The following article is written by Nap Gary, vice-chair of the board of directors of the ASC Association and COO of Regent Surgical Health.
These are challenging economic times for ambulatory surgery centers. The urgency of deficit reduction means greater downward pressure on funding of all government programs, including Medicare. A maturing industry, the rise in employment of surgeons by hospitals, tighter (and arguably unreasonable) controls on out-of-network reimbursement, and many other factors are contributing to much narrower operating margins for many centers. Additionally, there appears to be an effort underway to undermine the reputation for quality outcomes that is at the core of the ASC model.
The irony, as we all know, is that ambulatory surgery centers provide a service model that deserves to be at the forefront of healthcare reform. We provide high quality care, outstanding efficiency, and great patient satisfaction while at the same time saving the government billions of dollars over the cost of providing that care in other settings.
The ASC Association — the industry's national trade organization — is leading the charge to assure that our message is delivered and understood. Under the leadership of Bill Prentice, a healthcare association veteran who joined ASCA as its executive director last October, the organization is working with the ASC Advocacy Committee and all industry constituents to improve the effectiveness of advocacy for everyone. Among many current initiatives is new legislation that will be proposed to base reimbursement rate inflation updates on a healthcare market basket, rather than on the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), which is the methodology currently in effect. The CPI-U does not provide an accurate gauge of cost increases that affect ASCs, and in fact ours is the only sector of healthcare that is required to use it. Converting to a market basket update methodology will provide a fairer and more consistent measure.
The legislation also seeks to establish a quality reporting system as well as a value-based purchasing system that rewards ASCs for high-quality care. If patients, payors and lawmakers are to understand how well we perform, it's important that comparisons be made on a level playing field. One of ASCAs highest priorities is quality improvement for ASCs.
Many related efforts are underway at the same time. ASCA is working to establish a comprehensive grassroots network. Contributions to ASCPAC — the industry's political action committee — increased dramatically during the first quarter of 2011. We regularly publish a champions newsletter and updates on breaking developments that affect ASCs. All of this, of course, is in addition to the education and support services to members that the association has historically provided.
I encourage you to learn more about ASCA at www.ascassociation.org, to attend the annual meeting in Orlando from May 11-14, and above all to get involved in the advocacy effort to assure that ASCs are an integral part of the future of healthcare.
Learn more about the ASC Association.
Learn more about Regent Surgical Health.