Advocacy - Lab Advocate
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced another 121 healthcare providers have joined Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). With the addition of these participants to the 477 existing ACOs, the number of beneficiaries served by these coordinated care networks has reached nearly nine million. According to the agency, this program saved the government $411 million in 2014. The ongoing expansion is part of the Administration’s plan to move 30 percent of traditional Medicare fee-for-service payments into alternative payment models that emphasize quality over volume of service by 2015 and 50 percent by 2018. AACC recognizes the importance of enhancing the visibility of laboratory medicine if the field is to compete successfully for resources in the new healthcare environment. The Association is currently exploring the role that clinical laboratories play within this new capitated environment and is working to identify strategies for promoting the value of laboratory testing within these networks.