The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is preparing for the 27 percent cut to Medicare physician payments that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2013, if Congress does not act to preserve the sustainable growth rate, according the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Healthcare reform will be a big issue for all healthcare providers next year, especially ambulatory surgery centers. Uncertainty surrounding legislation and implementation has already had a big impact on the ASC market and several new initiatives will present challenges in 2013. Here, industry professionals discuss what they expect to see next year and how surgery centers can successfully overcome these challenges.

The Alliance of Specialty Medicine has written a letter to both Houses of Congress asking for a solution to the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate as part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.

Researchers at Dartmouth Atlas, in conjunction with the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation, looked at Medicare patients nationwide and found discrepancies in the prescribing of elective surgery, including spine procedures.

Five major physician lobbying groups expect to push Congress today to avert the upcoming Medicare reimbursement cuts to physicians and repeal the SGR formula altogether, according to a CQ Healthbeat News report.

The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons conducted an analysis of trends in Medicare reimbursements for orthopedic surgeons, and found a steady drop in rates since the early 1990s, according to an AAOS Now report.

A new report from the Office of the Inspector General shows that physicians fighting coverage denials have a good chance of succeeding, according to an American Medical News report.

Healthcare organizations and providers may submit comments until Jan. 14, 2013 on CMS' draft recommendations for stage 3 of the meaningful use objectives for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Program.

On November 29, 2012, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons is hosting a fly-in for its members to lobby Congress on orthopedic issues at the center of fiscal cliff negotiations, such as the sustainable growth rate, sequestration and access to timely orthopedic care.

Medarva at Stony Point Surgery Center in Richmond, Va., has a policy of accepting every patient, regardless of their payor, and is able to maintain profitability despite treating a considerable number of Medicare and Medicaid cases. In some markets, surgery centers are considering dropping government payor cases, but CEO Bruce Kupper doesn't see that in the future for Medarva.