Previous Advocacy Updates

Pathologists lobby to stop 2025 Medicare cuts; oral arguments for LDT lawsuit happening on February 19; navigating a changing political landscape for pathology.

Upcoming action alert to stop Medicare cuts; Arizona pathologists and the CAP fight to amend forensic autopsy legislation; register for HOD/PLS 2025.

The CAP is actively working with lawmakers to enact short- and long-term Medicare payment reforms; CAP President Donald Karcher, MD, FCAP, shares why pathologists should attend the annual summit; and, the CAP is engaging with CMS to influence the composition of a Pathology MVP to ensure it is meaningful for pathologists.

A motion has been granted in a US District Court in Eastern Texas to hear oral arguments over the federal oversight of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) on February 19; the CAP is tracking President Trump's latest executive orders; registration is open for the CAP House of Delegates & Pathologists Leadership Summit 2025.

The USCDI+ Cancer Registry Version 1 (January 2025) Minimum Data Element List has been updated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to include CAP Cancer Protocols.

The CAP strongly supports the lawsuit filed by the California Society of Pathologists and Lincoln Luk, MD, FCAP against L.A. Care Health Plan in California Superior Court. This lawsuit seeks to revise L.A. Care Health Plan policy and compensate pathologists for the professional component of clinical pathology services.

On January 3, the 119th Congress kicked off the start of the next legislative session with leadership elections in the House. Over the next several weeks, the CAP will be monitoring upcoming congressional events and legislative changes that will impact pathologists and laboratories.

Throughout 2024, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) advocated on behalf of pathologists to address critical issues, including the oversight of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs), protecting the value of pathology services, opposing private payer interference, and state-level regulation of health insurance.

Congress just released a 2025 spending plan that included relief from Medicare payment cuts to physician services. The CAP applauded the proposal and continues to press lawmakers to enact the relief ahead of an expected 2.5% cut to Medicare pay for pathology services effective on January 1, 2025.

The FDA published guidance for premarket submission of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) medical software on December 3. The guidance details information manufacturers should include in an FDA premarket submission so that they can alter their AI/ML software over time without needing to complete another FDA marketing submission.

A bipartisan group of 40 senators signed a November 21 letter to Senate leadership urging them to address the 2.8% Medicare payment cut set to go into effect January 1, 2025. More than 650 CAP members asked their senators to sign the letter in 1,300 messages sent to lawmakers earlier this month.

The CAP has asked leaders of the Trump Transition Team to recommend the incoming administration rescind the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposed regulation of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs), citing significant concerns about the rule’s potential to limit patient access to critical diagnostic services.

The CAP strongly urged Congress to increase Medicare payment for pathology services and stop the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight rule for laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) during a coordinated lobbying effort on November 14.

Special repost: The CAP worked with physician colleagues across the American Medical Association (AMA) to enact new policies on prior authorization, artificial intelligence, and information blocking during the 2024 AMA Interim Meeting November 8-12.

Newly released payment regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) include additional payment and expanded coverage policies advocated for by the CAP. Following the CAP’s initial analysis on November 1, there are more changes affecting pathologists and laboratories detailed in the 2025 final Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program Regulation and the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Final Rule.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted several payment policies advocated for by the CAP in the 2025 final Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program regulation released November 1. As a result of the CAP’s advocacy efforts, for example, the CMS updated the relative value units (RVUs) for three apheresis services and increased non-physician cost components for key pathology and laboratory labor types.

Special repost: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted several payment policies advocated for by the CAP in the 2025 final Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program regulation released late in the day on November 1. As a result of the CAP’s advocacy efforts, for example, the CMS updated the relative value units (RVUs) for three apheresis services and increased non-physician cost components for key pathology and laboratory labor types.

Pathologists attending CAP24 received updates on legislative and regulatory achievements and how the CAP is tackling the challenges ahead through its advocacy programs. CAP leaders discussed the latest updates on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation for laboratory-developed tests (LDTs), Medicare payment, and the release of a new CAP report on health insurer interference in patient care.

Special Issue: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) filed a legal brief defending its regulation of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) on October 25. The CAP has urged the federal court to throw out the regulation because it is arbitrary and capricious.