ePolicy July 2021

HHS Releases New Rule on Surprise Billing
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has just released an Interim Final Rule to protect patients from unexpected out-of-network medical bills, also known as surprise billing. Read more.

With ASCP’s Help, AMA Retains Laboratory Personnel Salary Equity Policy
At the insistence of ASCP’s representatives to the AMA House of Delegates, a proposal to rescind AMA’s laboratory personnel salary equity policy has been defeated. Read more.

MedPAC Concurs Problems Exist with CLFS, But Punts on a Fix
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently released its review of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ approach to pricing laboratory services and concurred with ASCP that CMS’s market data is skewed but declined to propose a fix. Read more.

Change Medicare Prior Authorization Requirements, ASCP Urges
ASCP supports legislation to change how Medicare governs prior authorization requirements. The bill would impose new requirements relating to prior authorization processes for Medicare Advantage plans. Read more.

ASCP Advises CMS on New GME Residency Slots 
ASCP has joined other medical societies in recommending how Medicare should establishment new residency positions created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The new law provides for 1,000 new Medicare-supported GME positions to address an estimated shortage of between 37,800 to 124,000 doctors by 2034. Read more.


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