ASC Billing & Hospital Outpatient Billing - Understanding the Differences
Medical billing consists of hundreds of pages of updated rules, regulations, and legislation, not to mention thousands of billing codes. And, navigating them is already a challenge for practices. Over the last few years, patients and insurers have continued to pressure the health system and hospitals to move towards ambulatory surgery centre (ASC) billing from hospital outpatient department billing (HOPD). The reason is ASCs billing can be a cost-saving procedure. But to understand how it can be cost-saving, one needs to understand the difference between ASC and HOPD. The Difference between ASC & HOPD The primary difference between ASC and HOPD is based on the regulations that apply to the centres. For instance, a stand-alone surgery centre can still be termed as HOPD when it falls under the same administrative and financial contracts as a hospital that is within a 35-mile radius. On the other hand, a facility can have the ASC status despite being operated by a hospi...