The ASCP and ASCP Board of Certification offices will be closed for the holidays Dec. 23, 2024, through Jan. 3, 2025. However, you can still reach ASCP Customer Relations by calling 1.800.267.2727 Dec. 30 and Dec. 31, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. Purchasing transactions can be conducted via our online store during the closure. 

Today, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new draft cervical cancer screening recommendations. Since USPSTF first announced its plans to revise its cervical cancer guidelines in 2022, ASCP has been actively advocating for USPSTF to uphold appropriate screening protocols in its new recommendations, and ASCP is pleased that the Task Force is putting patients first by maintaining access to critical preventive healthcare for women.

ASCP commends the USPSTF for maintaining “Grade A” designations for the following cervical cancer screening recommendations:

• Screen for cervical cancer every 3 years with a Pap test (cervical cytology) for women aged 21-29 years
• For women aged 30-65, the USPSTF recommends HPV Primary testing every 5 years, or getting a combined cytology-based Pap screening and high-risk HPV (hrHPV) test (co-testing) every 5 years, or Pap test alone every 3 years
• For women under age 21, the Task Force still recommends not to screen for cervical cancer

ASCP President, Greg Sossaman, MD, MASCP, lauded the draft recommendations, saying “it is so important that cervical cancer screening services are categorized as Grade A by the Task Force because access to and insurance coverage for this life-saving testing hinges on this designation. Securing this important victory for quality patient care was ASCP’s focus over the past several years.”

ASCP has long championed the patient’s right to choose the best healthcare options and preserve shared decision-making through our Patient and Provider Choice campaign. The recommendations track very closely with our advocacy efforts in the campaign, therefore we believe that the Task Force made the right decision in ensuring all cervical cancer screening options are available to all women.

Further, as a diverse, patient-centric organization, ASCP was concerned that raising the screening age to 25 and/or removing co-testing would exacerbate disparities in cervical cancer screening and detection in already underserved and vulnerable populations, who may not currently have hrHPV testing available to them. We are therefore encouraged that we are aligned with the Task Force and that our advocacy efforts paid off.

The draft recommendations are open for comment through January 13^th, 2025, and ASCP encourages our members to thank the Task Force for their work and due diligence on this important issue, and urge them to finalize the draft recommendations. We’ve made it easy to submit your comments through our action center.

ASCP will continue to monitor this important issue and keep members apprised of further updates. 

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

ASCP Presses Case Against FDA Oversight of LDTs

ASCP is continuing its fight against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Final Rule regulating laboratory developed tests (LDTs) and to stop legislation that would stymie the ability of clinical laboratories to provide these services to support quality patient care. Learn more about this multi-pronged effort and discover how you can take action. Read more.

Congress Should Fix Medicare Payment Now

With the 2024 election over, Congress has entered yet another “lame duck” legislative session. It has until January 2nd to finish up all its unfinished legislative business. It should reform how Medicare pays for physician and clinical laboratory services before then. Read more.

2023 ASCP Wage Survey Highlights Wage Growth, Importance of Visibility

The recently published 2023 ASCP wage survey report reveals an upward trend in the salaries for most laboratory professionals. Some of these improvements, however, are offset by inflation. In addition to collecting data on workforce parameters, the report also identifies visibility as a key factor in advancing the profession and provides examples of how the laboratory community is responding to laboratory workforce shortages. Read more.

ASCP Proudly Supports Comprehensive Care for Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease

ASCP, along with more than 90 other like-minded organizations, recently expressed support for the Sickle Cell Disease Comprehensive Care Act. This bipartisan legislation aims to ensure that individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) have better access to coordinated, high-quality outpatient care by allowing states to establish Medicaid Health Home programs with SCD as the single qualifying condition for eligibility. Read more.

ASCP Awards Global Health Fellowship 

ASCP recently awarded Aisha Mohamed, MD, the ASCP Trainee Global Health Fellowship. Dr. Mohamed is a pathology resident (PGY-2) in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Through this global health fellowship opportunity, Dr. Mohamed will work closely to support the implementation of a prostate cancer screening and awareness program at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi, Tanzania. Read more.

