30
HEALTHCARE
NEWS
ADVERTISINGINDEX
ASCs Inc. ascs-inc.com / (760) 751-0250 (pg. 20)
ASD Management. asdmanagement.com / (214) 369-2996 (pg. 12)
Cygnus Medical. cygnusmedical.com / (800) 990-7489 (pg. 23)
Echelon Medical Capital. echelonmedicalcapital.com / (888) 944-7264 (pg. 31)
eSutures. info@esutures.com / esutures.com / (844) 788-8737 (pg. 6)
Hologic. hologic.com / (pg. 24)
Innomed. innomed.net / (912) 236-0000 (pg. 18)
Innovation Sterilization Technologies. iststerlization.com / (937) 619-0138 (pg. 2)
Leiters. leiters.com / (pg. 8)
Modernizing Medicine Gastroenterology. modmed.com/gastro / (954) 541-8240
(pg. 3)
National Medical Billing Services. nationalascbilling.com / (866) 948-8001 (pg. 32)
Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. exparel.com / (1-855) 793-9727 (pgs. 9-10)
Smith & Nephew. smith-nephew.com / (pg. 22)
Surgical Notes. surgicalnotes.com / (800) 459-5616 (pg. 17)
5 predictions for ophthalmology
PE in 2019 — AmSurg, USPI &
more
By Angie Stewart
PhysiciansFirst Healthcare Partners predicts healthcare will see
a significant amount of transactions involving private equity in
2019.
Here are five predictions the investment bank shared:
1. Multiple new entrants will acquire initial platforms.
2. Existing companies will acquire platforms in new geogra-
phies.
3. Platforms will seek growth through acquisition in surround-
ing areas.
4. Practice management companies will merge.
5. The role of ASC companies like Nashville, Tenn.-based
AmSurg, Nashville-based Covenant Surgical Partners and Ad-
dison, Texas-based United Surgical Partners International will
solidify. n
CMS posts payments
for ASCs vs. HOPDs
— Medicare pays
ASCs $359 less
for colonoscopy,
$1,092 less for knee
arthroscopy
By Laura Dyrda
C
MS paved the way for price transparency between ASCs
and hospital outpatient departments with a new tool show-
ing the average payments for select procedures in both
settings.
Here are five things to know:
1. e Procedure Price Lookup tool includes the national aver-
age payments to HOPDs and ASCs, as well as the average copay
Medicare beneficiaries without supplemental insurance would pay
in both settings.
2. e tool meets the requirement Congress set forth in the 21st
Century Cures Act, which mandates CMS maintain separate pay-
ment systems for different types of healthcare providers. "e dif-
ferent payment rates are a prime example of Medicare's misaligned
financial incentives, under which providers can make more money
if they see patients at one location as opposed to another," said
CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
3. Procedure Price Lookup is part of CMS' recently launched
eMedicine initiative, which includes an overhauled version of the
agency's drug pricing and spending dashboards.
4. In some cases, the payments are similar, and in others there are
big differences. For example, Medicare pays $390 for a colonos-
copy in an ASC while it pays $749 for the same procedure in an
HOPD. e average patient copay in an ASC is $98 while patients
pay $187 on average in an HOPD.
5. Several orthopedic procedures are also listed in the database.
For example, Medicare pays $1,024 for a knee arthroscopy with
meniscus repair in an ASC, compared to $2,116 in an HOPD.
Medicare beneficiaries without supplemental insurance have a
copay of $256 in ASCs and $529 in HOPDs. n
