Larson, Van Duyne Introduce Bipartisan Outpatient Surgery Access Act to Lower Care Costs for Seniors
Washington, D.C. - Today, Reps. John B. Larson (CT-01) and Beth Van Duyne (TX-24) introduced the bipartisan Outpatient Surgery Access Act of 2026, to lower surgery costs at outpatient ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) for seniors on Medicare. Last year, Larson also introduced the Medicare Beneficiary Co-Pay Fairness Act to eliminate the co-pay penalty for Medicare beneficiaries who seek care from outpatient ASCs.
“Ambulatory Surgical Centers provide preventive services and essential procedures to thousands of patients across the State of Connecticut every year,” said Larson. “I’m proud to join with my colleague, Rep. Beth Van Duyne, on this common-sense, bipartisan bill to protect outpatient care for Connecticut residents and Americans across the country. We will continue to work together on solutions that connect patients with the care they need and save taxpayer money.”
“Outdated Medicare policies are limiting access to high-quality and lower-cost care,” said Van Duyne. “Our healthcare system should reward high-quality, lower-cost care, not stand in its way, like current rules fail to treat outpatient surgical centers fairly. This bipartisan legislation supports expanded access to outpatient survey facilities and ensures our nation's seniors can receive the best care.”
Ambulatory surgical centers often perform the same procedures as hospitals at significantly lower cost, but Medicare payment policies have historically treated these sites differently. By aligning payment updates and removing outdated adjustments, this legislation supports greater site neutrality, expands access to outpatient surgery, and helps ensure seniors can receive care in the most appropriate and cost-effective setting.
“Surgery centers perform millions of essential elective procedures for Medicare beneficiaries every year,” said Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice. “Ensuring an accurate and stable payment system is key to protecting patient access to low-cost, high-quality surgery centers. ASCA thanks Representatives Larson and Van Duyne for introducing this important bill.”
The Outpatient Surgery Access Act of 2026 modernizes Medicare’s payment structure to help bring down the cost of surgical procedures for seniors and better reflect the shift toward outpatient care. Larson and Van Duyne's legislation:
Aligns annual payment updates for ASCs with hospital outpatient departments starting in 2027.
Eliminates ASC-specific budget neutrality adjustments that suppress payments.
Requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to consider ASC spending when calculating outpatient payment adjustments.
Together, these reforms modernize the ASC payment framework and help ensure Medicare policies keep pace with the shift of surgical care from hospitals to outpatient facilities. Full bill text is available HERE.