CMS: Hospital Outpatient Departments Perform Twice as Many ASC-Eligible Procedures as Surgery Centers

Growth of Medicare volume in ASCs continues to creep upwards, with surgery centers performing 6.6 million procedures for Medicare beneficiaries in 2011 — an increase of 3 percent from 2010.

CMS released data that shows nearly twice as many ASC-eligible procedures are currently being performed in hospital outpatient departments than ASCs. According to ASCA, the revised ASC payment system implemented in 2008 has not had a major effect in moving procedures to the ASC setting.

If half of the ASC-eligible procedures performed in HOPDs were performed in ASCs, Medicare would save $2.5 billion every year, according to ASCA.

Related Articles on Surgery Center Operations:
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