Here are four legislative issues impacting ASCs:
CMS posts payment tool comparing ASCs and HOPDs
CMS has paved the way for price transparency between ASCs and hospital outpatient departments with a new tool that reveals the average payments for select procedures in both settings. The Procedure Price Lookup tool includes the national average payment amounts to HOPDs and ASCs, as well as the average copay Medicare beneficiaries without supplemental insurance would pay in both settings.
Trump administration asks providers for help changing kickback laws
President Donald Trump's administration asked physicians and hospitals to offer suggestions for "a new exception to the physician self-referral law" and "exceptions to the definition of renumeration." In response, healthcare providers and lobbyists have sent hundreds of letters asking the government to scale back federal fraud and abuse laws.
AACU: Laws unfairly protect big players, threaten to 'dissolve' low-cost care
The American Association of Clinical Urologists lauded the proposed 2019 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC Payment System. AACU said the proposal tackles the "inequitable" reimbursement differential between office settings, hospital outpatient departments and ASCs, although it doesn't directly address the structural difference between ASC and HOPD payments.
The Heartland Institute: Alaska's CON laws are overly restrictive for surgery centers
Certificate of need laws are hurting Alaska in more ways than one, according to The Heartland Institute. While CON laws are restrictive by nature, Alaska's geographical location is reportedly hurting access to care and driving up costs because of the monopolistic tendency of the state's healthcare setting.
More articles on turnarounds:
4 legislative changes impacting ASCs — August 2018
Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society supports CMS' decision to remove transfer agreement, H&P requirements
3 things to know on private equity investment in ophthalmology ASCs