ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT A Conversation With Iowa ASC Leader


Meg Wiebel The president of the Iowa Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers talks about ways that state efforts benefit the ASC community nationwide.


ASCA: How did you become involved in the ASC industry and the Iowa Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (IAASC)? WIEBEL: I was the di- rector of surgical servic- es for a three-hospital health system in 2006 when a local orthopedic group contacted me to


see whether I was interested in over- seeing the development and manage- ment of their joint venture surgery center. We opened in February 2007 as a two-operating room ASC, and as you can imagine, I needed assistance for this monumental task. One of my first contacts was an administrator of an orthopedic surgery center in Des Moines, Iowa, who had consulted on the project before I was hired. She was also on the executive board of the newly formed Iowa Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers and encouraged me to join. I have found the networking within this great orga- nization to be invaluable.


ASCA: What is your role with IAASC? WIEBEL: I have been on the board since 2009 and am the current president.


ASCA: How did you become involved in IAASC advocacy efforts? WIEBEL: In April 2011, the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) asked that representatives of freestanding surgery centers work together with its own representatives to form an outpa- tient task force. The IHA wanted to see whether Iowa ASCs thought that market share analysis data such as number of visits, charges and referral


30 ASC FOCUS JANUARY 2013


patterns would benefit freestanding surgery centers. The ASC represen- tatives understood the benefit of this market data for hospitals but deter- mined that it might not necessarily enhance strategic planning for ASCs, nor would it “improve patient care,” which was IHA’s rationale for collect- ing the data. Additionally, the IAASC had concerns about the increased


nancial data, forced the IAASC to op- pose the legislation. A legislative bulletin from the IHA at the start of the 2012 legis- lative session stated that one of its legislative goals for 2012 was “en- suring patient safety by licensing freestanding ambulatory surgical centers.” In fact, most ASCs in Iowa are Medicare-certified, and many have obtained additional accredita- tion through the Accreditation As- sociation for Ambulatory Health Care or The Joint Commission. Iowa is one of a handful of states that do not currently have licensure require- ments for ASCs and so, again, we support the initiative. The bulletin


[Lawmakers and government officials] have come to know that we pride ourselves in lean management and processes and that we have much to offer Iowans and the health care system as a cost-effective alternative in a patient-centered environment.”


—Meg Wiebel


workload in ASCs to collect, submit and edit data. These concerns quickly proved valid and the task force was disbanded.


ASCA: I understand that IAASC is work- ing with the state legislature on legis- lation requiring licensure of ASCs. How did this process start? WIEBEL: In January 2012, our organi- zation became aware that the IHA had submitted legislation to require ASC licensure for the first time and require the reporting of data to the IHA, which serves as the data collection agency for the state. We retained a lobbyist, quickly voicing support for the licen- sure provision as well as for quality data reporting. However, the additional reporting requirements, such as physi- cian referral patterns and internal fi-


did not describe the proposed report- ing requirements, but as an organiza- tion, we have discussed many times over the past several years our inten- tion and readiness to report quality data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. We have also partnered with the Iowa Health Col- laborative (IHC), a provider-led and patient-focused nonprofit organiza- tion dedicated to promoting a culture of continuous improvement in health care in Iowa. Our members will be reporting employee influenza immu- nization data to the IHC in the first quarter of 2013.


ASCA: Why it is important for ASCA members to become involved in ASC advocacy activities in their home states and in Washington, DC?


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