ASCP Amazing Lab Race Goes to New York

ASCP and the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (formerly the American Association of Clinical Chemists) convened their joint Central New York/Upper New York regional annual conference in Verona, NY, in November called “Where Heroes ColLABorate.” At the event, ASCP members Christy Nickel, MHA, MLS(ASCP)^CM, CPHQ and Aaron Odegard, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CMSM hosted the highly lauded ASCP Amazing Lab Race with conference attendees. Read more.

ASCP Endorses Key Public Health Bills

ASCP has provided its support for several bills designed to improve America’s public health infrastructure. ASCP is proud to endorse the Public Health Funding Restoration Act, which would restore the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) to its original $2 billion allocation under the Affordable Care Act. ASCP is also endorsing the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act, which would address chronic underfunding of state, local, tribal and territorial public health infrastructure through a dedicated investment in foundational public health capabilities and workforce. Read more.

HRSA Offers Scholarship Funding Laboratory Science Training Programs. Apply by Feb. 19!

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is offering scholarship funding to laboratory science training programs for medical laboratory students who have economic needs. The applications are due by February 19.  The federal Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program increases diversity in the health professions and nursing workforce by providing awards to eligible health professions schools for use in awarding scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have financial need, including students who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups. Read more.

 

 

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is offering scholarship funding to laboratory science training programs for medical laboratory students who have economic needs. The applications are due by February 19.  The federal Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program increases diversity in the health professions workforce by providing awards to eligible health professions schools.  The schools are tasked with awarding scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have financial need, including students who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups.

HRSA anticipates awarding grants to approximately 85 schools, totaling more than $51 million, and laboratory training programs at the baccalaureate and graduate degree level are eligible for these funds.  Participating schools are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, making reasonable determinations of need, and providing scholarships that do not exceed the allowable costs (with a cap for the total scholarship award of $ 40,000). 

ASCP encourages laboratory training programs to consider applying and/or to reach out to their school’s financial office, which may already be working on submitting a grant application.  For more about the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program, click here and here. The HRSA grant notice for this program is available here. 

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

 

 

ASCP has provided its support for several bills designed to improve America’s public health infrastructure. ASCP is proud to endorse the Public Health Funding Restoration Act, introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA). The measure would restore the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) to its original $2 billion allocation under the Affordable Care Act.

ASCP is also endorsing the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act, introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). The legislation would address chronic underfunding of state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) public health infrastructure through a dedicated investment in foundational public health capabilities and workforce. 

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

ASCP and the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) (formerly the American Association of Clinical Chemistry) convened their joint Central New York/Upper New York regional annual conference in Verona, NY, on November 7-8, 2024, called “Where Heroes ColLABorate.” This large chapter conference included two days of educational sessions, speakers, vendors, and networking events.

At the event, ASCP members Christy Nickel, MHA, MLS(ASCP)^CM, CPHQ and Aaron Odegard, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CMSM hosted the highly lauded ASCP Amazing Lab Race with conference attendees. This interactive session utilized an Amazing Race-style competition adapted to applying the tools and resources provided in ASCP’s Negotiation and Advocacy Toolbox. While previous Amazing Lab Race sessions have been conducted at ASCP’s large national conferences (ASCP KnowledgeLab 2024, ASCP 2024 Annual Meeting), this opportunity responded to ASCP member interest to bring the interactive educational format and information on the Negotiation and Advocacy Toolbox to regional chapter events.

With over 150 attendees participating in the Amazing Lab Race event, the audience was highly varied and ranged from students in laboratory medicine to laboratory leaders to members of industry. The interactive format of the session and the Negotiation and Advocacy Toolbox tools and resources featured were very well-received. Join us for the next Amazing Lab Race on April 7-8, 2025, at the ASCP KnowledgeLab 2025 Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona! 

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

ASCP recently awarded Aisha Mohamed, MD, the ASCP Trainee Global Health Fellowship. Dr. Mohamed is a pathology resident (PGY-2) in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Through this global health fellowship opportunity, Dr. Mohamed will work closely to support the implementation of a prostate cancer screening and awareness program, led by Dr. Alex Mremi, MD at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi, Tanzania. This fellowship is in service of the Coalition for Implementation Research in Global Oncology (CIRGO) program, which funded the initial implementation research project in prostate cancer conducted by Dr. Mremi.

The fellowship will be conducted between January and June 2025 and includes both in-country support, funded through the fellowship stipend, and virtual support for program implementation. In addition to supporting the pathology aims of the research project, Dr. Mohamed, as an ASCP resident member, will work with Dr. Mremi to support and collaborate with KCMC’s pathology training programs and participate in review of interesting clinical cases and virtual tumor boards via KCMC’s telepathology program, supported by ASCP.

