Whats Ahead for ASCs in 2009?
1/1/2009 12:00:00 AM by: Kathy Bryant Medicare’s New Payment System—Year 2 The second year of the new Medicare payment system begins on January 1, 2009. ASCs will experience fewer changes in policies and processes in 2009 than in 2008 because Medicare is using the same system as in 2008. Instead, the major changes ASCs will face will be in the amounts of the payments they receive. In this regard, ASCs will see significant changes. All 10 of the procedures performed most frequently in ASCs will be reimbursed at a lower level in 2009 than in 2008. The reimbursement rate for one of these will be 22% lower than in 2008. Of course not all the reimbursement rates will go down. Many will go up. There is great variability in the impact of these payment changes in individual ASCs depending on what procedures an ASC performs. For example, single-specialty gastroenterology and pain management ASCs can expect decreases in Medicare reimbursement, while ASCs that provide primarily orthopedic and vas
