Previous Advocacy Updates

On July 1, the departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor issued regulations implementing portions of the No Surprises Act that bars surprise billing.

On June 24, bipartisan senators and representatives introduced the Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act of 2021, which would provide regulatory oversight of laboratory-developed tests if enacted into law. The CAP had engaged with the VALID Act’s sponsors and other stakeholders to suggest improvements to the bill over the last year.

The CAP provided key recommendations for implementing the No Surprises Act to the Department of Health and Human Services as it will issue regulations and guidance before the law goes into effect January 1, 2022.

The CAP urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other key federal agencies to take immediate actions to increase the supply of sodium citrate light blue-top tubes used for coagulation testing.

In response to the CAP’s engagement, Cigna informed the CAP on June 7 that the decision is imminent. The CAP learned health insurance payer Cigna plans to continue reimbursing pathologists for the professional component of clinical pathology services. A formal update regarding the policy to pay for the professional component of clinical pathology would be forthcoming soon.

CAP leaders met with top officials from the Food and Drug Administration to detail its concerns about the oversight of laboratory-developed tests on May 20.

A new Medicare proposal would repeal that hospitals report negotiated charges for all its Medicare Advantage, which the CAP had previously advocated against.

A record-breaking number of CAP members advocated to protect the value of pathology services on May 4 during the CAP’s Hill Day.

To prepare for the CAP’s annual Hill Day, CAP members discussed strategies for how they will engage their members of Congress and lobby to mitigate future Medicare cuts at the Pathologists Leadership Summit.

The CAP strongly urged the health insurer Cigna to rescind a new payment policy to deny claims when the professional component (modifier 26) of clinical pathology is billed.

Because of CAP advocacy and support from the American Medical Association, Congress finalized bipartisan legislation that extended the moratorium on a 2% cut to physician Medicare payments until the end of 2021.

President Joe Biden’s 2021 budget recommendation to Congress released on April 9 called for an additional $8.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a 23% boost to the Department of Health and Human Services.

In anticipation of pending congressional action to extend the 2% sequester reduction suspension for Medicare claims, the CMS instructed Medicare Administrative Contractors to hold all claims for a short period without affecting providers’ cash flow.

On March 25, the Senate passed CAP-supported legislation to prevent a 2% cut from hitting physician Medicare payments until the end of 2021.

The House passed legislation to prevent a 2% cut from hitting physician Medicare payments beginning April 1. The CAP supported the bipartisan bill that passed with a 246-175 vote on March 19. The bill, HR 1868, will now go to the Senate for consideration. The CAP will urge senators to approve the bill.

The CAP supports bipartisan efforts in the House and Senate to stop Medicare Sequester cuts that will take effect April 1. The CAP sent a letter to congressional leaders urging Congress to prevent additional financial burdens on pathologists during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest congressional COVID-19 relief package advanced with the Senate voting 50-49 on March 6 after several hours of debate and amendments. Since the legislation changed from what had been previously approved by the House, the bill will be taken up again in the House where it is expected to pass over the next few days. The CAP had advocated for several health care provisions related to pathology and ensuring access to testing for patients

On February 27, the House approved the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan legislative package, which includes increased vaccine distribution and provisions to support COVID-19 testing.

As the House works on its version of a legislative package to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the CAP urged Senate leaders to support testing services and laboratory frontline providers as they craft their own pandemic relief bill.

The CAP urged a key health care committee in the House to increase testing resources and expand laboratory capacity for COVID-19 tests in its next pandemic relief package.