The ASC Advocacy Committee joined more than a dozen senators in calling on CMS to make changes to its payment updates for ambulatory surgery centers that would align their rates with those paid to hospital outpatient departments.

In a letter to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, the committee provides several recommendations in response to the agency's proposed 0% increase in ASC payment rates for 2011. "Under the 2011 CMS proposed rule for ASC services, ASC rates will drop below 57% of the hospital rate," notes the committee.

In order to "halt further divergence in the payment rates for" ASCs and HOPDs, ASCAC is asking CMS to use the hospital market basket to update payment rates for ASCs instead of the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, which the group calls "a poor proxy for rising ASC costs." A group of 21 senators sent a similar letter to Dr. Berwick earlier this month is support of using the hospital market basket for ASCs.

ASCAC also reiterated its call for CMS to include the ambulatory surgery industry in the development of a value-based purchasing program for ASCs, which the organization says would "create competition in the healthcare system based on quality and efficiency, drive improvement in care and improve transparency across all outpatient surgery providers."

"CMS has the authory to make incremental changes to the Medicare program to better align the ASC and HOPD payment systems," says ASCAC Chair Andrew Hayek, who is also the president and CEO or Surgical Care Affiliates. "Such changes will facilitate stability across the industry, improve beneficiary access and encourage the continued migration of procedures into the least costly, clinically appropriate setting."

Irene Tsikitas

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