Previous Advocacy Updates

CAP and other specialty societies Ask CMS to reduce 2018 MIPS reporting period

It’s not too late to be heard at the 2018 Policy Meeting and earn 6.5 CMEs.

Recently CAP leaders met with top CMS officials to discuss the challenges pathologists face when participating in Medicare’s Quality Payment Program.

In testimony delivered to an FDA advisory committee on March 30, the CAP supported the use of capillary blood with blood glucose meters for critically-ill hospital patients in certain instances.

The CAP calls for revisions to “14-day rule” policy to allow laboratories to directly bill for molecular pathology and advanced diagnostic tests regardless of the place of service.

The CMS Addresses the CAP’s Concerns on NGS Coverage.

The CAP engages with CMS on potential CLIA regulations on lab personnel.

Having issues reporting MIPS? The CMS wants to hear from you!

The CAP files Amicus Brief in support of ACLA Motion for Summary Judgement in PAMA lawsuit.

Congress eliminates IPAB, adopts Medicare payment changes in new budget deal and broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff joins national commentators at 2018 Policy Meeting.

Top political analyst Charlie Cook to Keynote at 2018 Policy Meeting and latest CAP Practice Characteristics Survey reveals compensation data.

The CAP seeks further clarification on HHS delay of Commin Rule and leading political commentator William Kristol to keynote at the 2018 Policy Meeting.

Citing the potential severe negative consequences to Medicare patients, the CAP opposed a draft national coverage determination policy for next-generation sequencing and urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to make substantial changes.

STATLINE brought you many news stories in 2017 to help navigate payments and Medicare Reimbursements for 2018. The CAP's efforts to protect the value of pathology services were adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in two final Medicare regulations affecting reimbursements in 2018. Moreover, the CAP continues to advocate for a better laboratory data collection process and methodology to calculate the new rates for the clinical laboratory fee schedule.

The Pathologists Quality Registry has been approved as a 2018 Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the second consecutive year, solidifying the tool as an instrumental component for pathologists in fulfilling reporting requirements under Medicare's Quality Payment Program (QPP) Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

The Pathologists Quality Registry has been approved as a 2018 Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the second consecutive year, solidifying the tool as an instrumental component for pathologists in fulfilling reporting requirements under Medicare’s Quality Payment Program (QPP) Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

Time is running out to report your 2017 data if you are included in the CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP) Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). As a reminder, your 2017 data will determine how your 2019 Medicare payments will be adjusted up, down, or not at all. The deadline to enroll in the CAP's MIPS Reporting Solution is January 5, 2018.

Citing concerns of patient access to laboratory services, the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) filed a lawsuit on December 11 against the Medicare program for failing to follow congressional directive to implement a market-based laboratory payment system to replace the clinical laboratory fee schedule.

Time is running out to report your 2017 data if you are included in the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, (CMS) Quality Payment Program (QPP) Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). As a reminder, your 2017 data will determine how your 2019 Medicare payments will be adjusted up, down, or not at all. The deadline to enroll in the CAP’s MIPS Reporting Solution is January 5, 2018.

The American Medical Association (AMA) continues to work with physician organizations like the CAP to tackle issues from regulatory burden relief to payment for services provided to patients. At the recent AMA 2017 Interim Meeting, physicians outlined health reform issues and regulatory relief concerns. A delegation of pathologists, led by the CAP, advocated on behalf of laboratory medicine.