FEATURE
comes as large institutions. As quality and cost consciousness increase, so do the opportunities for ASCs. From the prospective patient’s per- the
spective, traditional challenge
remains “patient acceptance” so that a patient feels just as secure in an ASC setting as in a hospital. Another chal- lenge is properly positioned and pro- gressive, effective management of the centers. Finally, as more physicians become employed by institutions, the pool of potential surgeon owners of ASCs continues to decrease.
ASCs and Health Care Reform
Attorney Mark Wilson discusses opportunities and challenges in today’s marketplace
Please tell me about yourself and your experience working with ASCs and other outpatient surgery providers. WILSON: I am a member of the Dickin- son Wright law firm where I focus my practice on health care law. I have been working on the formation and oper- ation of large-scale physician “super groups”—group practices containing 25–200+ physicians—for a number of years and have assisted in the creation of many physician-owned outpatient sur- gical, endoscopy and vascular access centers. I have also facilitated the cre- ation of medical “mega-medaplexes”— large physician-owned real estate proj- ects that create a comprehensive medical campus—and a myriad of other single- and multi-specialty physician-owned medical facilities throughout Michigan
Mark Wilson Lawyers Association.
Under health care reform, what opportunities do you see for ASCs? What challenges? WILSON: Under the commonly known health care reform initiatives, there is increasing focus on achieving high quality outcomes in a cost-efficient manner. They understand that, if oper- ated and managed correctly, ASCs can offer significant cost savings while achieving the same high-quality out-
and the US. I am a member of the State Bar of Mich- igan, the Ameri- can Bar Associa- tion Health Law Section and the American Health
What strategies would help ASCs survive and grow in this new environment? WILSON: For ASCs to survive and grow in this environment, patient-cen- tered focus must remain the true guide. At most of the ASCs I have worked with, when you are talking to your surgeon you are also talking with an owner of the facility; so if you have not had a good experience, that physician can see that changes are made quickly. On the economics side, with many
of the “exchange” health insurance plans carrying much higher deduct- ibles, inherently the cost structure of an ASC makes it attractive to these policyholders. As ASCs continue to demonstrate the high quality of care they provide and as physicians are now being judged on the cost of their patients to the government and payers, the physicians are further incentivized to guide their patients to cost-effective treatment centers. This coupled with a growing trend of creating location neutral facility fee reimbursements by payers makes the ASC a logical choice for certain procedures.
Are there any operational models for ASCs that will be more successful than others in the coming years?
The advice and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not represent official Dickinson Wright or Ambulatory Surgery Center Association policy or opinion.
ASC FOCUS FEBRUARY 2015 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30
