Fair reimbursement for laboratory tests can be one of the most difficult challenges for laboratory directors and healthcare administrators to navigate.. This is why the AACC is urging laboratorians to contact their congressional representatives to urge them to support SALSA legislation.
The AACC’s statement about why support of SALSA legislation, which would ensure laboratories receive fair reimbursement from Medicare, follows:
Laboratory reimbursement rates under Medicare have precipitously declined as a result of the flawed implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA). Fair reimbursement is essential to prevent labs from eliminating tests, laying off employees, and reducing services for patients who rely on quality testing.
Congress intended for PAMA to modernize the clinical laboratory fee schedule to more closely align lab reimbursement rates with private payers. However, the data reporting process used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) does not accurately represent real-world prices. Payment information disproportionally collected from large commercial laboratories that benefit from economies of scale has resulted in drastic payment cuts that threaten the ability of many laboratories, particularly in underserved areas, to provide essential services.
AACC urges you to contact your legislators and request that they support the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), which would reform private payer reporting requirements, and implement a payment methodology that ensures labs receive fair reimbursement for the critical services they provide.
Laboratorians can click the below link to log in and send their message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/Xueo1N8yzJlVVsiX1qJ7jw
