Please join me in sponsoring legislation to modernize and streamline the process by which licensed ambulatory surgical facilities (ASFs) implement new health care services while preserving the Department of Health's oversight authority and ensuring continued patient safety.

Current law requires ambulatory surgical facilities to navigate an administrative process when introducing new services, even when the facility already meets applicable licensure standards. This can create unnecessary delays in expanding access to care and increase administrative burdens for providers without improving patient outcomes.

This legislation updates the Health Care Facilities Act in two important ways.

First, it updates the statutory reference to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Ambulatory Surgical Center Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL) from the 2022 list to the 2026 list, ensuring Pennsylvania law reflects current federal standards.

Second, the bill establishes a clear attestation process for ambulatory surgical facilities seeking to implement new services. Under this process, facilities would submit a written attestation to the Department of Health at least 60 days before initiating a new service, certifying that they have satisfied all applicable staffing, credentialing, equipment, policy, and regulatory requirements. This approach aligns the approval process for ambulatory surgical facilities with the process currently used for hospitals, promoting consistency across licensed health care facilities while maintaining appropriate regulatory oversight.

The legislation also:

• Requires facilities to provide documentation describing each new service, including staffing qualifications, governing body approval where applicable, applicable policies and procedures, and compliance with state licensure regulations.
• Allows facilities implementing multiple new services to submit a single consolidated attestation, reducing duplicative paperwork.
• Provides that a new service is deemed approved unless the Department identifies deficiencies before the proposed implementation date.
• Preserves the Department of Health's authority to conduct inspections and on-site surveys to ensure continued compliance with all licensure requirements.
• Clarifies that facilities must continue to comply with existing construction and renovation notification requirements when applicable.

By replacing unnecessary administrative barriers with a transparent, standardized attestation process, this legislation will help patients gain more timely access to appropriate surgical services while maintaining rigorous oversight and protecting public health.

I respectfully ask for your support in co-sponsoring this commonsense legislation to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, and expand timely access to high-quality outpatient surgical care throughout the Commonwealth.