Devin Nunes, R.-Calif., and John Larson, D-Conn., introduced the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality and Access Act of 2017 in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an ASCA report.
Here are five things to know about the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality and Access Act of 2017:
1. The Act has 27 original cosponsors and extensive support in Congress.
2. The Act would fix current law, which allows CMS to calculate reimbursement for ASCs and hospital outpatient departments with different measures of inflation. The current system penalizes ASCs, which are the lower cost provider.
3. The Act requires quality reporting transparency and CMS would publish the relevant quality data so patients have access to quality information.
4. Under the Act, a representative from the ASC community would have a seat on CMS' Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment, which makes decisions for both HOPDs and ASCs.
5. CMS would be required to disclose which six criteria trigger a procedure's exclusion from the ASC approved list.