Advocacy - Lab Advocate
On September 8th, AACC joined with others in the laboratory community in endorsing the Saving Access to Laboratory Service Act (SALSA). The bill would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to modify the methodology it uses to set laboratory fees.
The methodology currently used by the agency – set forth in the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) – uses payment data, primarily collected from large commercial labs who offer volume discounts, to establish the rates. This has resulted in in deeper than anticipated cuts in lab rates.
If enacted, SALSA would delay the next round of cuts that go into effect in 2023 and extend the time between price reporting periods from three years to four. Laboratory stakeholders are urging legislators to enact the bill before they adjourn to avoid scheduled cuts. Once more, AACC urges you to use its grassroots network in support of this bill.