ASCP Needs All Members to Advocate for Laboratory Payment Reform ASCP is urging the laboratory community to weigh in with their members of Congress about the need to enact the bipartisan RESULTS Act to secure long-term reform of Medicare laboratory payments at StopLabCuts.org. Read more. 

Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Reform Medicare PFS On March 30, a bipartisan group of U.S. House members introduced The Provider Reimbursement Stability Act (H.R. 8163) which would reform Medicare Physician Fee Schedule budget neutrality rules to reduce payment volatility and improve the accuracy and predictability of payment updates. Read more. 

Medical Laboratory Workforce Development Initiative ASCP is working to advance national workforce development through new educational resources and webinars for school districts, educators, and students designed to expand awareness of laboratory careers and strengthen career pathways. Read more. 

Apply Now: AMA Launches Inaugural Physician Entrepreneur Forum — Aug. 7–8 in Chicago The AMA is launching its first Physician Entrepreneur Forum, an in-person program focused on entrepreneurship and business leadership for physicians, trainees, and medical students. Read more. 

Microlearning Scenarios Strengthen Awareness of ETU Practices An article in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology highlights how ASCP’s case-based microlearning course significantly increased awareness and knowledge of effective test utilization practices among laboratory professionals. Read more. 

Building Bridges 2026: Professional Identity ASCP’s Building Bridges webinar series returns with a session focused on professional identity and the importance of clearly communicating the role of laboratory professionals in patient care. Register for the session before April 22. Read more. 

California Licensure Fee Update ASCP, the ASCP BOC, and our partners, inspired by the grassroots efforts of the ASCP Northern California Chapter, continue to advocate for the reversal of steep California laboratory licensure fee increases enacted in early 2026 through multiple strategies. Read more.

• ASCP, the ASCP BOC, and the ASCP Northern California Chapter are pressing the California Legislature to roll back a massive increase in state licensure fees

   

  ASCP, the ASCP Board of Certification (BOC), and the ASCP Northern California chapter are working to reverse a significant increase in licensing fees for California’s laboratory professionals.
  

  Last year, during the end of the 2025 legislative session, the California Legislature approved legislation that dramatically increased licensing fees for laboratory professionals. For Medical Laboratory Scientists and Technicians, renewal fees jumped from $179 for a biennial license in 2025 to $600 for the same period. Comparable increases affect all nonphysician laboratory professionals. For those licensed in two or more laboratory specialties, the increase is an even greater burden. Moreover, the legislation replaces the previous biennial license with an annual renewal cycle, creating an increased compliance burden for licensees.
  

  To support efforts to reverse these changes, ASCP is currently gathering signatures for a sign on letter that will be sent to members of the California Senate and Assembly Budget Committees. In addition, at the end of March, ASCP issued an action alert to its California members, urging them to contact their state legislators and advocate for reversing the fee increases. So far, individuals using the action alert have sent almost 900 letters to the Legislature urging changes.

   

   

• ASCP’s successful Building Bridges webinar series, supporting professional development and workplace advocacy, returns with a session on professional identity

   

  ASCP’s 2026 Building Bridges Across the Laboratory Community virtual series supports professional development and strengthens advocacy across the medical laboratory workforce. This year’s program equips laboratory professionals with communication strategies that enhance visibility and highlight the essential role of the laboratory in patient care. The second session, Professional Identity, explores the importance of clearly defining and communicating the identity of medical and public health laboratory professionals. Panelists from cytology, histotechnology, and medical laboratory science will share perspectives on how professional identity is shaped within their disciplines and why articulating these roles is vital to advancing the profession.
  

  Webinar Date and Time: April 22, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (Central Time)
  

  If you have not registered for this year’s series, visit: https://bit.ly/BuildingBridges_2026
  

  For more information on our workforce resources, please visit the ASCP workforce webpage.

   

   

• The American Journal of Clinical Pathology recently published an article highlighting best practices for effective test utilization.

