In a comment letter to CMS on its proposed outpatient prospective payment system rule to start Jan. 1, 2011, the AHA expressed "serious concerns" about "the continuing failure of CMS to require ASC quality and cost reporting."
The AHA also urged CMS to change proposed OPPS rules on supervision of outpatient therapeutic services, calculating the payment adjustment for cancer hospitals and new measures for imaging efficiency, according to an AHA News Now report.
ASC quality reporting
In the 2010 proposed rule, AHA said CMS continues to delay implementing quality reporting for ASCs. "The AHA encourages CMS to implement a quality reporting system for ASCs as soon as possible," the letter stated.
It added: "All providers that perform the same services should be held to the same accountability standards with respect to the quality of the care they deliver. Likewise, patients deserve the same transparency about the quality of care from all facilities where they may seek a particular service. It is a disservice to patients that they have access to surgical quality information from hospital outpatient departments, but the same level of transparency from ASCs is unavailable to them."
ASC cost reporting
Turning to cost reporting, the letter said CMS' proposal to revise the ASC payment system does not use ASC cost information, but instead relies on "the relativity of hospital outpatient costs" developed for the outpatient prospective payment system. AHA noted MedPAC has recommended ASCs should be required to submit cost data so that HHS could effectively evaluate the adequacy of the payments.
"The AHA continues to urge CMS to require ASCs to begin to routinely report cost data to allow for future validation of the relative appropriateness of ASC payment weights and rates," the letter said. "This could be accomplished through implementing an ASC cost-reporting system or through the periodic collection of ASC cost data at the procedure level."
Read the AHA News Now report on ASC quality and cost reporting.
Read the comment letter on OPPS proposed rule (pdf).
Read more on OPPS proposed rule:
- CMS Announces Proposed Payment Rates for Surgery Centers and Outpatient Departments
- CMS Releases July Update to Hospital OPPS
- AHA Suggests Changes to CMS OPPS, Surgery Center Physician Supervision Policy
The AHA also urged CMS to change proposed OPPS rules on supervision of outpatient therapeutic services, calculating the payment adjustment for cancer hospitals and new measures for imaging efficiency, according to an AHA News Now report.
ASC quality reporting
In the 2010 proposed rule, AHA said CMS continues to delay implementing quality reporting for ASCs. "The AHA encourages CMS to implement a quality reporting system for ASCs as soon as possible," the letter stated.
It added: "All providers that perform the same services should be held to the same accountability standards with respect to the quality of the care they deliver. Likewise, patients deserve the same transparency about the quality of care from all facilities where they may seek a particular service. It is a disservice to patients that they have access to surgical quality information from hospital outpatient departments, but the same level of transparency from ASCs is unavailable to them."
ASC cost reporting
Turning to cost reporting, the letter said CMS' proposal to revise the ASC payment system does not use ASC cost information, but instead relies on "the relativity of hospital outpatient costs" developed for the outpatient prospective payment system. AHA noted MedPAC has recommended ASCs should be required to submit cost data so that HHS could effectively evaluate the adequacy of the payments.
"The AHA continues to urge CMS to require ASCs to begin to routinely report cost data to allow for future validation of the relative appropriateness of ASC payment weights and rates," the letter said. "This could be accomplished through implementing an ASC cost-reporting system or through the periodic collection of ASC cost data at the procedure level."
Read the AHA News Now report on ASC quality and cost reporting.
Read the comment letter on OPPS proposed rule (pdf).
Read more on OPPS proposed rule:
- CMS Announces Proposed Payment Rates for Surgery Centers and Outpatient Departments
- CMS Releases July Update to Hospital OPPS
- AHA Suggests Changes to CMS OPPS, Surgery Center Physician Supervision Policy