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AAASC praises quality reporting initiative

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, December 14, 2006

The American Association of American Surgery Centers (AAASC) praised Congress for a provision that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop quality reporting for ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) and hospital outpatient services, according to a press release from AAASC.

The provision requires a "full inflation update to hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgical facilities that choose to provide designated quality data starting no sooner than 2009." It also requires CMS to "develop quality measures for hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgery services utilizing national consensus organizations. Failure to report will result in a 2% payment penalty of the inflation update," according to the release

CMS would post reported information on its Web site for public viewing.

"The Congress has made an important step to help inform the public about their choices and the safety of ASCs and to utilize the work of national consensus organizations like the (National Quality Forum) in developing consensus standards," said Craig Jeffries, executive director of AAASC, in the press release.

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