Health Reform Connect

ASC Groups can rejoice in the recently posted Final Rule which eases the cumbersome requirements relating to patients' rights notices that were to be provided prior to the date of a patient's surgery.  Under the original version of the patients' rights requirements under the Conditions for Coverage applicable to ASCs, the ASC was required to provide the patient with certain notices at least a full day before the date of the patient's surgical procedure.  In reaction to significant backlash from the provider community, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") provided a half-hearted exception to the rule only in instances where the patient's referral for the ASC services was given on the same day as the ASC service, and where delay in providing the service would adversely effect the patient's health.  The Final Rule, which will be published in the Federal Register on October 24, 2011, provides significant flexibility with respect to this rule by further easing the patients' rights notice requirement by mandating that the notice simply be given "prior to the start of the surgical procedure." 

If you have questions about this article, or about other ASC compliance requirements, please contact Leigh Ann Lauth O'Neill at 317-238-6346.