Medicare program; additions to and deletions from the current list of covered surgical procedures for ambulatory surgical centers--HCFA. Final notice with comment period.

This final notice with comment period implements section 1833(i)(1) of the Social Security Act, which requires, in part, that the list of covered ambulatory surgical center (ASC) procedures be reviewed and updated at least every 2 years. This notice announces the specific additions to and deletions from the list of surgical procedures for which facility services are covered when the procedures are performed in a Medicare-participating ASC, as well as the assigned payment groups for each addition. The notice also announces a change in our criteria for deleting procedures from the ASC list. This notice also responds to public comments received in response to our proposed notice published December 14, 1993 (58 FR 65357). In that notice, we requested comments on the proposed additions to and deletions from the list of covered surgical procedures for ASCs; the proposed quantitative change in our deletion criteria; the development of alternatives to the proposed quantitative deletion criteria; and the assignment of payment groups for each addition. Finally, this notice solicits public comment on certain additions to and deletions from the ASC list that had not been suggested in our December 1993 proposed notice. It also solicits public comment on the assignment of payment groups for certain new procedure codes.