Digital Debut

ASCA Member Hosts Facility Tour for Congressional Staff

Surgery center employees advocate for the Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act of 2023

INTERVIEWED BY MAIA KUNKEL | APRIL 2023

From left: Andy Ball, chief executive officer; Benita Tapia, administrator and director of nursing; and Janet Turner, deputy district director of outreach for the office of Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) during a facility tour of 90210 Surgery Medical Center.

Earlier in April, 90210 Surgery Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California, hosted a facility tour for the staff of Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA). The conversation allowed the facility to discuss surgery centers with the congressman’s staff and the importance of supporting the Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act of 2023. Below is an excerpt from an interview with Andy Ball, chief executive officer, and Benita Tapia, administrator and director of nursing, of the surgery center.

Q: What topics did you discuss during your facility tour?

Andy Ball and Benita Tapia (AB/BT): During our discussion, we emphasized the significant contribution of ASCs during the pandemic, our collaboration with hospital partners and other local healthcare facilities, and the addition of new surgeons and specialties, resulting in improved patient outcomes and billions of dollars in savings to the Medicare program. We emphasized the need to formalize these efforts and update legislation to reflect current healthcare needs.

We discussed the importance of having strong hospitals delivering the best care for patients in need, and how continuing to migrate appropriate patients to ASCs would free up resources to help achieve this goal.

We addressed several challenges faced by the healthcare industry, such as the critical shortage of licensed healthcare providers, including doctors, anesthesia providers and nurses. We highlighted the role of ASCs in mitigating this problem by accommodating more surgeries and improving surgeons’ efficiency, allowing them to care for more patients than they otherwise would be able to in a hospital setting.

We also highlighted the financial barriers that patients and physicians face when choosing the most appropriate site of care. We walked through the main provisions of the Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act and highlighted disparities between HOPD and ASC reimbursements and quantified the millions of dollars in savings our four ASCs had delivered to Medicare in the last three years. We also discussed the lack of a copay cap in ASCs and how that prevented us from doing more. We explained how ASCs have saved billions of dollars for the Medicare program and how this legislation would further support this work.

Another crucial aspect we discussed was the importance of getting patients back to work after their surgeries, especially as more Medicare beneficiaries continue to stay in the workforce for longer. We emphasized that ASCs are highly skilled in accomplishing this goal safely and effectively.

Q: To you, what is the importance of advocating for ASCs with your lawmakers?

AB/BT: We had a fantastic dialogue with Janet Turner from Representative Lieu’s office, and it was such a great opportunity to share what we do and how ASCs have evolved and changed. It was fantastic to be able to explain our capabilities and outcomes, and inevitably, for those not working in an ASC, there is a knowledge deficit. It also serves as a nice reminder on why we do what we do and the important part we play in delivering affordable, quality healthcare.

Q: Do you have any takeaways from your facility tour?

AB/BT: There was a real willingness to learn and to address issues. This was not a “grip and grin” opportunity, but a true desire to learn and create good public policy.

Facility tours, whether in person or virtual, provide an opportunity to directly connect with and educate elected officials about ASCs and their impact on their respective communities. ASCA has developed its facility tour program to ensure that conducting a tour is an easy and intuitive process for its members. ASCA members interested in hosting a facility tour for their members of Congress can complete the Facility Tour Interest Form or visit ASCA’s facility tour webpage for more information.

Write Maia Kunkel, ASCA’s Government Affairs manager, with questions.