Ambulatory Surgery Center Association Applauds Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Commitment to Reducing ASC Regulatory Burden
WASHINGTON, DC, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019—The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) commends the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for its ongoing commitment to reducing the regulatory burden ASCs face while continuing to support patient access to the high-quality care ASCs provide. These accolades come on the heels of yesterday’s release of a final rule that promotes program efficiency, transparency and burden reduction by reforming Medicare regulations identified as unnecessary, obsolete or excessively burdensome.
ASCA also commends its members who have been working with CMS on these and similar burden reduction measures for many years.
The rule eliminates the hospital transfer agreement requirement and changes emergency preparedness and medical history and physical assessment (H&P) rules. Specifically, it will
- replace the requirement that ASCs have a written transfer agreement with a local hospital or hospital admitting privileges for all the physicians who practice in the ASC with a requirement that ASCs provide the hospital with written notice related to their operations and the population they serve;
- replace the requirement that all ASC patients have a medical history and physical assessment completed by a physician not more than 30 days before their scheduled surgery with a requirement for the ASC to develop and maintain a policy appropriate to the patients it serves; and
- reduce documentation requirements surrounding ASC emergency preparedness planning and the frequency of certain emergency preparedness drills.
“This rule,” says ASCA Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice, “will make it easier for ambulatory surgery centers to remain efficient and affordable providers of outpatient surgery without compromising their commitment to patient safety.”
It is important to note that if an ASC’s state law or accrediting body requirements are more restrictive than the new CMS Conditions for Coverage, those other requirements take precedence. More information on the new rule is available on ASCA’s website.
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About the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association
The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association is the national membership association that represents ambulatory surgery centers and provides advocacy and resources to assist members in delivering high-quality, cost-effective ambulatory surgery to all the patients they serve. To learn more, visit ASCA and Advancing Surgical Care. For media inquiries, write Kay Tucker or call 703.636.0491.