Definitions of ASC Facility Services:

Nursing Services, Services of Technical Personnel, and Other Related Services

These include all services in connection with covered procedures furnished by nurses and technical personnel who are employees of the ASC. In addition to the nursing staff, this category includes orderlies, technical personnel, and others involved in patient care.


Use by the Patient of the ASC Facilities

This category includes operating and recovery rooms, patient preparation areas, waiting rooms, and other areas used by the patient or offered for use by the patient’s relatives in connection with surgical services.


Drugs, Biologicals, Surgical Dressings, Supplies, Splints, Casts, Appliances, and Equipment

This category includes all supplies and equipment commonly furnished by the ASC in connection with surgical procedures. See the following paragraphs for certain exceptions. Drugs and biologicals are limited to those which cannot be self-administered. See the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 15, §50.2, for a description of how to determine whether drugs can be self-administered.

Under Part B, coverage for surgical dressings is limited to primary dressings, i.e., therapeutic and protective coverings applied directly to lesions on the skin or on openings to the skin required as the result of surgical procedures. (Items such as Ace bandages, elastic stockings and support hose, Spence boots and other foot coverings, leotards, knee supports, surgical leggings, gauntlets and pressure garments for the arms and hands are used as secondary coverings and therefore are not covered as surgical dressings.)

Although surgical dressings usually are covered as “incident to” a physician’s service in a physician’s office setting, in the ASC setting, such dressings are included in the facility’s services.

However, surgical dressings may be reapplied later by others, including the patient or a member of his family. When surgical dressings are obtained by the patient on a physician’s order from a supplier, e.g., a drugstore, the surgical dressing is covered under Part B. The same policy applies in the case of dressings obtained by the patient on a physician’s order following surgery in an ASC; the dressings are covered and paid as a Part B service by the DME MAC.

Similarly, “other supplies, splints, and casts” include only those furnished by the ASC at the time of the surgery. Additional covered supplies and materials furnished later are generally furnished as “incident to” a physician’s service, not as an ASC facility service. The term “supplies” includes those required for both the patient and ASC personnel, e.g., gowns, masks, drapes, hoses, and scalpels, whether disposable or reusable. Payment for these is included in the rate for the surgical procedure.

Beginning January 1, 2008, the ASC facility payment for a surgical procedure includes payment for drugs and biologicals that are not usually self-administered and that are considered to be packaged into the payment for the surgical procedure under the OPPS. Also, beginning January 1, 2008, Medicare makes separate payment to ASCs for drugs and biologicals that are furnished integral to an ASC covered surgical procedure and that are separately payable under the OPPS.


Diagnostic or Therapeutic Items and Services

These are items and services furnished by ASC staff in connection with covered surgical procedures. Many ASCs perform diagnostic tests prior to surgery that are generally included in the facility charges, such as urinalysis, blood hemoglobin, hematocrit levels, etc. To the extent that such simple tests are included in the ASC facility charges, they are considered facility services. However, under the Medicare program, diagnostic tests are not covered in laboratories independent of a physician’s office, rural health clinic, or hospital unless the laboratories meet the regulatory requirements for the conditions for coverage of services of independent laboratories. Therefore, diagnostic tests performed by the ASC other than those generally included in the facility’s charge are not covered under Part B and are not to be billed as diagnostic tests. If the ASC has its laboratory certified, the laboratory itself may bill for the tests performed.

The ASC may make arrangements with an independent laboratory or other laboratory, such as a hospital laboratory, to perform diagnostic tests it requires prior to surgery. In general, however, the necessary laboratory tests are done outside the ASC prior to scheduling of surgery, since the test results often determine whether the beneficiary should have the surgery done on an outpatient basis in the first place.


Administrative, Recordkeeping and Housekeeping Items and Services

These include the general administrative functions necessary to run the facility e.g., scheduling, cleaning, utilities, and rent.


Blood, Blood Plasma, Platelets, etc., Except Those to Which Blood Deductible Applies

While covered procedures are not expected to result in extensive loss of blood, in some cases, blood or blood products are required. Usually the blood deductible results in no expenses for blood or blood products being included under this provision. However, where there is a need for blood or blood products beyond the deductible, they are considered ASC facility services and no separate charge is permitted to the beneficiary or the program.



Materials for Anesthesia

These include the anesthetic agents that are not paid separately under the OPPS, and any materials, whether disposable or re-usable, necessary for its administration.



Intraocular Lenses (IOLs) and New Technology IOLs (NTIOLs)

The ASC facility services include IOLs (effective for services furnished on or after March 12, 1990), and NTIOLs (effective for services furnished on or after May 18, 2000), approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insertion during or subsequent to cataract surgery.

FDA has classified IOLs into the following categories, any of which are included:

1. Anterior chamber angle fixation lenses;

2. Iris fixation lenses;

3. Irido-capsular fixation lenses; and

4. Posterior chamber lenses.

5. NTIOL Category 1 (as defined in “Federal Register” Notice, VOL 65, dated May 3, 2000). Note: This category expired May 18, 2005

6. NTIOL Category 2 (as defined in “Federal Register” Notice, VOL 65, dated May 3, 2000). Note: This category expired May 18, 2005

7. NTIOL Category 3 (as defined in Federal Register Notice, 71 FR 4586, dated January 27, 2006): This category will expire on February 26, 2011.

Note that while generally no separate charges for intraocular lenses (IOLs) are allowed, approved NTIOLS may be billed separately and an adjustment to the facility payment will be made for those lenses that are eligible.

Services Furnished