ASC Billing That Keeps Up With What Your ORs Can Now Do
Medicare added nearly 550 procedures to the ASC covered list for 2026. More cases mean more ways to bill one wrong. CureBytes makes sure every case your surgeons finish gets paid the way your contracts promise.
$350M+
Processed Claim Value
21 Days Avg.
A/R Collection Time
24H
Turnaround Time
99% Client
Retention Rate
Pay Only On
Collections
ASC Billing
More Surgery Is Moving to ASCs, and the Billing Is Getting Harder
There were 6,436 Medicare-certified ASCs in 2024, according to MedPAC. Medicare paid them $7.5 billion that year, 13% more than in 2023. Cataract surgery with lens insertion alone made up 18% of fee-for-service volume. CMS opened the door wider for 2026. It added nearly 550 codes to the ASC Covered Procedures List, including 271 procedures coming off the inpatient-only list as it begins a three-year phase-out. Bigger cases bring bigger implants, tougher authorizations and payer contracts written before those cases were possible in your building. ASC billing is facility billing, but it isn't hospital billing. Medicare wants an 837P with ASC payment indicators. Plenty of commercial payers want a UB-04. Implants are paid one way by Medicare and carved out another way by most commercial plans. One wrong assumption can cost thousands on a single case
Provider
Where Ambulatory Surgical Centers Lose Revenue
Implants billed without invoices
Commercial contracts often pay implants at invoice cost plus a margin. Leave off the invoice or the right HCPCS device code and the implant gets bundled into the case, so your center eats the cost.
Multiple-procedure and discontinued-case rules.
Medicare pays the highest-paying procedure in full and most others at 50%. Cases stopped before or after anesthesia need modifier 73 or 74. Line order and modifiers decide what you get paid.
Codes that aren't payable in an ASC.
A procedure missing from the covered list, or a packaged service billed as if it pays on its own, is a denial waiting to happen. With the list changing this much in 2026, last year’s cheat sheet is already wrong.
Authorizations that don't match the case
Surgeons add or change procedures in the OR all the time. If the authorized CPT codes don’t match what was performed, the payer can deny the entire claim.
Quality reporting that slips.
ASCs that miss ASCQR reporting requirements lose 2.0 percentage points from their Medicare payment update. It sounds small, but it hits every Medicare claim for a full year.
How CureBytes Supports Your Surgery Center
Pre-Surgery Eligibility and Authorization
Benefits, patient responsibility and authorizations confirmed for every scheduled case, with an estimate ready before the patient arrives.
ASC-Specific Surgical Coding
Certified coders read every op note, apply payment indicators and modifiers, and sequence lines so multiple-procedure rules are applied correctly.
Implant and Supply Billing
Invoices matched to each case, HCPCS device codes assigned, and carve-outs billed exactly as every contract spells out
Clean Claims on the Right Form
837P for Medicare, UB-04 where commercial payers require it, all checked against the current ASC covered procedures list before submission.
Contract and Underpayment Review
Payments are checked line by line against your contracted rates, implant carve-outs included, and short payments get appealed.
Denial Management and A/R Recovery
Every denial gets worked. High-dollar cases are followed up first, and aging balances are chased on a set schedule.
Case-Level Reporting
Collections by surgeon, specialty, procedure and payer, so you know which cases pay well and which ones don’t.
What Running ASC Billing In-House Actually Costs
Factor
How We Start Billing for Your ASC
Complimentary Revenue Cycle Assessment
We review your claims, denials, implant billing and A/R to show you exactly what your center is leaving on the table.
Onboarding Without Slowing Your Schedule
We work inside your current ASC management system and EHR. No new software, and no disruption to your OR schedule.
Full Revenue Cycle Management Begins
Authorizations, coding, implant billing, claims, denials and A/R move to a dedicated team; live within 24 hours.
Continuous Performance Improvement
Ongoing reports by surgeon, procedure and payer, with coding updated every time CMS changes the covered list.
ASC Billing
Ready to See What Your Cases Are Really Collecting?
Every case your surgeons finish has already cost you staff time, supplies and often an implant. A complimentary Revenue Cycle Assessment shows you where payment is falling short, case by case.
Complimentary review of your claims, implants, denials and A/R
Single-specialty and multispecialty ASCs welcome
Clear findings delivered with no strings attached
No contracts, no setup fees, no upfront costs
Pay only a percentage of what CureBytes collects for you
Dedicated billing specialist assigned to your center from day one
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything You Need to Know Before You Decide
Do you bill both facility and professional claims?
Yes. We handle the ASC facility claim, and we can bill surgeon and anesthesia professional fees too if you want one partner for both.
How do you handle implants and carve-outs?
We match every implant invoice to its case, assign the HCPCS device code and bill it the way each contract requires. Short payments on implants get appealed.
Are you current on the 2026 ASC covered procedures list?
Yes. We code against the current CMS list, including the nearly 550 codes added for 2026, and check each commercial payer’s own list where it differs.
What happens when a procedure changes in the OR?
We compare the op note to the authorization before billing. Where the payer allows it, we work to update the authorization so the claim matches what was done.
How is pricing structured for a surgery center?
CureBytes is paid a percentage of what we collect for you. There’s no setup fee and no minimum retainer, so the cost follows your case volume.
Is our patient data secure with an outside billing partner?
Yes. CureBytes maintains HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance across every account, whether you run two ORs or twelve.