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ASC cost study launched by GAO

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, July 12, 2005

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) this month will issue surveys to 50 Medicare-certified ASCs to comply with Congress' mandate that it study Medicare costs performed in surgery centers, according to the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (AAASC).

The GAO hopes to use the data from this pilot study, and from 550 more surveys mailed in several weeks to random surgery centers, to generate a report that will help compare relative costs of procedures performed at ASCs to the relative costs of the same services at hospital outpatient departments.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may use the report to establish a new prospective payment system for ASCs by 2008.

The survey is a four- or-five page document requesting information about facility operations and the volume of procedures the surgery center performs. The GAO will also request a copy of the facility's financial statement for 2004, according to the AAASC.

For more information about the cost study, click here.

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