COVER STORY The need for advocacy on behalf


of ASCs has never been stronger than it is amid this global pandemic. The advocacy team at ASCA has imple- mented a toolkit to bridge the gap and help you connect with your federal representatives to tell your story. This toolkit will assist you in hosting a vir- tual tour of your facility, giving you a point of reference and basis for discus- sion with your federal representatives. It will ensure impactful efficiency of your time as it helps you advocate for your ASC and patients who need the services your ASC provides. For more information, visit ascassociation.org/ hostafacilitytour.


The ASC Quality and Access Act On the federal level, the ASC Quality and Access Act has been the Govern- ment Affairs Committee’s top prior- ity. This past winter, I led the commit- tee as it assessed the components of the legislation and discussed potential changes to content and strategy for the year ahead. The legislation comprises four


main provisions, each playing a criti- cal role in ASC advocacy:


1. The first provision would re- quire that Medicare payments to ASCs and hospital outpatient departments (HOPD) be updated by the same inflationary index each year. In the past, the HOPD payments were updated by the hospital market basket, while ASC payments were updated by the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U). The hospital market basket is typi- cally greater than the CPI-U. In the calendar year 2019 Out- patient Prospective Payment Sys- tem/Ambulatory Surgical Center (OPPS/ASC) final payment rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medic- aid Services (CMS) acted to update ASC payments by the same hos- pital market basket used to update


payments to HOPDs. CMS, how- ever, has agreed to use this updated payment methodology for an interim period of five years only. This provision would make this change permanent to help support your ASC’s bottom line.


2. The second provision would re- quire CMS to publish relevant and consistent quality data for all providers so that patients can compare quality across sites of service. Currently, Medicare ben- eficiaries can access cost informa- tion to compare ASCs to HOPDs. This provision would allow them to review quality information to complement that cost information.


3. The third provision would re- quire CMS to include an ASC representative on its Advisory Panel


on Hospital


HOPD and ASC facility fees and eligible procedures.


4. The fourth provision would re- quire CMS to provide the ASC community with more information and disclose which criteria trigger the exclusion of a procedure from the ASC approved list.


While 2020 surely created adversity


for the ASC community, we continue to use this very adversity to create oppor- tunity in 2021—striving for continued support from the appropriate govern- ment entities, promoting the use of tools and technology to adapt to the new nor- mal, and ensuring a successful strategy is in place for the future of ASCs.


Outpatient


Payment (HOP). The HOP makes decisions that affect both


Annie Sariego, RN, CASC, is the chair of AS- CA's Government Affairs Committee and the senior vice president of operations at Physi- cians Endoscopy in Jamison, Pennsylvania. Write her at asariego@endocenters.com.


ASCA Appoints COVID-19 Safe Surgery


Work Group Its goal is to keep ASCs open through the pandemic BY DEBRA STINCHCOMB, RN, CASC


By the time this article is published, this pandemic will be 10 months old. While this feels like a life- time to many of us, it is a


short time for researching any virus and determining clear, long-term direction on how to adjust our lives to it. ASCA has assisted the ASC com- munity from day one. We now know the cost of not being able to provide elective surgeries for patients, especially in terms of pro- cedures such as colonoscopies, can- cer biopsies and other procedures that are termed “elective” but are nec-


16 ASC FOCUS JANUARY 2021 | ascfocus.org


essary for good patient outcomes. We also know the benefit of having ASCs in communities: we helped our local hospitals with personal protec- tive equipment (PPE) and medication when shortages arose. We stood ready to provide emergency outpatient sur- gery to any patients the hospitals could not manage.


What happens going forward?


We do not know when the pandemic will end nor when spikes will disap- pear. We all want elective surgeries to be available in our communities, assuming local trends show they can occur without compromising hospital


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