Related Party Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related Party Transactions

Related Party Transactions

Certain surgery centers lease space from entities affiliated with their physician partners at negotiated rates that management believes were equal to fair market value at the inception of the leases based on relevant market data.  Certain surgery centers reimburse their physician partners for salaries and benefits and billing fees related to time spent by employees of their practices on activities of the centers at current market rates.  In addition, certain centers compensate at market rates their physician partners for physician advisory services provided to the surgery centers, including medical director and performance improvement services.   

Related party payments for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 were as follows (in thousands):

	2014		2013		2012
Operating leases	$	27,559	$	29,240	$	29,079
Salaries and benefits	66,763		72,892		65,908
Billing fees	9,899		11,591		11,126
Medical advisory services	2,811		2,993		2,671

The Company also reimburses their physician partners for operating expenses paid by the physician partners to third party providers on the behalf of the surgery center. The Company believes that the foregoing transactions are reasonably expected to benefit the Company and that the amount of reimbursed expenses included in other operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of earnings for each of the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 were not significant.

It is the Company’s policy that all transactions by the Company with officers, directors, five percent shareholders and their affiliates be entered into only if such transactions are on terms no less favorable to the Company than could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties, are reasonably expected to benefit the Company and are approved by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors.