ASCs projected to save Medicare more than $73B in next decade: analysis

Ambulatory surgery centers reduced Medicare costs by nearly $29 billion between 2011 and 2018 by providing services in a lower-cost setting than hospital outpatient departments, according to a new analysis. 

The report also estimates ASC's saved Medicare $4.2 billion in 2018, the latest data available.

It should be noted the analysis, conducted by KNG Health Consulting, was commissioned by the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. It projects procedures provided to Medicare patients in ASCs would reduce Medicare cost by more than $73 billion between 2019 and 2028. 

“This study provides data that Medicare officials and everyone committed to reducing the cost of healthcare need to consider,” says ASCA Chief Executive Officer William Prentice said in a statement. “With a few policy changes to encourage the migration of more procedures into the ASC setting, Medicare savings could accelerate and more Medicare patients would have access to the quality care that ASCs offer.”

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More than 5,800 ASCs provide services to Medicare beneficiaries. On average, Medicare pays ASCs one-half of hospital outpatient department (HOPD) rates for the same procedures, the report says.

Authors of the analysis said they examined Medicare claims and other publicly available data to examine the volume of procedures performed at ASCs, compare the payment rates of HOPDs and ASCs, and develop assumptions on future growth.

The analysis attributes much of the savings since 2011 to a stable group of high-volume procedures, such as cataract surgery and colonscopies. It projects that future savings are expected to be driven by goriwn specialties such as endocrine, cardiovascular and orthopedic surgery.

The report recommends policy makers "prioritize policies that incentivize safe migration of eligible procedures to the ASC setting."