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ASC payment reform bill introduced in House
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WASHINGTON — A bill that would equalize Medicare payments between hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers and expand the list of Medicare-covered ASC procedures is receiving support from organized ophthalmology.
The bill, HR 4042, was introduced in the House by Rep. Wally Herger, R.-Calif.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology supports the bill, the organization said in a press release. According to the AAO, the bill adopts the 2004 recommendations of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to replace the “current narrowly drawn inclusionary list of Medicare-approved ASC procedures with a list of procedures expressly excluded from Medicare payment, based on clinical safety standards and required overnight stays.” The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the list at least every 2 years.
Along with AAO, the bill has received support from the Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society and “the rest of the ASC community,” according to the AAO press release.