   

  The American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP) recently published an article on the breadth and impact of education increasing awareness of best practices for effective test utilization (ETU). This article describes the results of over 8,000 learners completing ASCP’s free course, Case-Based Best Practices in Effective Test Utilization for Clinical Laboratories, bearing 1 CME/CMLE credit. The course presents real-world scenarios paired with concise, practical explanations. The cases were designed by laboratory leaders from the ASCP Quality & Patient Safety Committee as well as past ETU champions, and the course was developed with funding through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  

  Assessment results presented in the article confirm strong evidence of increased awareness and knowledge gain of evidence-based testing practices. While the majority of learners were identified as medical laboratory scientists, all members of the medical laboratory team are encouraged to take this course to increase their knowledge bases around various aspects of ETU. This education helps ensure that a culture of ETU becomes common practice to benefit both laboratory systems and patient care. The published study also demonstrates the value of applying microlearning-based education towards laboratory populations.

   

   

• The AMA is launching a new initiative, the Physician Entrepreneur Forum, to advance entrepreneurial and business leadership within healthcare

   

  The AMA is inviting physicians, residents, fellows, and medical students to apply for its first AMA Physician Entrepreneur Forum, taking place on August 7–8, 2026 in Chicago. This selective, in-person program is designed for those interested in exploring or advancing entrepreneurial and business leadership pathways in healthcare.
  

  Bringing together physicians and healthcare leaders who have built and led successful practices, ventures, and organizations, the forum offers participants practical insight into how physicians create, grow and partner in health care enterprises. Attendees will also have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with peers, collaborators, and seasoned innovators from across the country. 

  Over two focused days, participants will engage in high value discussions, learn from real world experiences, and take part in small group networking designed to spark ideas and accelerate professional growth.
  

  Space is limited—apply today to secure your spot in this inaugural program.

   

• ASCP is working to develop resources that can elevate awareness of laboratory careers and help stabilize the laboratory workforce

  As ASCP continues to expand its national efforts to strengthen the medical laboratory workforce supply, we are elevating awareness of laboratory careers and equipping Career and Technical Educators (CTE) in school districts across the country with the tools they need to build sustainable pathways.

  ASCP has developed two resources and two professional development webinars to support this initiative:
  

  Resources:

• District Implementation Guide, a practical resource created for CTE directors and district leaders to encourage them to establish or expand their CTE program to include laboratory medicine courses.
• Student Career Planner: A Student Guide to Medical Laboratory Careers, a comprehensive, tiered roadmap to help students understand how to build a career in laboratory medicine while “earning as they learn.”
  
  

  Webinars:

  1. Building and Implementing High School Career Pathways in Laboratory Medicine (February 10) focuses on designing structured, sustainable pathways that introduce students to lab careers and connect them with hands-on learning opportunities.
  2. Inspiring High School Students to Explore Medical Lab Careers (March 4) highlights effective strategies for engaging students, increasing awareness of laboratory professions, and integrating lab focused career exploration into school programs.

For more information on our workforce resources, please visit the ASCP workforce webpage.

• Legislation recently introduced in Congress would reform the Medicare PFS’s budget neutrality requirement.
• ASCP believes the changes included in the bill would help minimize the negative impact that the budget neutrality requirement can have on the annual process of updating PFS payment rates

  
  On March 30, a bipartisan group of U.S. House members introduced the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act (H.R. 8163), aimed at updating the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). The bill targets long‑standing “budget neutrality” rules that prevent overall PFS spending from increasing unless Congress adds new funding. Changing these requirements remains a key advocacy priority for ASCP.
  

  The policies outlined in H.R. 8163 would help minimize the negative impact that the budget neutrality requirement can have on the annual process of updating PFS payment rates. Reforming the budget neutrality requirement is an important advocacy goal for ASCP.
  

  Key provisions in H.R. 8163 include:
• Raising the budget neutrality threshold from $20 million to $54.3 million.
• Requiring HHS to revise spending estimates prospectively using actual claims data.
• Mandating CMS to update direct practice expense inputs—clinical labor rates, medical supply prices, and equipment prices—at the same time and at least every five years.
• Capping annual changes to the MPFS conversion factor at no more than ±2.5 percent, starting in 2027.
  

H.R. 8163 was introduced by Reps. Greg Murphy, MD (RNC), Tom Suozzi (DNY), John Joyce, MD (RPA), Bob Onder, MD (RMO), Brad Schneider (DIL), Jimmy Panetta (DCA), Mariannette Miller Meeks, MD (RIA), Kim Schrier, MD (DWA), and Robin Kelly (DIL).

