Your OOSS advocacy team is having one of the busiest autumns on record. In September
alone:
• We pressed CMS for higher facility fees for cataract and other ophthalmic surgical services. 2025 will mark the 25th consecutive year of increases for the services we provide in ophthalmic ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).
• We argued for increases in payment for drugs administered intracamerally during ophthalmic surgery.
• We are fighting for higher reimbursement for new technology IOLs.
• We are vigorously opposing the implementation of new burdensome and unnecessary ASC quality measures.
• As we have done successfully for the past several years, OOSS is lobbying aggressively to ensure that Medicare does not pay for office-based cataract surgery.
Without 42 years of OOSS advocacy, where would we be now?
Please ask yourself the following:
• Could surgeons even own their own ASCs?
• Would our facility payments have increased over 350% or would they have dropped like professional fees?
• Would we be able to perform virtually every ophthalmic procedure in the ASC?
• Would Medicare ASC facility regulations be even more burdensome? Would we have been regulated out of business?
Our challenges and objectives in advocating for your patients and facilities grow every month and year. Your continued and augmented support of our government- relations effort will enable OOSS to not just survive, but thrive, in 2025 and beyond.
Your OOSS membership for 2025
OOSS is the only professional organization dedicated solely to the interests of ophthalmic ASCs and the patients we serve. As members of the society, the entire ASC staff, has access to OOSS advocacy, education, analysis programs, and assets of the society, designed to support your ASCs, optimize your operation, seek advice from industry experts, benchmark your performance, and save money.
Membership and partnership revenue fuels the organization. We appreciate and need your support. Your active participation is an investment in your ASCs’ success.
OOSS events and activities in the next few months
• The OOSS Symposium Luncheon program will be held on Saturday, October 19th from 11:15 am to 1:15 pm at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago during the annual AAO meeting. Join us for a powerful program designed to optimize your ASCs’ performance.
Highlights of topics:
Washington Update. Mike Romansky, Washington Counsel, will address ASC reimbursement, patient safety, OOSS strategic positions on industry issues, and anticipated implications of the November federal election
State of the ophthalmic industry ASC. Andrew Maller, Principal, MBA, COE, BSM Consulting, a division of VMG Health, will discuss the acquisition lifecycle, consolidation activities of 2024, and predictions/expectations of 2025 for ASC ownership-independents, management companies, and PE-investors
Innovation in Retina for the ASC by Ashkan Abbey, MD, Retinal Specialist, Texas Retina Associates and OOSS Board Member
OOSS Rapid Rounds Panel of industry experts
Opportunities to optimize your ASC and improve your bottom line
Anesthesia provision
Integration of technology from the practice to the ASC
Purchasing with the power of EyeProGPO
Protecting your ASC and practice with appropriate insurance coverage
Medicare changes proposed for 2025 by Kevin J. Corcoran, COE, CPMA, FNAO, Principal, Corcoran and Corcoran, and President, Corcoran Consulting, a division of MCG
• Fall webinars series. Learn more and register at ooss.org.
• OOSS-On-Demand education content. OOSS members can access educational programs on the OOSS website as on-demand content. View OOSS-on-demand for industry experts’ advice on timely topics. The year-round, 24/7 access to educational content is designed to be convenient and is segmented into short videos.
• OOSS benchmarking includes business and clinical benchmarks to evaluate your performance and address opportunities accordingly.
• OOSS Talk connects with peers and industry experts in real time to address big and small challenges. Submit your question or comment in the chat to receive immediate feedback from colleagues and industry experts.
• EyeProGPO is the only ophthalmic group purchasing. There is no cost to participate nor restrictive agreements. Contact EyeProGPO directly to learn more and to start saving.
Thank you, OOSS members and partners!
For more than 42 years, our mission has been to represent the interests of ophthalmic ASCs to provide high quality, affordable patient care in effective and efficient ambulatory surgery centers. Let’s finish 2024 strong together. OASC
