Medicare Patients Deserve a Choice: The Case for Safe, Effective, Cost-Saving Shoulder Surgery in ASCs

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In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice talks with orthopedic surgeon and ASCA Board member David Weinstein, MD, about performing outpatient total shoulder surgeries in both hospitals and ASCs.

Tens of thousands of patients with commercial insurance undergo safe, effective total shoulder surgeries in ASCs each year, saving themselves and their insurers millions of dollars. Yet the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has refused to extend its insurance coverage to ASCs—the less costly site of care and the one that most patients prefer. Dr. Weinstein discusses several clinical studies that include findings that support making this change, as well as his own experience performing thousands of shoulder surgeries, in this compelling case for finally allowing Medicare patients the same choice that private pay patients enjoy today.

Dr. Weinstein is a graduate of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he completed his residency in orthopedic surgery, as well as an associate clinical professor at the University of Colorado Department of Orthopedics in Denver.