 A joint press release from the House sponsors is available here.

• ASCP is urging everyone to ask their elected officials in Congress to enact the RESULTS Act
• The measure is critical to providing sustainable reimbursement for laboratories and to ensure they can support the needs of patients

   

  Thanks to the grassroots advocacy efforts of ASCP members, Congress took an important step earlier this year to protect patient access to clinical laboratory services by delaying a significant cut in Medicare payments for laboratory services for 2026. As a result, payment cuts of up to 15 percent affecting hundreds of diagnostic tests have once again been paused—briefly—creating an important window for policymakers to advance long-term reform.
  
  While the delay in payment cuts offers meaningful short-term relief, laboratories are required to resume reporting commercial market data to CMS in May, which could again result in lackluster and unrepresentative data used to set Medicare rates for laboratory services. As a result, it is essential that we all work together to secure foundational reform before the end of the year. Without reform, patients could face reduced access to timely testing, providers may see disruptions in care delivery, and communities could experience further strain on the local laboratory infrastructure.

  Momentum is building in Congress to address these challenges through the bipartisan Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services (RESULTS) Act. ASCP supports the RESULTS Act and its essential reform to a flawed payment system for clinical laboratories. The RESULTS Act would provide long-term stability to the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), improve the accuracy of private payor-based CLFS rates, mitigate future payment cuts, and dramatically reduce the PAMA data reporting burden on laboratories.
  

  The legislation has already secured strong bipartisan support in both chambers and was the subject of a recent House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee hearing, where lawmakers and industry leaders underscored the urgent need to modernize the Medicare laboratory payment system and protect access to testing. But more support is needed to get this legislation signed into law.
  
  Now is a critical time to act. Lawmakers need to hear directly from everyone in the laboratory community about the importance of long-term reform. ASCP urges everyone to weigh in with their member of Congress about the need to enact RESULTS this year at StopLabCuts.org. This grassroots advocacy portal provides a draft letter you can send your legislators, and it only takes a few minutes of your time.  Take action today!

   

The Panel of National Pathology Leaders (PNPL) — a think tank dedicated to advancing pathology and laboratory medicine — is committed to empowering leaders and elevating practices across the field. Through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Focus Group, PNPL provides practical guidance to help pathology practices and laboratories integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles into operations, strategy, and long-term value creation. The goal is to help organizations translate these concepts into actionable plans that strengthen both performance and stakeholder relationships.

• Transforming Corporate Responsibility into Competitive Advantage – During a December meeting of the CSR Focus Group, Mary T. Engvall, former Senior Director of Corporate Responsibility at Cigna, provided a practical framework for understanding corporate responsibility as a strategic business function rather than a peripheral activity. Her presentation emphasized that effective CSR initiatives are rooted in stakeholder engagement, risk mitigation, and opportunity identification, enabling organizations to create “shared value” that benefits both the business and the communities it serves. For pathology practices and laboratories, this includes initiatives such as workforce development, environmental safety, and operational efficiency—strengthening organizational performance while enhancing relationships with hospitals, payers, and other partners.

Click here for an overview of her presentation and key takeaways.

• Sustainability in Pathology: Insights from PNPL Leadership on ASCP’s Inside the Lab – Through PNPL’s ongoing collaboration with ASCP, sustainability in laboratory medicine was recently highlighted on the Inside the Lab podcast, featuring Dr. Ilyssa Gordon, former Medical Director of Sustainability at the Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Moira Larsen, Chair of PNPL’s CSR Focus Group. The discussion explored how “green labs” are transitioning from concept to operational reality, with laboratories increasingly incorporating data-driven approaches — such as lifecycle assessments — to measure environmental impact and guide decision-making. Importantly, sustainability efforts are most effective when aligned with financial and operational priorities, often supporting cost management, supply chain optimization, and health system alignment. 

Click here for an overview of this podcast and key takeaways.

For more information on PNPL, including its Corporate Social Responsibility Focus Group, educational programming, and resources available through its collaboration with ASCP, visit www.pathleaders.org.