Ambulatory Surgical Center - In Brief - payments for services to increase - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Healthcare Financial Management, Nov, 2001

Medicare ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payments will increase by 0.9 percent for services furnished on or after October 1, 2001, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS-formerly HCFA) announced in Program Memorandum (PM) AB-0l-121, dated September 7, 2001. To account for inflation, ASCs will be paid at the following rates: Group 1, $323; Group 2, $433; Group 3, $495; Group 4, $612; Group 5, $696; Group 6, $806; Group 7, $966; Group 8, $949.

By law, inflationary adjustments are limited to two percentage points below the consumer price index, which currently is forecast at 2.9 percent. To read PM AB-01-121, goto http://www. hcfa.gov/pubforms/transmit/AB0l121.pdf.