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Insurer encourages ASC-based colonoscopies

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, July 4, 2006

The San Fransisco Chronicle published an editorial defending cost-control measures by Blue Cross of California designed to encourage enrollees to undergo colonoscopies in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).

Opponents criticized Blue Cross of California, claiming the insurer had induced its physicians to order more tests and make medical decisions based on financial considerations rather than their patients' best interests. However, the editorial argues that ASCs can provide necessary preventative tests such as colonoscopies to patients at a much more affordable rate than hospitals.

A colonoscopy procedure can cost $3,000-$6,000 in a California hospital, compared to as little as a few hundred dollars in an ASC, according to the article.

To view the article from the San Fransisco Chronicle, click here.

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