On November 1, 2022 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2023 Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program (ASCQR) Final Rule. This blog post breaks down the final changes to the ASCQR.
2023-2024 Final Changes
CMS did not finalize any changes for the 2023 and 2024 reporting periods.
2023 ASCQR Measure Set
Final 2024 ASCQR Measure Set
2025 Final Changes
CMS is finalized their proposal to make the following measure voluntary: ASC-11: Cataracts: Improvement in Patient's Visual Function within 90 Days Following Cataract Surgery
- Last year, CMS finalized a policy to require ASC-11 beginning in 2025. In response to continued stakeholder pushback, particularly surrounding the significant burden this measure would add as ASCs continue to experience staffing shortages due to COVID-19, CMS finalized their proposal to suspend mandatory reporting of this measure.
- Ophthalmic specialty societies have opposed this measure due to the inappropriate nature of these surveys being attributed to the ASC facility rather than to the individual surgeon and the burdensome nature of patient surveys, particularly in this context. This would require the ASC to report on data that is located in the surgeon's office and, thus, inaccessible by the ASC as, per Medicare ASC Conditions for Coverage, the two entities must be physically, administratively, and financially separate from one another.
- We anticipate CMS will propose to make this mandatory again in a future rule and that this measure will continue to be challenged in future years.
Final 2025 ASCQR Measure Set
Next Steps
- Share this information with your colleagues.
- Subscribe to our blog to get alerts on this and other important issues. You can subscribe using the field in our website footer below.
- If you are a MarsdenAdvisors client:
- Contact your Client Success Manager if you have any questions or if you plan on adding a new facility.
- If you are not a MarsdenAdvisors client:
- Contact us to learn more about our services and to reap the rewards of our combined decades of experience.
If you want hands-on, personalized assistance, contact us and we will have your back.