Denver, CO –– U.S. Congressman Cory Gardner R-Colo. (4th district) met with physicians, ambulatory surgery center administrators and board members of the Colorado Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (CASCA) June 29 to tour the Surgery Center of Fort Collins and discuss important ASC issues in the healthcare industry.
The visit primarily was held to discuss the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Access Act of 2011. This legislation will make several industry changes, including employing the hospital “market basket" method of pricing for ASCs to ensure a more accurate comparison between hospital and ASC pricing, implementing a voluntary quality measures reporting system to align ASCs with systems used in hospitals and similar facilities, adding a surgery center industry representative to the Advisory Panel for Ambulatory Payment Classifications Group and streamlining disclosure procedures for physicians to provide patients who wish to receive care sooner with the opportunity to do so.
“The passage of this legislation will level the playing field for ASCs regarding how Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Advisory Panel for Ambulatory Classifications Group views the industry as a whole," said CASCA president Lisa Austin. “It is critical to educate and engage our senators and congressman if we expect their support, I want to congratulate Ross Alexander for doing the work to make this a success."
Alexander is CEO of the Surgery Center and also is CASCA secretary and chair of its Government Relations Committee. He reached out to the congressman in coordination with ASCA to brief him on ASC issues and to discuss the legislation.
After the tour, Rep. Gardner praised surgical centers, and cited a recent Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment bulletin indicating that surgery centers reported 7 percent fewer infections across all categories for surgery acquired infections. Gardner took questions and explained his involvement with previous health care legislation.
The Colorado Ambulatory Surgery Center Association is committed to ensuring that surgery centers continue to thrive as a distinct model for the delivery of safe, affordable and advanced surgical services to Colorado’s health care consumers. CASCA is a statewide, nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the industry in Colorado and, by extension, nationwide. For more information, contact Rob Schwartz, CASCA executive director, at (303) 761-1048. For more information on the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Access Act of 2011, visit
