A controversial Vermont Senate bill — S.278 — that sought to tax and regulate ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) was iced last week by unanimous vote of the Health and Welfare Committee.

“I think we’ve come to a place where we’re all not sure that we’re ready to move forward with anything,” Sen. Claire Ayer, the committee’s chairwoman and original sponsor of the bill, told the VT Digger. “It’s too fast. There are too many open issues.”

Hospital administrators had voiced support for the bill; ASCs, they argued, provide services redundant to their own and are thus unnecessary.

Not so, said ASC operators, who pointed to the potential cost savings that lower-overhead ASCs can provide consumers and payers by competing with hospitals and generating downward price pressures. The Burlington Free Press‘s editorial board agreed with them, admonishing the bill’s proponents for giving “ammunition to those who argue that Vermont creates a hostile environment for businesses.”

But the sponsor of S.278’s companion House bill said that failing to tax ASCs at the same rate as hospitals gives them an unfair market advantage. He left open the possibility of forwarding similar legislation in the future.

“We ask (medical) providers to pay the provider tax,” said Rep. David Yacovone. “Why we wouldn’t ask these folks to is beyond me. It’s called a level playing field.”

Get the full report from the VT Digger here.