We look forward to following this fellowship as it strengthens the continued partnership and collaboration between ASCP and the pathology training and services offered by Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, and Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University.

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

 

ASCP, along with more than 90 other like-minded organizations, recently expressed support for the Sickle Cell Disease Comprehensive Care Act (SCDCCA). This bipartisan legislation aims to ensure that individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) have better access to coordinated, high-quality outpatient care—including all recommended clinical, mental health, ancillary, and support services—by allowing states to establish Medicaid Health Home programs with SCD as the single qualifying condition for eligibility.

A revised version of the SCDCCA was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Danny Davis (D-IL) in late February. Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC) in late September. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office recently scored the legislation as saving $4 million in the 10-year budget window—a significant milestone for the legislation.

The Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Coalition has worked closely with the bill sponsors to support the inclusion of the legislation in an end-of-year package. As part of this advocacy, ASCP and other members of the SCD Coalition wrote the Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee urging these committees to include the bill in an end-of-year package. ASCP will continue to support the Sickle Cell Disease Coalition and advocate for the highest quality of care for individuals with SCD.

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

 

The recently published 2023 ASCP wage survey report reveals an upward trend in the salaries for most laboratory professionals. Some of these improvements, however, are offset by inflation. For example, while salaries for staff-level professionals show significant increases before adjusting for inflation, only staff-level pathologists’ assistants, technologists in molecular biology and cytogenetics, and medical laboratory technicians show wage growth after adjusting for inflation.

The wages of laboratory professionals as they accumulate more years of experience in the field show slight increases, with histotechnologists, histotechnicians and medical laboratory technicians showing more consistent pay increases with increased experience. Results also show COVID-19 associated burnout subsiding, with 16.4 percent fewer respondents are presently reporting they are experiencing burnout, compared to the 2021 ASCP wage survey.

In addition to collecting data on workforce parameters, the report also identifies visibility as a key factor in advancing the profession and provides examples of how the laboratory community is responding to laboratory workforce shortages. The newly established Medical and Public Health Laboratory Workforce (MPHLW) Coalition—a collaboration of more than 28 national organizations committed to building a robust and diverse medical laboratory workforce—and the ASCP’s Workforce Steering Committee are working tirelessly to promote visibility for the laboratory medicine and pathology professions. 

Other resources cited by the report include ASCP’s Grow Your Own Initiative, which showcases organizations that are growing their own pipeline of laboratory professionals through partnerships, and the ASCP Foundation’s Dr. Alvin Ring Empowerment Scholarship for Laboratory Professionals, which aims to foster diversity and inclusivity through scholarships to those pursuing higher education to become a medical laboratory professional.

To read the full report, click here.

With the 2024 election over, Congress has entered yet another “lame duck” legislative session. It has until January 2nd to finish up all its unfinished legislative business. It should reform how Medicare pays for physician and clinical laboratory services before then.

In 2025, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) will cut payment rates for physician and pathology services 2.8 percent unless Congress intervenes. This is now the fifth year in a row that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed cutting physician pay. Moreover, laboratory payment rates are also under threat, with approximately 800 tests targeted for cuts of up to 15 percent.  While cuts to laboratory test payment rates have been blocked by Congress since 2021 (including next year), the threat of cuts in future years still looms.

The threat of new cuts is alarming given that since 2001 PFS payments have fallen approximately 26 percent. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cut spending for the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) more than 15 percent between 2018 and 2020, and this fee schedule also been cut or frozen in 18 of the previous 25 years. Inflation is eating away at both the PFS and CLFS. 

These cuts are not sustainable, and it is crucial that we send Congress the message that it should fix payment rates for both the Medicare PFS and CLFS this year.

ASCP is working closely with our advocacy partners to address these issues--the American Medical Association to address PFS payment issues and the American Clinical Laboratory Association to address CLFS issues. For these efforts to succeed, we need help from ASCP’s membership. 

Last month, ASCP released an Action Alert to empower its members to urge Congress to fix Medicare payment rates. We are asking ALL of our members, credential holders, and their colleagues to use the ASCP eAdvocacy Center to send Congress a message to Fix Medicare Payment Rates Now (Click here).

