ASCP Members Score Extension on CLIA Rule

ASCP members spoke, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is listening! 
 
One day before the close of the August 25 comment period on a proposal to let nurses with a BSN degree perform high complexity testing, CMS granted ASCP’s request for an extension of the comment period. 

The Agency must be aware of the 16,000-plus urgent messages sent by ASCP members who oppose this proposed rule.
 
The extension allows more time—until September 26—for ASCP members and others to raise concerns regarding CMS’s proposed rule on the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). The fight is not over yet, and we still need everyone’s help to tell Congress to abandon this policy. See ASCP’s Action Alert.
 
Since the proposed rule first came out in late July, ASCP members have sent in more than 16,000 messages opposing the bachelor’s degree proposal. That number is double the number of comments ASCP and other association members submitted on a 2018 information request CMS released about the same policy. ASCP will soon submit our own formal comments on the rule, urging CMS to adopt appropriate education and training requirements for all testing professionals and will be promoting certified laboratory personnel too.
 
Originally, CMS had provided only 30 days for public comments, making for a very tight turnaround for comments on the rule. Federal agencies are usually required to provide at least a 60-day comment period. As ASCP reported previously, the proposed CLIA rule would allow individuals with a BSN to perform all high complexity testing. CMS’s proposal to recognize the BSN poses a significant quality concern given that BSN degrees usually provide only a fraction of the science coursework required of laboratory personnel. ASCP is concerned that BSN holders won’t receive sufficient clinical training to protect patient care.  
 
If you have not submitted comments on the proposed rule to CMS, please do so by using the ASCP Action Alert now! And, urge your colleagues to do the same!