In an advocacy win for the payment of pathology technical component services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will restore the proper rank order of the clinical labor rates for histotechnologists and laboratory technicians next year, the agency announced in its proposed 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on July 7. The CAP’s advocacy will lead to more accurate payments for the technical component of pathology services in 2023 if proposals are finalized later this year.

Proposed Regulation Impact on Pathology Payment

The 2023 proposed regulation, estimates indicate the overall impact to pathology payments from 2022 to 2023 would decrease by one percent. Specifically, the proposed 2023 conversion factor used for the fee schedule’s payment formula is $33.0775, representing a 4.4% decrease from the 2022 conversation factor.

This 4.4% decrease to the conversion factor also accounts for the required update to the conversion factor for 2023 of 0%, the expiration of the 3% increase to Medicare fee schedule payments for 2022 as required by the Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act, and the required budget neutrality adjustment to account for changes in Relative Value Units. The CAP continues to aggressively lobby Congress to mitigate these cuts to pathologists for 2023.

Review the proposed pathology services changes in our proposed 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Impact Table.

In the proposed 2023 regulation, the CMS announced changes to the histotechnologist’s clinical labor rate, which would be priced more than 16% higher than 2022. This would restore the proper rank order rates of a histotechnologist and a laboratory technician from what the CMS had altered in 2022. Additionally, histotechnologist, laboratory technician, and laboratory tech/histotechnologist rates will be blended and receive an increase.

If the new rate changes are accepted in the final fee schedule later this year, these specific changes advocated for by the CAP will lead to higher and more accurate payment for pathology services in 2023.

What Will Be the Impact of the Proposed Fee Schedule on Your Practice?

CAP members can learn more about the proposed fee schedule changes by attending a complimentary webinar on Monday, August 8 at 1 PM ET where experts will review the proposed 2023 Medicare regulations and their impact on payment for pathology services.

Register today