CMS has issued final 2018 Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) rates, which are based on private payer data as mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA). A companion document explains changes the agency made in response to public comments on the September 2017 preliminary rates and clarifying its
PAMA
Medicare Clinical Lab Fee Schedule Payments to Fall by $670 Million in 2018 Under Preliminary PAMA Rates
CMS has posted preliminary Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule rates for 2018 – the first year rates will be based on private payer data under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA). CMS estimates that 2018 Medicare Part B payments will be reduced by about $670 million for calendar year 2018. In fact,…
Just Under the Wire, CMS Announces 60-Day Extension of PAMA Clinical Lab Reporting Deadline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has just announced that it is extending until May 30, 2017 the deadline for certain clinical laboratories to report to CMS private payor reimbursement information. As required by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) and its implementing regulations, this data will be…
CMS to Host November 2 Call on Clinical Diagnostic Lab Test Payment System Data Reporting
CMS is hosting an educational call on November 2, 2016 to discuss reporting obligations under the June 23, 2016 Clinical Diagnostic Test Payment System final rule. As previously reported, under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA), certain laboratories must report data to CMS on private payor rates and volume of clinical laboratory tests,…
New OIG Studies Reveal Clinical Lab Test Payment Trends and CMS’ Progress in Implementing PAMA
Last week, the OIG released two new studies analyzing what and how Medicare pays for clinical laboratory tests (“lab tests”).
The first study, Medicare Payments for Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests in 2015: Year 2 of Baseline Data, analyzed Medicare Part B claims data for lab tests performed in 2015 and reimbursed under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule. OIG compared this data with the same claims data for 2014, and found that, among other things:
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CMS Posts PAMA Clinical Lab Fee Schedule Data Reporting Template and User Guide
In order to assist the clinical laboratory community in meeting new Medicare reporting requirements under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), CMS has posted a Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule Data Reporting Template and a “Quick User Guide” to the template. By way of background, PAMA requires CMS to base Medicare…
CMS Finalizes Changes to Medicare Clinical Lab Test Payment Policy, Pushes Back Effective Date to 2018
On June 23, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing a major final rule to base Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) reimbursement on private insurance payment amounts, as required by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA). In an important change from the proposed rule, CMS will implement the new payment policy beginning January 1, 2018, rather than in 2017. Once in effect, the impact will be significant; CMS estimates that the final rule will reduce Medicare payments by $390 billion in FY 2018 and by $3.93 billion through FY 2025. The following is an overview of the complex new payment methodology. Additional details are available in our Client Alert.
Continue Reading CMS Finalizes Changes to Medicare Clinical Lab Test Payment Policy, Pushes Back Effective Date to 2018
CMS Proposes Major Changes to Medicare Clinical Lab Test Payment Policy
On October 1, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its long-awaited proposed rule to base Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) reimbursement on private insurance payment amounts beginning January 1, 2017. CMS estimates that the new policy, which was mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), will reduce Medicare CLFS payments by $360 million in FY 2017 and by $5.14 billion over 10 years. CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until November 24, 2015.
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President Signs Medicare Physician Fee Schedule/SGR Patch with Numerous Health Policy Provisions
On April 1, 2014, President Obama signed into law H.R. 4302, the “Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014” (“the Act”). The Act includes a one-year Medicare physician fee schedule fix that averts a nearly 24 percent payment cut set for April 1, 2014, but which falls far short of earlier hopes for full repeal of the current sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. The Act also includes numerous other Medicare payment and policy changes, including skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing provisions, reforms to the physician fee schedule relative valuation process, a new framework for clinical laboratory payments, a variety of changes impacting imaging services, changes in the exceptions for long term care hospitals, and extension of certain expiring provisions. In other areas, the bill includes a one-year delay in the transition to ICD-10, changes to the timetable for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts, and “front-loading” of the 2024 Medicare sequestration reduction.
Continue Reading President Signs Medicare Physician Fee Schedule/SGR Patch with Numerous Health Policy Provisions