ASCP strongly supports the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), legislation introduced recently to reform the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS). The reform is necessary due to the destructive impact that the Protecting Access to Medicare Act has had on the CLFS, significantly cutting the Medicare reimbursement rates for most laboratory services. These artificially low rates have been used by insurers to undermine medical laboratory revenues, which has caused ripple effects for the laboratory workforce.
The new legislation uses data sampling to improve data collection, which will reduce regulatory burden and provide more accurate payment rates. ASCP hopes that in the long-term, sustainability for laboratory reimbursement will strengthen the clinical laboratory infrastructure—including workforce—to better protect the public health, laboratory innovation, and patient access to quality laboratory services. As a
strong supporter of this legislation, ASCP urges its members and their colleagues to use the following
Action Alert to send a message to Congress to enact this legislation.
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