Question

with con ation 10. Should hospitals get paid more than physicians and surgery centers for providing the same services? On average, ASCs are paid about 50 percent of what hospitals are paid for the same procedure Hospitals argue that this extra payment is in exchange for all the other things that hospitals do (e.g., trauma and specialized care, uncompensated

Answer 1

Should hospitals get paid more physicians and surgery centers for providing the same services?

On average, ASCs are paid about 50 percent of what hospitals are paid for the same procedure. Hospitals argue that this extra payment is in exchange for all the other things that hospitals do (e.g., trauma and specialized care, uncompensated care, etc.) and is necessary for hospital financial survival.

Physicians and providers assert that these subsidies are unfairly beneficial to hospitals and subsidize hospitals' ability to employ physicians and move the business to hospitals.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommended Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seek legislation to make it possible to reduce hospital outpatient department rates. CMS disagreed with the OIG recommendations, which may be in part due to the financial stress already facing hospitals. Also, CMS may be more subject to politics than the OIG.

In some ways, the differences in rates for the same procedure in different settings reflect the bastardization of healthcare policy.

However, it is very unlikely (due to hospitals' political clout and other reasons) of this payment change or any similar change occurring near term.