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

ASCP is continuing its fight against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Final Rule regulating laboratory developed tests (LDTs) and to stop legislation that would stymie the ability of clinical laboratories to provide these services to support quality patient care.

ASCP, part of a coalition of concerned pathology and laboratory societies opposed to excessive FDA oversight of LDTs, recently released an Action Alert calling on Congress to pressure FDA to suspend its Final Rule. ASCP has also written President-elect Donald Trump’s Transition Team to urge that his administration rescind the rule when he takes office on January 20. 

In addition, ASCP has been working with its coalition partners and others to urge Congress to stop FDA’s implementation of the rule.  For example, in a recent letter to congressional leaders, ASCP and others urged Congress to pressure FDA to halt the implementation of its Final Rule. The letter commented on the excessive costs of FDA’s oversight plans, noting that “according to FDA estimates, over 90% of affected laboratories are small businesses, with average annual receipts of roughly $4 million—comparable to the cost of a single premarket review submission.” With some labs having sizable LDT offerings, such costs jeopardize their ability to maintain these services.

ASCP believes FDA’s oversight scheme could ultimately force clinical laboratories, including those in academic medical centers, to stop providing patients with these essential services, even when no FDA-approved alternative exists. ASCPs’ Action Alert also took aim at the Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development Act, or VALID Act. The VALID Act similarly empowers FDA to utilize an excessively costly and burdensome approach, and it will have a similar impact on the ability of clinical laboratories to provide LDTs. 

To ensure that patients are still able to access these essential laboratory services, ASCP urges its members, credential holders and their colleagues to use the ASCP eAdvocacy Center to send Congress the message that quality patient care demands that patients can access these testing services. Please click here.

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Networking, career planning and identifying resources for job searches, and maintaining a healthy work life-balance are among the top priorities for pathology residents, according to the results of an ASCP survey conducted last summer. The survey, which is conducted every summer, asked residents about the top 10 topics that weigh heavily on their minds.

Other concerns listed by residents include identifying resources to help them prepare for the board exams; tips for conducting job searches, completing job applications, and negotiating contracts; considerations for working in private practice; and strategies for building self-confidence and competence throughout their careers.

Every summer, ASCP conducts a member survey to find out the topics that weigh on members’ thoughts. The chairs of ASCP’s four member councils—Council of Laboratory Professionals, Resident Council, Pathologist Council, and Council of Laboratory Management and Administrators—use the members' responses to help develop activities and programs for the coming year.

“I want to convey to our pathology residents that their voice really counts,” says ASCP Resident Council Chair Savanah Gisriel, MD. “The Resident Council really depends on their feedback in order to create programs and initiatives to serve their needs.”

One example of a new ASCP Resident Council initiative is "Ask Me Anything," which provides pathology residents and fellows with opportunities to connect with seasoned pathologists through the Society’s online Pathologists in Training community.  The Resident Council launched the first "Ask Me Anything" session in its online community in August, featuring forensic pathologist Nicole R. Jackson, MD, MPH, FASCP, Assistant Professor and Director of Autopsy and After Death Services in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and & Pathology at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Jackson fielded questions ranging from whether one needs to be board-certified in forensic pathology to conduct autopsies to what the biggest contributors to health inequities in the United States are and ways to address these inequities. 

The concept for Ask Me Anything was initiated over the past year by Immediate Past Chair of the Resident Council Yembur Ahmad, MD. “Dr. Ahmad pioneered this idea,” Dr. Gisriel explains. “The idea came about because residents and fellows wanted more opportunities to talk with prominent pathologists in the profession. This was based on feedback direct from trainees.”

The "Ask Me Anything" initiative is also a way to encourage residents and fellows to use the online Pathologists in Training Community, where they’ll find a lot of resources geared toward their needs.  

“Residents and fellows are just about to enter the workforce,” says Dr. Gisriel. “By connecting them with pathologists who are well established in their careers, residents and fellows can hear about different career trajectories and how highly successful pathologists got to where they are and glean pearls of wisdom on timely topics such as work-life balance and time management.”

Meanwhile, residents’ concerns about preparation for board exams were addressed by guest speaker Kurt Shaburg, MD, during the Michele D. Raible Lecture for Residents at the 2024 ASCP Annual Meeting. Dr. Shaburg, who is the pathology residency program director at University of California, Davis, Medical Center, is well known for his online posts called Kurt’s Notes. He developed these notes as teaching aids for trainees. They include conditions commonly encountered by surgical pathologists and cytopathologists.  

