U.S. Reps. John B. Larson (D-CT) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) last week introduced the bipartisan Outpatient Surgery Access Act of 2026, which intends to lower surgery costs at ASCs for seniors on Medicare.
“Outdated Medicare policies are limiting access to high-quality and lower-cost care,” said Rep. Van Duyne. “Our healthcare system should reward high-quality, lower-cost care, not stand in its way, like current rules fail to treat outpatient surgical centers fairly. This bipartisan legislation supports expanded access to outpatient survey facilities and ensures our nation's seniors can receive the best care.”
In a press release, the legislators stated that “by aligning payment updates and removing outdated adjustments, this legislation supports greater site neutrality, expands access to outpatient surgery, and helps ensure seniors can receive care in the most appropriate and cost-effective setting.”
Ambulatory Surgery Center Association CEO Bill Prentice stated in the press release, “Ensuring an accurate and stable payment system is key to protecting patient access to low-cost, high-quality surgery centers.”
Specifically, the proposed legislation would align annual payment updates for ASCs with that of HOPDs starting in 2027, eliminate ASC-specific budget neutrality adjustments that “suppress payments,” and require CMS to “consider ASC spending when calculating outpatient payment adjustments.”
Read the full text of the bill here.
Rep. Larson last year introduced, another bipartisan bill, the Medicare Beneficiary Co-Pay Fairness Act, to eliminate the co-pay penalty for Medicare beneficiaries who seek care from ASCs. That bill remains in committee.
