Is Owning an ASC Economically Feasible?
Consider the Proposal to Eliminate ASC Fees Even if there are no legal hurdles, investing in an ASC may not make economic sense. The facility fees that Medicare currently pays for pain procedures may be reduced or eliminated in the near future. In a proposed rule published on June 12, HCFA indicated its intent to revise the methodology by which it determines the procedures for which it will pay an ASC facility fee and the dollar amount of that fee. Currently, many pain procedures generate a $314 facility fee. HCFA has proposed cutting that fee to $101, $241, or nothing at all, depending on the procedure [Table 1]. The table also sets forth proposed hospital and physician’s office payment amounts. Whether the reductions as proposed will take effect is an open question. ASA and numerous individual anesthesiologists responded to the HCFA notice of proposed rule-making with comments urging continued payment of the facility fee for the pain procedures in question. The comment period was reo
