The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and other laboratory groups seeking repeal of a federal demonstration project to competitively bid clinical lab services have found allies in the US Senate.
Senators Ken Salazar (D-Colo) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan) have introduced legislation, S2099, to repeal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services‘s (CMS) authority to implement the project.
The agency plans to announce the first of two sites shortly. Many labs could be forced out of business in the selected areas, and if CMS convinces Congress the demonstration is a success, it could be expanded nationwide.
The AACC is urging other senators to co-sponsor the legislation. The organization hopes to convince congressional leaders to include a provision to repeal the demo in forthcoming health care legislation.
For more information, visit the AACC [removed]Web site[/removed] or call Vince Stine, PhD, AACC’s director of government affairs, at (202) 835-8721.
