Hospitals leery of CMS proposal to pay for joint replacements in ASCs

Many orthopedic surgeons and ambulatory surgery center operators are delighted with the CMS’ mid-July announcement that it’s considering paying for total knee and hip replacement procedures in outpatient settings. But lots of hospital leaders are not.”I did a knee today at 7:30 a.m., and the patient left at 12:30 happy and with pain under control,” orthopedic surgeon Dr. Louis Levitt said late last month; Levitt’s medical group owns Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center in Bethesda, Md. “If Medicare approved this, it will be a substantial boon to our ambulatory surgery business, and physicians will get more comfortable with the idea.” Related story: As outpatient surgeries grow, hospitals look to claim piece of ASC market Hospital leaders are wary, however, for both