ACLA Welcomes PAMA Relief in Funding Package, Urges Congress to Advance RESULTS Act in 2026
Washington, D.C. — The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) today welcomed bipartisan congressional action to temporarily delay Medicare payment cuts to clinical laboratory testing, helping protect patient access to care while underscoring the urgent need for permanent reform of the payment system established under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA).
Included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, is a one-year delay of pending Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) cuts and an update from 2019 to 2025 in the commercial market data clinical laboratories must report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that will be used to determine 2027 Medicare rates. Without this action, a fourth round of cuts would have taken effect — reductions of up to 15 percent for nearly 800 laboratory tests, placing strain on the nation’s clinical testing infrastructure and threatening timely access to care for Medicare patients, and CMS would have relied on outdated, 7-year old commercial market data to set next year’s Medicare rates.
“The American Clinical Laboratory Association appreciates that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognize the serious and ongoing problems posed by PAMA,” said ACLA President Susan Van Meter. “While the delay in cuts and updated data represents important improvements, significant structural problems with PAMA remain and temporary delays are not a solution. A fair, accurate, and stable payment system is needed to sustain the workforce, innovation, and capacity required to deliver clinical laboratory services. Congress should build on this momentum by advancing the bipartisan RESULTS Act as the long-term solution.”
The Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services (RESULTS) Act would modernize the Medicare CLFS by leveraging more comprehensive and representative commercial market data, while reducing unnecessary administrative burdens on laboratories and CMS.
Through its Stop Lab Cuts campaign, ACLA continues to mobilize laboratories, patients, and health care stakeholders to press for permanent reform and protect access to diagnostic testing. The campaign reflects broad, bipartisan support in Congress and across the health care and diagnostics industry, including patient advocacy organizations, physicians, hospitals and health systems, laboratories, and diagnostic manufacturers, for ending repeated Medicare payment cuts and ensuring a stable, sustainable payment system.
“Clinical laboratory testing informs the vast majority of medical decisions while accounting for only a small fraction of total Medicare spending, underscoring the importance of durable PAMA reform that preserves patient access to high-quality clinical laboratory services nationwide,” added Van Meter. “We are grateful for the bipartisan co-sponsors and the broad coalition of health care stakeholders who recognize the urgent need for lasting reform.”
Learn more at StopLabCuts.org.
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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.
