ACLA Statement on Pending Congressional Action on PAMA
Washington, D.C. — The House on January 22, 2026, passed a bipartisan spending bill that would provide urgently needed relief from further reductions to the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule until January 1, 2027, and update the private payor data laboratories would be required to report to CMS beginning in May. The package is awaiting Senate action.
The following statement is attributable to ACLA President Susan Van Meter:
“The American Clinical Laboratory Association appreciates that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognize the serious and ongoing problems posed by PAMA. Updating the data collection period from 2019 to 2025 would move Medicare payment rates away from reliance on seven-year-old market data that would otherwise be used to set 2027 rates. While the delay in cuts and updated data represents important improvements, significant structural problems with PAMA remain. By relying on laboratory reported data alone, as CMS is unlikely to receive comprehensive and representative commercial data needed to set accurate Medicare rates.
Without this temporary relief becoming law, on January 31 laboratories face cuts of up to 15 percent on roughly 800 tests—on top of three previous rounds of reductions. ACLA urges Congress to act swiftly to prevent further harm to patient access to diagnostic testing and to treat this legislation as a down payment toward foundational PAMA reform by advancing the bipartisan RESULTS Act this year.”
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The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) is the national trade association representing leading laboratories that deliver essential diagnostic health information to patients and providers by advocating for policies that expand access to the highest quality clinical laboratory services, improve patient outcomes, and advance the next generation of personalized care.
