the recovery center, but they stock individually packaged snacks such
as soups, crackers, yogurts and popsicles.) The surgeon will visit her
the next morning, and she and her toiletries should be gone by 11 a.m.
Rarely covered
There are no financial gains to be made by providing overnight care,
says Ms. Arellano. Medicare and most insurers don't cover it, and
those that do reimburse around $500 per night — at best a break-even
proposition when you account for staffing, food and linen costs, she
says. But that's not a dealbreaker.
"If reimbursement for the procedure itself cover the ASC's expenses
and those associated with the recovery center as well as a reasonable
profit margin, we'll still take the case," says Ms. Arellano. "Without the
ASC convalescence center, our surgeons would have to perform these
procedures in a hospital."
The ASC and convalescence center opened in late 2014, right
around the time increasingly complex cases were moving from hospi-
tals to surgical centers. Overnight care has helped the ASC capture
significantly more surgical volume. Last year, more than 400 patients
stayed in the recovery center overnight.
"While the growth is exciting, what's even more gratifying is the
feedback we receive from our recovery center patients, says Ms.
Arellano. "They rave about it on our patient satisfaction survey."
Workarounds
In addition to Colorado, a few other states let ASCs keep patients
overnight. An Illinois pilot program allows for a maximum stay of 72
hours, Connecticut allows for 3 to 21 days while Arizona's law is for
patients with expected "uncomplicated recoveries." In March, the
Oregon Legislature passed a bill that lets ASCs add extended stay
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