Skip to Main Navigation Skip to Main Content Skip to Footer
search play2 play3 facebook twitter linkedin2 cross
ASCP
  • DASHBOARD
  • STORE
  • LOGOUT
  • STORE
  • LOGIN
Menu
  • My Role
  • Membership
  • Learning
  • Get Involved
  • Careers
  • About ASCP
  • Board of Certification
  • News
  • News
  • News Archive
  • Groups
  • Jobs
  • ASCP
  • News Archive
  • News Detail

CMS NGS NCD RIP?

Publication Date: Mar 29, 2019

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is heeding ASCP’s request to revise a recent National Coverage Determination (NCD). During the March 26 American Clinical Laboratory Association’s (ACLA) Annual Meeting, CMS staff announced that the Agency would soon be revising its 2018 NCD that blocks Medicare coverage of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) tests for Medicare beneficiaries with stage I or II cancers. The current NCD allows for coverage only in cases of “recurrent, relapsed, refractory, metastatic, or advanced stages III or IV cancer.”

ASCP has urged CMS to reconsider this policy, recommending that Medicare provide coverage to all Medicare beneficiaries with cancer, regardless of its stage. In a previous letter to CMS, ASCP argued that CMS’s proposed coverage limitation to stage III and IV cancers potentially causes patient harm at a point in time when accurate diagnoses and treatments are most effective. While CMS plans to reconsider this coverage policy, CMS staff stated that the Agency does not intend to delay or suspend implementation of its current policy. The result is that the CMS will maintain its policy of not covering NGS-based germline testing. ASCP is concerned that this position will result in early-stage cancer patients losing access to medically necessary genetic tests for hereditary cancer.

ASCP will be following this issue closely and will be in touch with CMS to urge the Agency to provide broader coverage of these tests.


Other articles in ePolicy News April 2019

CLIAC Set to Hear from Subcommittee on CLIA Personnel Regulatory Changes

ASCP Briefs ASCLS Legislative Symposium Attendees on Key Policy Issues

To read more articles from ePolicy News click here.

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

  ASCP ePolicy News is supported by
  an unrestricted grant from Hologic.

  • My Role
    • Pathologist
    • Resident
    • Lab Professional
    • Program Directors
    • Student
  • Membership
    • Renew Membership
    • Become a Member
    • Get Involved
    • Rewards
    • Member Center
  • Learning
    • Certificate Programs
    • Attend Live Events
    • Explore Books and Journals
    • Quality Improvement Education
    • Access My Education
    • ACCME
    • CC Resources
    • CMP Resources
    • ASCPedia
    • Featured Education
    • Immuno-Oncology
    • ASCP Annual Meeting
    • ASCP Virtual Town Hall Series
    • Inside the Lab
  • Get Involved
    • Get Recognized
    • Receive Awards
    • Serve Your Community
    • Center for Global Health
    • Serve Your Profession
    • Partners in Cancer Diagnosis
    • Institute for Science Technology & Public Policy
    • Choosing Wisely
    • Patient Champions
    • Discover Opportunities
    • Apply to Volunteer
    • Ambassadors
    • ASCP Mentorship Program
  • Careers
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Learn About Careers
    • Discover Fellowships
    • Work at ASCP
  • About ASCP
    • Our Mission
    • Supporting Our Members
    • Our Community Efforts
    • ASCP Foundation
    • Contact ASCP
    • Media Relations
  • Board of Certification
    • Get Credentialed
    • Stay Credentialed
    • Verify Credentials
    • Program Directors
    • About BOC
    • Apply Now/Check Status/Update Info
    • Manage Your BOC Account
    • Declaration & Complete CMP
  • News
    • ePolicy News
Chicago (Headquarters)
33 West Monroe Street, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603

Privacy Policy 

Terms of Use

Follow Us

Copyright ©2021 by American Society for Clinical Pathology. All Rights Reserved.