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Outpatient Surgery E-Weekly

Contact Congress Over Drug Shortage Issues

A Kentucky congressman is urging surgical facilities to contact their members of Congress and request that they sign his letter demanding changes to...

N.J. Posts ASC Inspection Reports Online

State and federal inspection reports of New Jersey's ASCs are now available online, giving patients an opportunity to make more informed choices abo...

Are Opioids Necessary?

While it's not always practical, or even possible, to eliminate opioids from your post-op pain management regiment, reducing their use in favor of n...

Archive > January, 2006 Vol. VII, No. 1

Now You See Them: 5 Profitable Procedures

We look at some profit-making procedures that have withstood the scrutiny of Medicare and other payers — at least for the time being.

Connie O'Kane, Senior Associate Editor

Owners and managers of ambulatory surgery centers have seen lucrative procedures pop up only to then see Medicare and the follow-the-leader insurers slash out most of the lucre. Take cataracts and tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, for example. Between 1990 and 2005, Medicare cut reimbursement for cataracts from $1,500 to about $684. Medicare also moved T&A from Group 5 ($717) to Group 3 ($510), a shift of two columns and nearly $200.

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Categories: Code/Bill/Reimburse, Business Management, Gastroenterology, GYN/Urology, Orthopedics, Pain Management, Spine/Neurosurgery
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Fear Factor; 1 Shock wave lithotripsy; 2 Carpal tunnel; 3 Colonoscopy; Could It Get Even Better?; 4 Pain management; 5 Lumbar laminectomy; Be nimble, be quick; ASCs; AUSMS Healthcare Consultants; Act; Ambulatory Surgical Center Medicare Payment Modernization Act; Ambulatory Surgical Centers; Associates; Better? Where; Blue Cross/Blue Shield; CEO; CPT; Carpal; Center; Center Medicare Payment Modernization Act; Centers; Colonoscopy Colonoscopies; Consultants; Cross/Blue Shield; DeKalb; DeKalb Endoscopy Center; Decatur, Ga. Reimbursement; Endoscopy Center; GI; Ga. Reimbursement; Group; HOPD; Heal... show all keywords
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