By Dr. Rick Martin
In October, the state of Connecticut implemented a 6 percent provider tax on same-day surgeries at ambulatory surgery centers. Although this misguided and widely opposed tax is relatively new, patients, taxpayers and the state’s health care system will soon begin to feel it.
As a physician at an ASC facility in Norwich, I fully understand the tremendous impact this tax will have on ASC patients and their access to the high-quality, cost-effective, community-based surgical care centers like mine offer.
Hundreds of thousands of Connecticut citizens have received same-day surgical care provided in ASCs, which include many of the same noninvasive procedures performed in hospitals, but at a more affordable price and with fewer delays. Patients generally prefer ASCs because of their convenience, affordable services, shorter wait times for care and commitment to providing the same or better outcomes than hospitals. Nationally, ASC patient satisfaction rates are at 90 percent.