“He mentioned that question banks are helpful but also emphasized the importance of learning through cases you see in real time while you are at the hospital working with patients. It is so true,” says Dr. Gisriel.  

Another resource for residents is the Resident Roundtable, which is held online every few months. The topics addressed during the roundtable sessions span several of the hot topics that residents have identified. If residents have other concerns which they’d like the Resident Council to address, Dr. Gisriel encourages them to reach out and share them with the Council’s leadership.

“The more feedback residents can provide us via the online Pathologists-in-Training Community, the better,” she says. 

Results of the ASCP 2023 Wage Survey show a significant increase in salaries of laboratory professionals since the prior survey conducted in 2021. However, the impact of the salary increase is far lower when adjusted for the high inflation rate experienced over the past few years.

Another key takeaway from the survey responses is that the high levels of burnout among laboratory staff have decreased substantially from the high rates of burnout experienced by staff during the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago. When it comes to burnout, there is a 16.4-percent decrease in the number of Wage Survey respondents who said they are presently experiencing burnout, when compared to the 2021 survey results.

“We know that levels of burnout were extremely high during the pandemic. To me, this new information says that burnout levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels,” says Edna Garcia, MPH, ASCP senior director of scientific engagement and research.

Conducted every two years, the ASCP Wage Survey serves as the primary source for industry, labor, government, and academic institutions of current wage data for U.S.-based laboratory scientists. More than 9,600 medical laboratory professionals responded to the survey, which was conducted by ASCP in collaboration with the ASCP Institute of Science, Technology and Policy in Washington, D.C., and the ASCP Board of Certification. Survey results were published October 4, 2024, in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP) online.

The ASCP Wage Survey Report highlights pay levels broken down by title, geography, certification and other variables using results of an online survey that requested data from laboratory managers, directors, supervisors, and staff across the United States.

“The data from the 2023 Wage Survey has so many purposes,” says Ms. Garcia. “It will be used by government entities as they project laboratory workforce staffing needs. The survey results also will be shared to the Medical and Public Health Laboratory Workforce Coalition, a partnership of 28 partner organizations which will inform their own laboratory workforce initiatives.

“The data is also used by laboratory professionals to advocate for salary increases within their own health organizations, and it will help new graduates to have a starting point when negotiating a fair salary,” she adds. “Lastly, when we are approached by clinical employers, we can also supply them data that can help them create positions with more fair compensation packages.”

“What the 2023 survey results indicate is that everyone can feel good that their salaries have gone up significantly over the past few years,” Ms. Garcia says, adding, “These gains would have been even better if we had not experienced the inflation rates that we did.”

Kerwin Kolheffer, MS, PA(ASCP)^CM, director of the pathologists’ assistant program at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA, and a member of the ASCP Council of Laboratory Professionals, served as a reviewer for the Wage Survey Report.

“Compensation for pathologists’ assistants has gone up over the last several years, but it has not kept up with inflation,” he says. “I have also seen an increase in mobility for these positions. I see pathologists’ assistants leaving jobs and accepting positions elsewhere for better pay. There is also a very strong demand for pathologists’ assistant trainees. Most students have jobs lined up before graduation.” 

Survey results call for continued efforts in promoting visibility of the profession and greater representation through advocacy. Efforts to support the workforce have multiplied since the pandemic and have remained a focus of the laboratory community. However, continued support and advocacy are needed to increase the promotion and value of laboratory careers for laboratory professionals and patients alike.

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

ASCP has contacted the Trump transition team leaders to urge the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to rescind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Final Rule claiming oversight authority over laboratory developed tests (LDTs).

In a letter to Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick, co-chairs of the Trump transition team, ASCP President Greg Sossaman, MD, MASCP, noted that the previous Trump Administration ruled that the FDA should not regulate LDTs. In 2020, U.S. Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar blocked the FDA from exercising oversight over LDTs. Secretary Azar’s decision was based on a legal opinion drafted by the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that the FDA lacked sufficient statutory authority to provide oversight of LDTs. 

