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AAASC issues position statement on ASC charity care

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, September 6, 2005

In response to recent reports claiming that ASCs provide small amounts of charity care compared to hospitals, the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (AAASC) has issued a position statement outlining why these statistics are misleading.

The statement, posted on the AAASC Web site, gives a breakdown of how not for profit (NFP) hospitals receive compensation in a number of ways for providing charity care and explains why ASCs do not typically receive similar compensation, thus limiting the ability to provide extensive care.

Some of the reasons, according to the statement, include the following:

• "NFP hospitals are tax-exempt, and therefore typically pay no taxes," whereas because "ASCs typically are organized as for-profit entities they pay sales tax, personal property tax, and real estate/real property taxes. In addition, physician and corporate owners of ASCs pay state and federal income tax on their share of the income."

• "Medicare pays hospitals for up to 70% of uncompensated care arising from services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries (i.e., patient nonpayment of deductible or copayment amounts)," whereas "Medicare does not comparably subsidize ASCs for the Medicare bad debts they incur."

To view the statement, click here.

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