Becker's ASC Review

5 ASC MANAGEMENT OIG says consultant's gift cards to physicians for referrals don't violate anti-kickback By Laura Dyrda T he Office of the Inspector General weighed in on whether a consultant providing gi cards to physicians for referrals is considered a kickback. In a letter posted Jan. 3, the OIG said the situation did not violate the anti-kickback statute. e OIG was responding to a letter from an unnamed source that provides consulting services to physician practices to support their businesses in a variety of ways, including identifying workflow issues, supporting digital transformation and data analytics, and more. Some of the services could result in higher Merit-Based Incentive Payment Systems reimbursement. e practices pay the consultant a fee for services unrelated to reimbursement. e consultant gives customers recommending services to other physician practices a $25 gi card per recommendation, and if the referral turns into a new customer, the consultant provides another $50 gi card. e consultant does not recommend customers purchase, lease or order items or services under a federal healthcare program.e consultant also doesn't have ownership or investment in other entities providing products or services paid for by the federal health program, according to the letter. e OIG did state the opinion was applicable to the requestor, and would not be applied to any other request due to the individual circumstances. n Physicians are fed up — and ASCs may have an edge By Paige Haeffele A s the field of medicine faces an exodus of physicians, plummeting job satisfaction and skyrocketing costs, the future of healthcare may seem grim. However, ASCs have an opportunity larger hospitals and health systems do not. Medicine is facing a potential shortage of 124,000 physicians by 2034. is is no surprise, given growing levels of burnout, career dissatisfaction and unhappiness among physicians of all specialties. is dissatisfaction among physicians is not unique to those new to the field. According to Medscape's "Physicians Eye Retirement 2023 Report," burnout is a key factor in why physicians are retiring. According to the report, 74% of physicians planning to retire want to due to burnout from medicine. In light of this, changes likely are needed to retain physicians and increase morale among providers. Because of this, ASCs could have an advantage. ASCs, particularly independent ones, have smaller staffs and do not report to a massive health system. Any policy, staffing or practice changes oen can be decided — and implemented — on a practice- by-practice basis with less red tape to navigate compared to that of multipractice, multihospital health systems. Healthcare leaders such as Catherine Chang, MD, vice president and chief quality officer for ambulatory and clinical councils of Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health, recognize this need and are optimistic about the potentials ASCs hold. "Moving into more efficient and more cost-effective care settings that are producing the same excellent outcomes is a benefit to everybody," Dr. Chang told Becker's. "But primarily, hopefully patients are not going to get that cost burden and still get a good outcome. "I'm just really excited to see that happen and the opportunities that it will open up for us as a company and what it'll be able to do for the patient population. e way we deliver care in the United States continues to evolve for a lot of good reasons." n ASC leadership pay climbing By Laura Dyrda T he total compensation package for many ASC leaders jumped considerably in the last year, according to data from the 2023 OR Manager survey. The survey of 117 leaders found 12% of ASC leaders reported $200,000 or more in total compensation, up from 3% in 2022. Sixty-eight percent of leaders reported total compensation of $120,000 or more, compared to 50% who said the same last year. The biggest leap occurred for those making $90,000 to $99,999; in 2022, 20% were in that total compensation category, but by 2023 just 4% remained there. Most elevated to make more than $100,000. Inflation may have contributed to the increase, but ASC leaders have also expanded their level of responsibility over the last few years. The survey respondents reported an average of 40 full-time equivalent positions under their purview for 2023, up from 32 in 2019. The average wage for ASC leaders in 2023 was 5.1%, up from 4.24% in 2022. Around 74% of the respondents said they received a raise in the last year. n

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