WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) co-introduced the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act(SALSA), bipartisan legislation that would update Medicare’s payment system for clinical diagnostic laboratory services, ensuring seniors have access to the most innovative tests and treatments on the market. SALSA would also protect patient access to critical laboratory services and strengthen infrastructure in clinical laboratories.
“It is critically important that seniors have uninterrupted access to innovative diagnostic tests,” said Senator Tillis. “The Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act is a necessary step toward ensuring this access and supporting seniors’ health care needs. I’m proud to work with my colleagues to permanently fix flawed data collection and reporting methods which will allow Medicare beneficiaries to continue receiving quality and affordable lab services.”
“Clinical labs are an essential part of our health care infrastructure, providing critical services – from COVID-19 diagnostics to innovative genomic testing,” said Senator Brown. “Right now, current law threatens the access of Ohioans on Medicare to these vital lab services, which is why I’m proud to partner with my colleague Senator Tillis to ensure seniors continue to have access to high-quality diagnostic services, by protecting access to clinical labs.”
“ACLA is grateful to the sponsors of SALSA for recognizing the need for a long-term and sustainable solution to year-over-year Medicare payment cuts to clinical laboratory services,” said ACLA President Susan Van Meter. “Enactment of SALSA will protect seniors’ access to quality laboratory services, bolster the nation’s critical public health infrastructure, and support investment in innovation for the next generation of diagnostics. We call on Congress to take permanent action and stop lab cuts now.”
“The National Independent Laboratory Association applauds the bipartisan sponsors of the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) for introducing legislation that will protect community and regional clinical laboratories from drastic cuts to reimbursement in 2024 and future years,” said National Independent Laboratory Association Executive Director Mark S. Birenbaum, PhD. “SALSA will strengthen our nation’s clinical laboratory infrastructure, ensuring access to diagnostic testing for seniors and enabling our community and regional laboratories to better respond to emerging public health threats. NILA calls on Congress to pass SALSA as soon as possible.”
Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Richard Hudson (R-NC-9), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12), Scott Peters (D-CA-50), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-9).
Background
In 2014, Congress passed the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) to ensure Medicare’s clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) aligned with the rates that were paid by private insurers. Under this bill, many clinical labs were required to submit rate information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to then be used to calculate rates under CLFS. Over time, the data collected and reported failed to capture a representative sample of the various segments of the clinical lab market. According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, independent labs were overrepresented while hospital and physician office labs were underrepresented.
As a result of the flawed reporting methodology, Congress has intervened multiple times to delay subsequent CLFS reporting periods and to delay cuts to maintain access to clinical diagnostic lab services for seniors.
The Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act provides a permanent fix to the lab reporting of private sector payer rates to create a more representative, sustainable, and market-based CLFS. This legislation also reduces reporting burdens on labs by changing the required reporting periods from every three years to every four years and implements permanent guardrails against excessive payment cuts and increases on rates for tests.
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