Advocacy Update

• Pathologists Lobby to Stop 2025 Medicare Cuts
• Oral Arguments for LDT Lawsuit Happening on February 19
• Bipartisan Bill Reintroduced to Tackle Healthcare Shortages
• Navigating a Changing Political Landscape for Pathology
• Additional Executive Orders Impacting Health Care
• Kennedy Confirmed to Lead HHS
• Register for the Spring HOD/PLS
• Register for the CAP's Fourth LDT Webinar by March 20

Pathologists are using the CAP's PathNET Action Center to urge federal lawmakers to reverse the 2025 Medicare reimbursement cuts.

On January 1, pathologists' Medicare reimbursement decreased because Congress failed to extend a temporary increase to Medicare payment. The CAP strongly opposes the ongoing Medicare cuts to physician reimbursement and continues working with lawmakers and partners to reverse the cuts and enact long-term payment reforms.

The CAP continues to ask its members to send messages to congressional offices about stopping the latest cuts to Medicare payments. During last week's grassroots effort, 570 members took action, including 45 new advocates, sending 1,717 messages to 374 members of Congress.

CAP members can take action by using our grassroots network to message their members of Congress, urging them to stop the cuts.

Oral arguments will be heard in a US District Court in Eastern Texas over the federal oversight of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) on Wednesday, February 19.

Lawsuits against the federal oversight of LDTs were filed by the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) and later consolidated in September 2024. In October, the CAP filed an amicus brief urging the court to vacate the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) LDT regulation for several reasons, including the ultimate impact on patient access to these critical diagnostic tests and the agency's failure to adequately justify the rule's unsustainable costs that will hinder the development of LDTs. Several groups have filed amicus briefs supporting the FDA, and the agency filed its closing brief on December 23, 2024.

The CAP will provide its members with updates after the hearing concludes.

Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY) recently reintroduced the bipartisan Doctors in Our Borders Act, which will expand the Conrad 30 program, tackling physician shortages in medical facilities across the country.

The Doctors in Our Borders Act would allow states to issue 100 waivers, instead of the current 30, to foreign graduates of US medical schools on J-1 visas. This will allow these doctors to stay and practice in the US instead of returning to their home country, provided they work in designated underserved areas.

"This bill would address the severe physician shortage happening in areas across the country, ensuring patient access to U.S.-trained physicians immediately following their residency, and allowing many more physicians the opportunity to apply to the Conrad 30 waiver program available in all 50 states," said CAP President Donald S. Karcher, MD, FCAP.

The CAP has advocated in support of the Conrad 30 program and will update members on the bill as information becomes available.

Amid changes in the regulatory and legislative landscape, the CAP is monitoring several policies and executive orders to determine how they will impact pathologists and their patients.

On February 11, an executive order was issued to maximize efficiency and reduce the federal workforce, which will impact the current operations of several agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services. Federal laboratories may also experience staffing issues.

There have also been limitations placed on civil servants' abilities to interact at public meetings and changing the availability of public communication on federal health websites, some of which our members rely on for critical and timely information.

While we continue to monitor these evolving changes, we want to hear from you! CAP members are encouraged to share how the changing political landscape is impacting their work and how the CAP can be a resource.

Email your experiences to stories@cap.org.

President Trump has signed more executive orders that will impact the health care system, such as the Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation executive order.

This executive order imposes a cap on fiscal year 2025 regulations. Going forward, whenever an executive department or agency publicly proposes a new regulation, it must remove at least 10 existing regulations. This executive order could apply to regulations that affect pathologists. The CAP is committed to supporting members and laboratories as we navigate the evolving political landscape. We will continue to update members as information becomes available.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been confirmed by the Senate to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Mr. Kennedy, who was a candidate for president before withdrawing and endorsing President Trump's candidacy for election, will now lead the HHS, which administers Medicare, Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other federal health agencies.

The CAP will provide further updates as the confirmation process continues.

This spring, pathologists from across the nation can raise their voices about key policy issues and champion causes that impact the specialty and patients at the annual CAP House of Delegates/Pathologists Leadership Summit April 26–29 in Washington, DC.

The CAP House of Delegates/Pathologists Leadership Summit provides pathologists a unique opportunity to meet with CAP leadership, network with colleagues, and advocate on Capitol Hill.

Can we count you in? Register online and spread the word on social media using #MagnifyingthePowerofPathologists.

While the CAP opposes the burdensome LDT rule, we remain committed to preparing pathologists and laboratories for the potential changes.

Join the CAP on Thursday, March 20, at 1:00 PM ET for the fourth webinar in our laboratory-developed tests series. Gain a better understanding of the necessary steps to comply with the FDA's Stage 1 rule for quality system complaints.

This webinar will guide you through the new requirements, focusing on practical solutions tailored for laboratories. Presenters are Bobbi Pritt, MD, FCAP, Deeona R. Gaskin, JD, MPH, and Earle S. Collum, MD, FCAP.

Register online today