Philadelphia-based Wills Eye Institute will remain classified as an ASC after a U.S. district judge upheld CMS' decision to reject the center's specialty care provider's application in 2013, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
Here's what you should know:
1. The center previously operated as a hospital. In 2006, it sold its inpatient business to Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson Hospital and was reclassified by CMS as an ASC. Wills Eye is once again seeking hospital designation.
2. CMS denied the center's application in 2013 on the grounds Wills Eye primarily performs outpatient procedures. The judge sided with CMS saying, "[CMS] set forth a rational basis, supported by substantial evidence, for denying Wills Eye's application based on its scanty provision of inpatient services."
3. Wills Eye released a statement expressing disappointment with the ruling. Officials said, "Having a designation as a hospital is a critical element in Wills’ ability to provide in-patient care because Wills treats some of the most complex and difficult cases in the world."
4. Center officials are considering appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The ruling will cause no immediate changes to the center's services.
5. The hospital designation carries a higher payment rate and expands the scope of procedures a center can perform. At an early January hearing, center attorney Mark Gallant said, "[Wills Eye] is a hospital that's getting reimbursed as though it's a strip mall retinal eye treatment center."