With the recent updates to the CMS approved outpatient procedures list, ASC leaders are worried about their revenue streams drying up as payers mirror the CMS change.
Will Enright, MD, owner of Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Specialists in Green Bay, Wis., and medical director of the practice's Orthopedic Surgery Center of the Fox Valley in Neenah, Wis., told "Becker's ASC Review Podcast" that his practices have made employer deals a top focus.
Note: This is an edited excerpt. Listen to the full podcast episode here.
Question: What are some of your priorities for 2021?
Dr. Will Enright: [A main] priority we have for 2021 is continuing to strike more direct deals with employers and also further establishing a bundled payment package. Over the past few years, patients have seen an increase in high deductible plans. I think for the first time in a long time, patients are more cost-conscious when making their healthcare decisions and we stand at a great advantage with this.
Patients are starting to ask about that more and they're starting to recognize it, and we need to learn how to continue to press that advantage and educate people that we are a high quality, lower-cost alternative to having surgery done in the hospital setting.
Once [the employers] understand who we are and what we do and the potential cost savings ... they really see the advantage. [Then] they need to find a way to convince their employees that this is the way to go.
They need to then find a way to incentivize their employees to come and see us. And there are a variety of ways to do that. ... It has been a big satisfier to the employers and to the employees that they can find this lower-cost option for their orthopedic surgery. The patients themselves are happy with the care they're getting with us. So they're happy, the employer is happy, we're of course happy to take care of them in our surgery center. So it's a win all around.