ePolicy News June 2024

LDT Rule Override Takes Center Stage as ACLA, Congress Seek to Undo Rule
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Final Rule on Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) continues to raise concerns within the laboratory community. The American Clinical Laboratory Association filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA’s authority to regulate LDTs, and Congress is considering a resolution to override the FDA regulation. Read more.

Stand up for YOUR Profession: Support Medicare Reform
ASCP encourages ASCP member and nonmembers alike to stand up for the laboratory profession by urging their members of Congress to fix the Medicare Physician and Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedules. Read more.

Global Health Worker Initiative Strengthens Laboratory Workforce
The White House has released a report marking two years of progress under the Global Health Worker Initiative (GHWI). Through the GHWI, the United States has collaborated with countries and communities worldwide to strengthen the health workforce, ensuring health workers are safer and better equipped to deliver high-quality care. Read more.

Tune into ASCP Webinar on Promoting Diagnostic Excellence
On July 16, ASCP will host a free webinar on the communication of urgent and unexpected diagnoses in anatomic pathology. The webinar, Promoting Diagnostic Excellence by Improving the Communication of Urgent and Unexpected Diagnoses in Anatomic Pathology, will feature a panel of ASCP experts that will discuss current practices, gaps, and best practices. Read more.

New Duffy Null Phenotype ICD-10 Codes Adopted
ASCP worked with the American Society of Hematology to enact new ICD-10-CM codes to describe Duffy phenotype. These codes were included in the recently released FY25 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule. Read more.

ASCP Supports Sickle Cell Disease Legislation
ASCP supports the Sickle Cell Disease Comprehensive Care Act that would enable state Medicaid programs to provide comprehensive, coordinated care through a health home model for individuals with Sickle Cell Disease. Read more.

ASCP 2024 Carter Stephen Ainsworth Health Policy Summer Fellows Announced
ASCP has announced the recipients of its 2024 Carter Stephen Ainsworth Health Policy Summer Fellowship program, which offers students the opportunity to serve as ASCP Health Policy Interns, working primarily with staff in the ASCP Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy and receiving hands-on experience and insight into the synergies of science, policy, and practice in laboratory medicine. Read more.

ASCP Approves 2024-25 Public Policy Priorities
ASCP’s 2024-2025 Patient Centered Public Policy Priorities document outlines the public policy issues on which ASCP is engaged. Among the issue areas addressed are cultivating the laboratory workforce and ensuring appropriate federal oversight of laboratory tests. Learn more about the document and how you can access it here. Read more.

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