A group calling itself Connecticut Citizens for Affordable Health Care is out with a survey showing state residents are against the new 6 percent tax on ambulatory surgery centers that went into effect Oct. 1. The group, comprised of the centers, said the new tax forces a quarter of its members to operate at a loss.
“This new ‘double tax’ on our centers, which already pay sales and local property taxes, could mean closures, cutbacks, and staff layoffs, which would force patients to undergo their surgical procedures at more expensive surgery settings,” said North Haven Surgery Center’s Administrator Susan Bojka. “We are asking our elected officials to recognize the flawed nature of this tax, and promptly repeal it, for the benefit of patients, taxpayers and our healthcare system.”
The survey of 400 Connecticut residents found 81 percent disapprove of the tax. The survey also found that 67 percent of respondents are more likely to support policymakers who support repealing the tax. Alternately, more than three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents are less likely to vote for a state legislator who opposes repeal.
The group said its members, which it describes as freestanding, community-based, outpatient surgery centers, performed more than 210,000 surgical procedures in 2013. It said nationwide the centers generated $7.5 billion in federal Medicare savings from 2008 to 2011.
