Low Hanging Fruit #1: Easy Things You Can Do to Advocate for the Laboratory

Among the many challenges impacting laboratories today is the financial environment they are currently facing. Payment rates, both from Medicare and private payers, have decreased significantly over the last few years. You can help fix this!

Many of these revenue challenges are attributable to the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS). After a botched effort by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to revamp the CLFS, the result was artificially low payment rates that were quickly adopted by private payers. CMS’s pay rates were based almost exclusively on data from large reference labs, which often receive lower payment rates than other laboratories. Not surprisingly, the impact has been felt throughout the industry, with hospitals and smaller reference laboratories feeling much of the pinch.

Fortunately, there is a solution: the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA). This legislation would require the CMS to revamp its approach to how it pays for laboratory services. SALSA uses data sampling to improve data collection, which will provide more accurate payment rates and reduce the compliance burden. ASCP, a strong supporter of SALSA, hopes it will lead to a more sustainable fee schedule that can strengthen the laboratory infrastructure—including workforce—to better protect the public health, laboratory innovation, and patient access to promote quality laboratory services. 

For this legislation to get approved by Congress, however, it will need YOUR HELP. As a strong supporter of this legislation, ASCP urges its members and their colleagues to use the StopLabCuts Action Center to send your legislators in Washington the message that “Congress needs to fix the CLFS.” Thank you. 

For more information on SALSA, click here. 

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For more information regarding ASCP's advocacy initiatives and policy positions, please contact ASCP's Center for Public Policy at (202) 408-1110.