Three recent ASC proposals have received opposition from community groups and other healthcare organizations for reasons varying from traffic to excess services at other facilities.
Here are three ASC proposals receiving opposition and the groups behind it:
1. Rockford-based OrthoIllinois' proposed ASC narrowly failed to pass during the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board meeting May 4, Health News Illinois reported May 5.
According to documents on the board's website, the project received over 20 letters of opposition ranging from state representatives to healthcare providers. Reasons for opposition included criticism that the ASC will result in "excess capacity" at nearby facilities and that the for-profit ASC would "divert nearly two-thirds of their patients from local community hospitals while providing little to no Medicaid services."
Read OrthoIllinois' response to the state board's denial here.
2. A coalition of healthcare providers, community groups and business groups was created in opposition of Boston-based Mass General Brigham's $400 million ASC expansion across Massachusetts, MetroWest Daily News reported April 28.
The group, dubbed Coalition to Protect Community Care, says the three planned ASCs will increase healthcare costs and threaten the availability of existing services. The group's website says that the services offered at the proposed facilities are "already offered by lower-cost, high-quality community providers in these regions."
3. Olathe (Kan.) Health has submitted to the city council plans to develop a two-story medical office building with an ASC, according to Kansas City Business Journal.
Nearly 1,200 area residents signed an online petition opposing the development of the campus, citing concerns about traffic and home values, according to the report.