As Congress Tackles Deficit, Medicare Reimbursement and Workforce Training Endangered
With the November elections over, Congress seeks to work out a compromise to avert the fiscal cliff. On Jan. 1, the Bush tax cuts will expire, increasing annual tax assessments by roughly $600 billion. In addition, federal government programs are set to undergo sequestration—a combination of automatic cuts—of approximately $120 billion in CY 2013. If the combination—the so-called “fiscal cliff”—goes into effect, many economists project the U.S. economy could go back into a recession. Read more

CMS Publishes PFS Shocker: Agency Guts 88305 Reimbursements by 52 Percent;
Places New Molecular Pathology Codes on CLFS
Reimbursement for the Technical Component of 88305 will be reduced 52 percent and the 101 new molecular pathology codes will be assigned to the clinical laboratory fee schedule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced when it published its CY 2013 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule today. The rule also outlines that PFS reimbursement rates will be cut 27 percent due to the impact of the flawed sustainable growth rate. It is widely expected, however, that Congress will take action to prevent the SGR-related cuts from going into effect. Read more

New York ASCP Members Score Victory in State Self Referral Rollback
Pathologists and other laboratory professionals in New York scored a major legislative victory in October when New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo vetoed legislation that would eliminate much of New York’s own Physician Self Referral Law. The measure, AB 3551, would have had the state follow the federal Stark Law, which is replete with loopholes that have encouraged self referral arrangements as clinicians increasingly try to profit on the medical services they order. Read more

CMS Provides Pathologists Temporary Relief from Meaningful Use Penalties
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will shield pathologists, at least temporarily, from the Meaningful Use program’s noncompliance penalties that go into effect in 2015. The relief was provided as part of the agency’s Meaningful Use Stage Two Final Rule, released in late August at ASCP’s urging. The rule also provides protection for radiologists and anesthesiologists. Read more