Like many small businesses, ASCs took financial hits at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many centers, relief from stimulus packages helped them stay afloat and return to normal volumes by summertime.
Throughout the pandemic, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association advocated on behalf of ASCs to ensure surgery centers were included in relief legislation and develop the Hospitals Without Walls program. Their efforts to provide surgery center owners and operators with vital information and resources last year also helped many centers survive and thrive. Here is a timeline of COVID-19 relief efforts to help ASCs over the past year:
January 2020
The first U.S. case of COVID-19 was confirmed by the CDC on Jan. 21.
March 2020
On March 18, CMS released a recommendation to postpone elective procedures. The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association shared similar guidelines recommending a six- to eight-week delay.
Thirty-five governors issued executive orders to cancel elective surgeries in their state, with some orders lasting until May.