Here are five things to know about the updates:
1. In addition to no facility fee increase, MedPAC staff recommended facilities be subject to “some form of Medicare cost reporting.”
2. MedPAC argues increases aren’t needed because access to ASC services continue to increase and current access to capital is adequate.
3. Without cost reporting, MedPAC feels it won’t be possible to establish update factors truly reflecting ASCs’ cost structure.
4. The report acknowledged troubling trends due to current payment methods, including:
• Surgical volume is increasing faster in hospital outpatient departments than ASCs
• The patient migration from HOPDs to ASCs is no longer occurring
Hospital outpatient departments still receive higher payment than ASCs for the same outpatient procedures.
5. MedPAC is taking staff recommendations this month and will make final recommendations later this year.
More articles on surgery centers:
5 ASC industry leadership moves
How an OON ASC in a CON state multiplied—And now wants to help others succeed
Healthcare jobs soar in 2014—but will it last? 5 things to know
