Four lawmakers have reintroduced legislation to increase Medicare beneficiaries' access to affordable outpatient surgical care.
Sens. Bill Cassidy, MD, and Richard Blumenthal along with Reps. Brad Wenstrup, DPM, and John Larson are working to pass the Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act.
The goal of the bill is to close the reimbursement gap between hospital outpatient departments and ASCs, end copay penalties for Medicare beneficiaries, address barriers to affordable and quality care, and increase transparency about CMS' procedure coverage at ASCs, according to a news release from Dr. Cassidy's office.
"Patients shouldn't be charged more for a procedure just because it was performed by an outpatient provider. The current restrictions on ambulatory surgery centers are an unnecessary burden — limiting seniors' access to care and driving up healthcare costs," Mr. Blumenthal said in the release.