Will the year bring on new challenges and opportunities for ASCs, or will 2024 be "status quo"?
Becker's connected with three healthcare leaders who shared what they expect the year will have on the horizon for ASCs.
Note: These responses have been edited lightly for length and clarity.
Question: What's in store for ASCs in 2024?
Dane Bennett. Director of Government Relations at Baptist Health (Jacksonville, Fla.). ASCs not associated with hospitals/emergency departments continue to advocate for site-neutral payments, stating "hospital outpatient departments are reimbursed, on average, twice as much as ACSs for the same service." This entire movement fails to recognize the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act and the extra burden placed on hospitals to treat and care for underfunded and uninsured patients in our community.
Site-neutral provisions were moving through Congress; however, they are currently limited to outpatient drugs. Nevertheless, of the six appropriations bills released, collectively dubbed the "Health Extenders Package," none included the site-neutral payment cuts to hospitals. From a policy perspective, 2024 is status quo for ASCs.
Brian Bizub. CEO of Raleigh (N.C.) Orthopaedic Clinic.
1. Direct employer valued-based care. The fee-for-service model will begin to fade away and be replaced by a value-based model, which will eventually be mandated by health insurance plans and self-funded employers based on quality, infection rates and costs. Payers as well as self-funded employers will eventually only participate in narrow networks, where physicians and facilities are offering bundled surgical and non-surgical services and price transparency.
2. Price transparency. Increased pressure from patients and employers looking for the best value and quality outcomes. Price transparency will play an important role in the growth of an ASC over the next few years. Health insurance deductibles and coinsurance continue to rapidly rise annually, and consumers are shopping around and taking control of their healthcare spending.
3. Patient satisfaction. Ensuring the culture of the ASC is patient-centric boosting patient satisfaction, which ultimately leads to greater profitability and success. Implementing a patient satisfaction program allows the ASC leadership to review metrics and make necessary changes that will lead to the success and growth of any ASC.
The future of ASCs and their success require ASC leaders to be fully engaged every day to ensure that the ASC follows rapidly changing regulatory requirements, constantly focusing on improving operational efficiencies, renegotiate vendor pricing more frequently, preparation to add more complex cases to their growth strategy as CMS moves more inpatient-only procedures to the ASC procedural list, as well as taking advantage of emerging technology.
Karley Jennings. Administrator of Jefferson Endoscopy Center at Bala (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.). In 2024, ASCs will continue to compete with their hospital-based competitors to deliver quality care at a lower cost. However, as more procedures are pushed from inside hospitals to the outpatient sector, patient satisfaction will have a financial impact on the business like never before. Patients will become personally invested in where they choose to spend their healthcare dollars as CMS begins reimbursing based on patient satisfaction, and not just on a contracted rate. This shift in influence is supporting a value-based system that empowers not only the patients but also the staff and physicians of the ASC. There will be a financial incentive to provide quality patient care not only on the day of surgery, but before and after the patient visits the facility.