ASCA Recommends Additions to CMS List of Covered Procedures

On February 28, ASCA submitted codes in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ ASC Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL) Pre-Proposed Rule Recommendation Request. Based on feedback from ASCA members, including its cardiovascular working group, ASCA submitted the following:

Cardiovascular Codes

• Electrophysiology Studies and Ablations: 93619, 93620, 93624, 93642, 93650, 93653, 93654, 93656 and 93724
• Cardioversion and Transesophageal Echocardiogram: 92960, 93312 and 93318
• Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI): C9602, C9604 and C9607

Spine Codes

• Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion: 22630
• Combined Posterior Lumbar and Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion: 22633

Vascular Code

• Vascular Embolization or Occlusion: 37244

You can read more about the ASC-CPL Pre-Proposed Rule Recommendation Request process in this Digital Debut. Contact Kara Newbury at knewbury@ascassociation.org with any questions.

Medicare Physician Payment Cuts

Last week, Rep. Murphy highlighted the impact of ongoing Medicare payment cuts, including a 2.83% January reduction, on physician practices, citing a 33% drop in inflation-adjusted reimbursements since 2001 against a 59% rise in practice costs. His re-introduced Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act, aiming to reverse cuts and provide a 2% increase, was excluded from the House Rules Committee's "clean" CR, despite prior optimism for March 14 inclusion.

Co-Pay Cap Legislation

Reps. Rob Menendez and Mike Kelly are expected to co-lead the introduction of the co-pay cap bill, following staff approval. David has engaged extensively with their respective staff. Final confirmation is anticipated this week, with optimism for introduction by March's end, preceding Reconciliation.