American Clinical Laboratory Association’s Annual Meeting Takes Place in Washington, DC, as Congress Considers First Obamacare Repeal-and-Replace Bill

CMS Director speaks at ACLA meeting; acknowledges that labs are alerting the agency to problems with Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) private payer market reporting, but did not say whether a delay in implementing either reporting or lab test fee cuts would be possible WASHINGTON, DC—Last week, it was symbolic that, as members of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) assembled for their annual meeting, members of the House of Representatives were preparing to vote on the...

Clinical Pathology Laboratories Still Waiting for Molecular Test Payments, Speakers Report at First Day of Executive War College

For more than a year Medicare contractors have been developing payment rates for the 114 molecular tests and without setting rates, they cannot make payments. New Orleans, Louisiana, April 30, 2013—Getting paid for molecular test claims submitted under the new molecular CPT codes was a subject of high interest on the opening day of the Executive War College. Most clinical laboratories and pathology groups performing molecular tests nationwide report that they have not been paid for invoices...

In Fixing Physician Medicare Pay, Congress Enacts Yet Another Cut in Clinical Laboratory Test Fee Schedule

A part of this legislation, the grandfather clause on Technical Component (TC) anatomic pathology services was extended through June 1, 2012. Last Friday, clinical laboratories got bad news about new cuts to the Medicare Part B medical laboratory test fee schedule. Congress voted on a temporary funding fix to keep Medicare physician fees at current levels for 10 more months and a reduction in lab test fees was one source of the money that Congress used to fund this bill. Pathologists and...

Why Congress Is Considering Deep Cuts to Medical Laboratory Test Fees

Nation’s clinical laboratories may see significant reductions in federal funding for medical laboratory tests in the 2012 federal budget Unprecedented cuts in funding for clinical laboratory services are expected from Congress in coming months. That’s because federal legislators need deep cuts from many sources to cope with the current budget crisis. It is also why some Beltway insiders predict that fees for medical laboratory testing will be substantially reduced. Although many lab industry...

It’s Back on the Table! Medicare Patient Co-Pay for Clinical Laboratory Tests Is One of 27 Cost-Cutting Proposals in Federal Debt Ceiling Negotiations

Document leak earlier this week pulls curtain back on potential cuts to Medicare/Medicaid spending Spending cuts of between $334 billion and $353 billion over the next 10 years are on the table in the negotiations over the federal debt ceiling. The bad news for the clinical laboratory industry is that restoration of the Medicare patient co-pay for medical laboratory tests is not only on the list of proposed spending cuts, but represents a significant chunk of money—as much as $16 billion...
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