ASCA News Digest

Published December 12, 2023
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ASCA HIGHLIGHTS

Before the end of the year, register for the ASCA 2024 Conference & Expo, taking place April 17–20 in Orlando, Florida. Next year’s conference features a slew of exciting new features as well as returning favorites.

Restructured conference rates mean registration costs are reduced by up to 40 percent!

This new pricing model features the lowest registration rates we’ve offered in years. It will help you save money and make attending ASCA 2024 more accessible than ever before!
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The Coding & Reimbursement for ASCs virtual course provides essential training for ASC billers and coders. During this course, which streams live on January 8 and 9, participants will hear from industry experts as they discuss the coding and billing updates for 2024 and share strategies to maximize ASC reimbursements.

You can purchase this course individually or as part of the 2024 Virtual Course Bundle—a package that gives you four courses for less than the price of three!
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Discover the State of the ASC Industry Report!

45+ chapters of industry research including 125+ data-backed benchmarks to help you optimize your ASC operations using best practices, operational insights, and more.

Read the full report.
Use ASCA’s Medicare payment resources to get ready for the changes set to take effect January 1. These resources include the 2024 Medicare Rate Calculator—a tool that shows your local Medicare payment rates for ASC-payable procedures. These resources are only available to members.

Not a member? Join now!
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Next-Generation ASC Analytics in Action

ASCs pursuing growth avenues and improvement opportunities to strengthen their bottom line are using “next-generation analytics.” Learn what they are and the value of enhanced reporting in this detailed e-book. Gain a better understanding of what reports to run and when and how the right ASC billing partner helps with effective reporting, data analysis, and data-driven action.
Get a full year of top-quality, ASC-specific webinars with ASCA’s 2024 Webinar All-Access Pass. This popular pass includes every webinar in ASCA’s 2024 series at a fraction of the full purchase price. In addition, ASCA has restructured pricing on 2024 education to make the webinar series more affordable than ever.

The 2024 Webinar Series includes eight webinars that cover a variety of topics, including delivery of patient care, beneficial business practices, infection prevention, human resources and more.
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In 2023, ASCA tracked more than 650 bills across the 50 states for potential impacts on ASCs. Certain trends from past years continued, like the focus on surgical smoke evacuation requirements and state-level price transparency requirements. New, disturbing trends also arose and some major changes occurred around certificate of need laws in the South. Read this Digital Debut to learn more.
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On December 5, the House majority added H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, to the voting schedule for next week. The bill was introduced by Energy & Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) on September 8, and ultimately tabled following its referral to the Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce, and Education & the Workforce Committees for consideration of provisions that fall in their respective jurisdictions.
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INDUSTRY NEWS

A bipartisan group of representatives has introduced a bill into the House that would undo a 2024 physician pay cut finalized last month by the Biden administration. The 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule included a decrease in the conversion factor, which is used to calculate Medicare payments to doctors, that translated to a 3.37 percent pay decrease from 2023.
Fierce Healthcare (12/08/23) Dave Muoio
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing consumers, health care providers, and health care facilities that the FDA is evaluating the potential for device failures (such as leaks, breakage, and other problems) with plastic syringes manufactured in China. The FDA is collecting and analyzing data to evaluate plastic syringes made in China used for injecting fluids into, or withdrawing fluids from, the body.
FDA Safety Communication (11/30/23)
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Nearly 60 percent of doctors who practice as employees of hospitals and other corporate entities say that non-physician practice ownership results in lower quality patient care, per a new survey. The 1,000-physician poll was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and was commissioned by the Physicians Advocacy Institute.
Fierce Healthcare (12/05/23) Anastassia Gliadkovskaya
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The past two years have reflected many of the same healthcare trends we outlined in VMG Health's 2021 PATT Report, such as telehealth expansion, value-based care initiatives, and the continued growth of private equity participants. Financial pressures and staffing issues have been exacerbated these past two years, causing healthcare leaders to examine innovative ways to improve their bottom line.
VMG Health (12/07/23)
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Roughly two of every five US physicians intend to reduce their clinical work hours in the next year, more than double previous rates. These findings have potentially profound implications for the adequacy of a US physician workforce already facing substantial shortages.
Mayo Clinic Proceedings (11/23) Vol. 98, No. 11, P. 1629 Tait D. Shanafelt; Liselotte N. Dyrbye; Colin P. West; et al.
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AI-aided colonoscopy significantly enhanced the detection of colorectal neoplasia detection, likely by reducing the miss rate. However, future studies should focus on evaluating the cost-effectiveness and long-term benefits of AI-aided colonoscopy in reducing cancer incidence.
EClinicalMedicine (12/01/23) Vol. 66, P. 102341 Shenghan Lou; Fenqi Du; Wenjie Song; et al.
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News summaries © copyright 2023 Smithbucklin
About ASCA

Mission: The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) is the national membership association that represents ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and provides advocacy and resources to assist ASCs in delivering high-quality, cost-effective ambulatory surgery to all the patients they serve.

About Us: At ASCA, we are eager to help you become better acquainted with our nation's ASCs and the people who own and operate them. We are also eager to help you develop policies on ASC-related issues. If you have questions, please contact us. We'll put you in touch with the experts and, if you like, arrange for you to visit an ASC in your area.

Contact Us: Advertising inquiries should be addressed to Chris Schriever or Alex Yewdell at 202.337.1897 or at advertising@ascassociation.org.

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