Provision in New York Legislation Could Adversely Affect Office-Based Surgery Practices

In a letter to the New York Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, ASPS voiced its opposition with a portion of the state's budget bill which would have a significant impact on office-based surgery (OBS) facilities.

The bills, Senate bill 2007 and Assembly bill 3007, which are a small part of a large package of bills that make up the very large budget bill, would require OBS practices to register with the state, limit procedural duration to six hours, and call on the state's Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) to review the type of procedures performed in outpatient settings, including practices required to report adverse events and health care facilities that provide ambulatory surgery services.

In addition to the proposed legislation creating many duplicate requirements, ASPS is particularly concerned with the legislation's provisions calling on the PHHPC to determine what procedures and types of anesthesia/sedation are appropriate in the office-based setting. This proposal threatens the ability of patients to receive safe and timely care at these more convenient, affordable delivery sites by moving many surgical procedures back into a more costly hospital setting.

ASPS will continue to oppose the unnecessarily burdensome requirements and will continue to advocate for commonsense regulation of OBS facilities.