ASC Daily Briefing

🆕 New Today CY 2027 OPPS/ASC Proposed Rule (CMS-1850-P) confirmed for Federal Register publication July 7, 2026 — comment deadline now firm. The proposed rule released July 2 (covered in the July 3 briefing) was on public inspection and is now scheduled to publish officially in the Federal Register on Monday, July 7, 2026. CMS…

🆕 New Today CMS issues CY 2027 OPPS/ASC Proposed Rule (CMS-1850-P). On July 2, 2026, CMS released the CY 2027 OPPS/ASC proposed rule — the item flagged as “anticipated mid-July” in recent briefings has now posted. The comment period is open (60 days); comments are due in early September 2026 — confirm the exact date…

🆕 New Today FTC clears Ascension–AmSurg merger with ASC divestitures. The FTC (June 2–4, 2026 consent order) required Ascension Health to divest seven AmSurg ambulatory surgery centers — in Nashville TN, Panama City FL, Tulsa OK, Waco TX, and Wichita KS — as a condition of its $3.9B acquisition of AmSurg. Six centers go to…

🆕 New Today No new items today. See the Standing Compliance Reference for items currently in effect. Today’s review surfaced only items already captured in the standing Page and recent briefings — the CY 2026 OPPS/ASC Final Rule, the Inpatient-Only list phase-out, ASCQR measure changes, price transparency enforcement, AAAHC v44/v45, the Joint Commission Physical Environment…

🔴 Urgent / Action Required No new comment deadlines or enforcement actions identified today. Reminder: 2026 is the first full survey year under AAAHC v44 Standards — centers accredited by AAAHC should confirm their QAPI/data-collection processes match v44 outcomes expectations before their next survey. Source: OR Today — Accreditation: What Leaders Need to Know in…

🔴 Urgent / Action Required CY 2026 OPPS/ASC Final Rule is in effect. The CY 2026 OPPS/ASC Final Rule with comment period (CMS-1834-FC) took effect January 1, 2026. Confirm billing and quality teams have implemented the 2.6% rate update and the expanded covered-procedures list. Source: Federal Register — CY 2026 OPPS/ASC Final Rule Florida ASC…

🔴 Urgent / Action Required CMS finalizes stricter oversight of Accrediting Organizations. On June 12, 2026, CMS finalized changes to the requirements governing all CMS-approved Accrediting Organizations (AOs), including those that accredit ASCs (AAAHC, Joint Commission, QUAD A, DNV). The amendment to 42 CFR Part 488 (Survey, Certification & Enforcement) was published June 16, 2026.…

🔴 Urgent / Action Required AAAHC v45 Standards Public Comment Period Opening Soon — AAAHC has announced that the public comment period for v45 Standards will open shortly. v45 introduces AI governance requirements (ensuring organizations have core governance in place before AI is embedded in patient care), removes burdensome requirements, improves terminology clarity, and resolves…

🔴 Urgent / Action Required CMS Prior Authorization Demonstration — Active in 10 States The 5-year PA demonstration for certain ASC services is fully live in all 10 states (CA, FL, TX, AZ, OH, TN, PA, MD, GA, NY). Targeted procedures: blepharoplasty, botulinum toxin injections, panniculectomy, rhinoplasty, and vein ablation. Claims without a Unique Tracking…