Medicare’s Oversight of Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Medicare sets minimum health and safety requirements for ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) through the conditions for coverage (SSA §1832(a)(2)(F)(i)). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires that ASCs become Medicare certified to show they meet these conditions (SSA § 1865 and 42 CFR Part 416). Previous OIG work found problems with Medicares oversight system, including finding spans of 5 or more years between certification surveys for some ASCs, poor Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oversight of State survey agencies, and little public information on the quality of ASCs. We will review the frequency and deficiency findings of Medicares certification surveys for ASCs.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
Completed	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	Medicare’s Oversight of Ambulatory Surgery Centers	Office of Evaluation and Inspections	OEI-01-15-00400	2019