ASC Daily Briefing — July 12, 2026
🆕 New Today
⚠️ Compliance deadline PASSED — HHS Section 504 accessible medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) rule took effect July 8, 2026. Under HHS’s updated Section 504 disability-nondiscrimination regulation, every covered entity receiving federal financial assistance (which includes ASCs participating in Medicare/Medicaid) must, as of July 8, 2026, have at least one accessible examination table and one accessible weight scale — or 10% of each MDE type in use, whichever is greater. An ongoing “new acquisition” obligation also applies to equipment purchased, leased, or renewed after July 8, 2024, until the facility reaches its full 10–20% scoping requirement, and staff must be trained to operate accessible MDE and assist with safe transfers. HHS OCR enforces via investigations, compliance reviews, corrective action plans, and potential loss of federal funding; Section 504 also carries a private right of action. Action: confirm each ASC has a compliant accessible exam table and weight scale in service now, document it, and fold MDE accessibility into your equipment-acquisition policy. This item was not previously captured on the standing Page or in recent briefings. Source: HHS — New Requirements for Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment
Related deadline (not yet due): the Section 504 digital-accessibility requirements (WCAG 2.1 AA for web content and mobile apps) were extended by an HHS OCR interim final rule (May 7, 2026) to May 11, 2027 for recipients with 15+ employees and May 10, 2028 for those with fewer than 15. Calendar the applicable date for your ASC’s website/patient portal. Source: HHS — OCR Extends Web and Mobile Accessibility Deadline
All other items surfaced today were already captured on the Standing Compliance Reference or in recent briefings: the CY 2027 OPPS/ASC Proposed Rule (CMS-1850-P, comment deadline August 31, 2026), the CY 2026 OPPS/ASC Final Rule in effect, the IPO-list phase-out, ASCQR measure changes, price-transparency enforcement, the 10-state ASC prior-authorization demonstration, AAAHC v44/v45, TJC 2026 standards, the five CMS-approved ASC accreditors, the CMS AO-oversight final rule (42 CFR Part 488), and the HHS-OIG 2026 Work Plan. A new Federal Register notice (July 10) — The Joint Commission’s application for continued CMS approval of its Home Health Agency accreditation program — is not ASC-related. No new ASC enforcement actions surfaced today.
🔁 Standing Items Changed
Added to the standing Page (new ongoing item): the HHS Section 504 accessible medical diagnostic equipment requirement (baseline effective July 8, 2026) and the extended Section 504 digital-accessibility deadlines (May 11, 2027 / May 10, 2028), under Standing Regulatory Items. “Last reviewed” date updated to July 12, 2026. Reminder: the CY 2027 Proposed Rule comment deadline (August 31, 2026) remains the next major actionable date — 50 days out.