

• California – 42
• Florida – 24
• Texas – 22
• Pennsylvania – 12
• Georgia – 11
• New Jersey/New York – 10
• Missouri/Tennessee – 9
• Massachusetts/Maryland/Ohio – 8

Additionally, metro areas with the highest-performing ASCs include

• New York – 12
• Los Angeles – 11
• Philadelphia – 7
• Atlanta – 6
• Baltimore/Dallas-Fort Worth/Kansas City/Phoenix/San Diego/Seattle – 5

It should also be noted that when considering total ASCs in the state, some states not listed have a higher overall percentage of high-ranking ASCs available. For instance, Delaware had 19 ASCs evaluated, of which 9 were evaluated for ophthalmology. Delaware had 3 high-ranking ASCs, which is equivalent to 33.3% of those evaluated in the state. California had 501 ASCs evaluated, of which 226 were evaluated for ophthalmology. The state’s 42 ASCs only account for 18% of all those evaluated in the state for the specialty.

Therefore, weighted ratings for the top states would be

• Massachusetts – 8 of 23 → 34.7%
• Delaware – 3 of 9 → 33.3%
• West Virginia – 1 of 3 → 33.3%
• Alaska – 2 of 7 → 28.5%
• North Dakota – 2 of 8 – 25%
• Nebraska – 5 of 20 → 25%
• Rhode Island – 1 of 4 → 25%
• South Carolina – 7 of 29 → 24.1%
• Nevada – 4 of 18 → 22.2%
• Oklahoma – 6 of 28 → 21.4%
• Virginia – 6 of 29 → 20.6%

Changes from 2025

Most likely due to the increase of inclusion from 10% to 15%, 2026 saw some prominent changes from 2025. Overall, 63 more ASCs were evaluated in ophthalmology and rated as high performing. California saw the largest increase in high-performing ASCs, going from 33 to 42. Florida also jumped to second place overall, going from 21 in 2025 to 24 in 2026.

Additionally, while it stayed in the same spot in the rankings, Pennsylvania lost 2 ASCs ranked as high performing, going from 14 to 12. Arizona, which was ranked as the 6^th state in 2025, is completely absent from the top in 2026. Missouri and Tennessee both saw an increase of 5 ASCs, going from 4 to 9 overall. While New York and New Jersey both saw an increase in 3 ASCs ranked as high performing.

Metro areas also saw a significant change, with New York topping Los Angeles in 2026 with 12 ASCs. Houston, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, and Pittsburgh are absent from the top in 2026, with Pittsburgh losing 3 total ASCs. New in the top for 2026 are Baltimore, Dallas-Fort Worth, Kansas City, San Diego, and Seattle.

A full list of the best ophthalmology ambulatory surgical centers is available online from US News.

References:

1. US News & World Report names 2026 best ambulatory surgery centers. US News & World Report. Published March 17, 2026. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.usnews.com/info/blogs/press-room/articles/2026-03-17/u-s-news-world-report-names-2026-best-ambulatory-surgery-centers

2. Harp MD. US News & World Report releases list of best ophthalmology ambulatory surgical centers in the US. Published March 18, 2025. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/us-news-world-report-releases-list-of-best-ophthalmology-ambulatory-surgical-centers-in-the-us