ePolicy News October 2022

ASCP, BOC Generate Overwhelming Response to CLIA Personnel Advocacy Campaign
A grassroots campaign by ASCP and the ASCP Board of Certification to stop a proposal to allow individuals with a nursing degree to perform high complexity testing generated more than 20,000 comments from laboratory professionals and pathologists. Find out what happens next. Read more.

ASCP Declares Victory as Biden Signs Temporary Funding Bill without VALID Act
President Biden recently signed a temporary stop-gap funding bill to keep the federal government afloat through December 16. The bill will temporarily re-authorize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s User Fee Program, and it excludes the controversial Verifying Accurate Leading-Edge In Vitro Clinical Tests Devices Act. Read more.

President Biden Changes Conditions for Student Debt Relief 
The guidance for President Biden’s provision of up to $10,000 in debt relief for current student loan holders has been revised. Find out who is affected most. Read more.

Help Enact the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act
A bipartisan group of senators and representatives recently introduced the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act to fix problems with the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule. The new legislation would simplify the data reporting process by directing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to use statistical sampling to collect data from of all major types of laboratories to reduce the regulatory burden and provide more accurate payment rates. Read more.

ASCP, AMA Urge Congress to Address PFS Payment Cuts
ASCP has joined with the AMA and other provider groups to urge Congress to reverse payment cuts to the Medicare physician fee schedule, which pays for both physician services and technical services performed by laboratory personnel. Read more.

Torrance Memorial Medical Center First in Nation to Receive Leading Laboratories Recognition from ASCP and The Joint Commission
Torrance Memorial Medical Center is the first in the nation to receive the Leading Laboratories recognition from ASCP and The Joint Commission. The two-year designation serves as proof of Torrance Memorial’s commitment to laboratory excellence and to help improve patient outcomes. The medical center underwent a rigorous application process, including a review of its outcomes, indicators, metrics and evidence. Read more.