From consistently declining reimbursements to inflation and staffing shortages, these are the healthcare trends that ASC leaders told Becker's they're tired of hearing about and want to see action on:
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Suzi Cunningham. Administrator of Advanced Ambulatory Surgery Center. (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.): ASCs need stronger legislative representation to ensure that we can survive in the future. We are being squeezed financially and will not survive if we don't get equal reimbursements as HOPDs. As surgery centers, we do not get the benefit of hospital [group purchasing organization] pricing, nor do we get government help, and our reimbursements are decreasing when our costs to operate have increased substantially. While we can and do save insurance companies an incredible amount of money, and provide more specialized care with better outcomes, we are paid a percentage of what HOPDs receive. This absolutely can't continue and have us survive. And because we don't have the deep pockets, we aren't able to get adequate representation. Honestly, there is nothing more important at this point in time. It should be the topic of conversation.
James O'Leary, MD, CEO of RealDocSpeaks: There continues to be a large discrepancy in reimbursement between ASCs and HOPDs. The ASCs are paid 53% of what HOPDs are paid under Medicare. I am tired of hearing politicians justify the significant pay differential for the same procedure. ASCs offer a much better patient experience and value for patients and health plans.
We need site-neutral payments and a regulatory structure encouraging physician entrepreneurship and providing the value, quality and innovation patients deserve.
Patrick McEneaney. CEO of Northern Illinois Foot and Ankle Specialists (Crystal Lake, Ill.): I think we are all tired of hearing about anesthesia shortages. It is a serious issue in the surgical realm. There are surgery centers that are not functioning at full capacity because of this. I have also seen block times pulled away from doctors because of lack of anesthesia. There needs to be concerted efforts to fix the anesthesia problem by the medical community. It is a knife in the heart to an ASC when cases have to be turned down from lack of anesthesia.