ePolicy News Special Edition
On April 10, the influential health policy journal Health Affairs published a study by noted Georgetown University health economist Jean Mitchell, PhD, providing clear evidence that urologists who profit on their referrals for anatomic pathology services overutilize these services. In addition, Dr. Mitchell found that self-referring urologists were less likely to diagnose cancer possibly because “financial incentives prompt self-referring urologists to perform prostate biopsies on men who are unlikely to have prostate cancer.” Read more

ASCP Initiative to Address Workforce Garners Media Attention

ASCP’s Commitment to Action in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to create more job opportunities in the medical laboratory has caught the attention of media. An overview of ASCP’s initiative to expand educational access to laboratory science programs in New York was recently reported by WNYT-TV in Albany, N.Y. The plan will develop classrooms and distance learning curricula, a coordinated network of clinical rotation sites, an accelerated technician to technologist program, and an electronic instrumentation simulation laboratory. Read more

Fix to SGR Harms Laboratory Medicine, Patients
ASCP Generates 3,600 Letters to Hill in 36 Hours

On Feb. 22, President Obama signed legislation extending the payroll tax cut, continuing unemployment benefits and delaying a scheduled cut in Medicare physician reimbursement rates. The measure, which overall costs about $143 billion, blocks a SGR-imposed cut of 27 percent until the end of 2012. Congress will need to pass additional legislation later this year to prevent what is currently estimated as a 32 percent cuts from occurring in 2013. Read more

Congress Sends Payroll, Unemployment, Physician Fee Fix Extension Bill to Obama Read more