ASCP—which filed an amicus curiae brief in October in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Final Rule and submitted congressional testimony earlier this year opposing both the Final Rule and the Verifying Accurate and Leading-edge IVCT Development Act, or VALID Act—believes that both the FDA Final Rule and the VALID Act fundamentally undermine patient access to quality care by imposing expensive and duplicative oversight burdens on clinical laboratories without improving patient outcomes.

By rescinding FDA’s Final Rule, ASCP President Sossaman expressed hope that President Trump’s leadership would send a clear message to both the FDA and Congress that LDTs are currently regulated appropriately in a manner that is nimble and free of excessive bureaucracy. This is provided by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. To maintain the highest quality patient care, we must never discourage accredited clinical laboratories from developing and providing innovative, cost effective, quality laboratory services. 

To read more articles from this issue of ePolicy, click here. To learn more about ePolicy News and access past newsletters and articles, click here.

ASCP Urges Trump Transition Team to Rescind FDA LDT Rule

ASCP has contact the Trump transition team leaders to urge the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to rescind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Final Rule claiming oversight authority over laboratory developed tests (LDTs). Read more.

CMS Finalizes Medicare PFS, CLFS Cuts for 2025

The physician fee schedule for calendar year 2025, recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, includes an average payment rate decrease of 2.8 percent. ASCP is working with the American Medical Associations and other medical societies to lobby Congress to reverse this proposed cut. Read more.

ASCP Endorses Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act

Legislation to reverse the looming cuts in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule has been introduced in Congress. The bipartisan Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act would provide a 4.73-percent update to the 2025 Medicare PFS, reversing cuts proposed by CMS and provide a 1.93 percent update. Read more.

Ambassador John Nkengasong’s Takeaways on Global Health Inequity

Strong political leadership, innovation, and establishing partnerships are key lessons learned from the worldwide response to the HIV/AIDS crisis over the past two decades, global health trailblazer Ambassador John Nkengasong said during his keynote address at the ASCP 2024 Annual Meeting. Ambassador Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Official of the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, offered insights on how to develop effective responses to global health issues. Read more.

Congressional Support for Medicare Prior Authorization Reform Bill Building
In early October, legislation—which ASCP supports—to reform prior authorization policies within Medicare Advantage plans reached a significant achievement: a majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation. Discover how this affects pathology and laboratory medicine. Read more.

CDC Launches New Office of Laboratory Systems and Response

The CDC has approved a reorganization plan to create the new Office of Laboratory Systems and Response (OLSR), merging several key laboratory divisions. This move elevates the role of CDC, public health, and clinical laboratories, recognizing them as core public health infrastructure. Read more.

ASCP Patient Champions and DPA Launch a New Patient Educational Resource

ASCP Patient Champions is partnering with the Digital Pathology Association to create a patient guide to digital pathology. Read more.

ASCP Patient Champions Joins with Tribal Communities to Improve Health Literacy

As part of its ongoing partnership with the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care, ASCP Patient Champions recently collaborated on the 2024 Tribal Health Literacy Workshop.  ASCP’s presentation underscored the importance of understanding pathology reports and laboratory results, using storytelling to explain complex topics, and the value of peer-to-peer advocacy and support. Read more.

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ASCP Patient Champions recently collaborated on the 2024 Tribal Health Literacy Workshop as part of its ongoing partnership with the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care (AACIHC).

AACIHC serves as a resource for all Tribal governments and the State of Arizona by supporting prevention, training, education, workforce development, policy and legislation to meet the unique healthcare needs of the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) population in Arizona. It seeks to educate and advocate for improved health outcomes.

ASCP Patient Champions brings together individuals who have personally experienced the impact of laboratory medicine and diagnostics. These passionate patient advocates share their stories, raise awareness and collaborate with healthcare professionals to improve patient care and outcomes.

At the Tribal Health Literacy Workshop, Patient Champions Project Manager Sophia Lewin Adams partnered with Patient Champion Deedee O’Brien to present to members of Arizona’s 22 tribal communities. Their presentation covered the importance of understanding pathology reports and laboratory results, strategies for using storytelling to explain complex topics, and the value of peer-to-peer advocacy and support.

In addition to their educational presentation, Ms. O’Brien shared her personal story to explain how understanding pathology reports and laboratory results helped her as both a patient and a caregiver.

Learn more about AACHIC.

Hear Deedee tell part of her story.

Learn more about Patient Champions on the Patient Champions website. If you are interested in learning more about ASCP Patient Champions initiatives to educate and empower patients, please contact Patient Champion Staff at champions@ascp.org.

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ASCP Patient Champions has partnered with the Digital Pathology Association to create an a patient guide to digital pathology. The flyer explains the process and value of digital pathology as well as lays out ways patients can engage with their own pathology.

ASCP Patient Champions brings together individuals who have personally experienced the impact of laboratory medicine and diagnostics. These passionate patient advocates share their stories, raise awareness, and collaborate with healthcare professionals to improve patient care and outcomes.

The Digital Pathology Association (DPA) is a professional organization that facilitates awareness, education, and adoption of digital pathology and AI applications in healthcare and life sciences.

ASCP Patient Champions maintains a library of educational flyers to help patients understand their diagnoses and laboratory results. By teaching them about the laboratory, ASCP Patient Champions empowers patients and caregivers to navigate their care and choose the treatments that work best for them.

“A Patient’s Guide to Digital Pathology” is their newest addition to the flyer library and answers frequently asked questions like “How does AI in pathology impact patient care?” and “Can digital pathology improve my care?”

The flyer is available in via the Educational Resource library on the Patient Champions website.

To learn more about ASCP Patient Champions, please visit the Patient Champions website or contact ASCP Patient Champions staff at champions@ascp.org.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently approved a reorganization plan creating the new Office of Laboratory Systems and Response (OLSR), merging several key laboratory divisions. This move elevates the role of CDC, public health, and clinical laboratories, recognizing them as core public health infrastructure. The OLSR, led by Dr. Ren Salerno, will support laboratory quality, safety, informatics, workforce and response readiness, with a goal to foster greater cross-agency collaboration.

For laboratory professionals, this reorganization will mean more streamlined operations and consistent communication with CDC leadership, which will further integrate public health laboratories and clinical partners into a cohesive national network. The OLSR’s unified structure is expected to improve coordination during health crises, ensuring laboratories are well-prepared for threats ranging from infectious disease outbreaks to hazardous exposures.

Laboratory professionals are encouraged to stay engaged with the CDC as the OLSR strengthens its partnerships across federal, public, and clinical sectors to ensure public health protection.

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Legislation to reverse the looming cuts in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) was introduced in Congress on October 30, 2024. The bipartisan Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act (HR 10073)—endorsed by ASCP, the American Medical Association, and more than 100 other medical associations—would provide a 4.73 percent update to the 2025 Medicare PFS, reversing the 2.8 percent cut proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and providing a 1.93-percent update. The 1.93 percent update is equal to one half of the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) and is in line with a recommendation from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

The benefit of this legislation, however, is temporary. While the legislation is important, it does not address one of the fundamental problems with the PFS, specifically the lack of a permanent annual update to offset the impact of inflation. That is why ASCP supports H.R. 2474, the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act, enacted. This measure provides a permanent, annual inflationary update equivalent to the full MEI while also reversing the 2.8 percent cut in the PFS.

Given the corrosive impact that inflation has had on Medicare payment rates, it is critical that Congress reverse the 2.8 percent cut scheduled for 2025. ASCP will be working with the AMA and other medical associations to both reverse the 2025 cut and secure a permanent, full annual update for the Medicare PFS. To help us achieve that goal, ASCP urges members to act on a recent ASCP Advocacy Alert empowering our members to contact their congressional representatives and urge them to Fix Medicare Payment Rates. Please click here to help.

On Oct. 9, legislation supported by ASCP to reform prior authorization policies within Medicare Advantage (MA) plans reached a significant achievement: a majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives has signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation. Currently, 221 members of the House (155 Democrats, 86 Republicans) have co-sponsored HR 8702, the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act. The Senate version of the bill, S. 4532, similarly enjoys support from the majority of U.S. Senators.

In addition, the measure recently received excellent news from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The measure received a $0 “score”, meaning that the measure is not expected to increase federal spending. CBO scores are an important factor that weighs heavily on the chances a bill might be enacted.

Prior authorization has been identified as the #1 administrative burden by healthcare providers, and three out of four MA enrollees are subject to these burdens. Moreover, a recent audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that MA plans ultimately approved 75 percent of requests that were originally denied. Additionally, HHS  found that MA plans were incorrectly denying Medicare beneficiaries’ access to services even though they met coverage requirements. 

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