SALSA Press Release (PDF) SALSA 1 Pager (PDF) SALSA Fact Sheet (PDF) SALSA FAQs (PDF) ACLA is calling on Congress to pass the bipartisan, bicameral Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) to ensure patient access to laboratory testing services, protect the nation's clinical laboratory infrastructure, and support innovation in testing to advance the next…
ACLA is calling on Congress to pass the bipartisan, bicameral Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) to ensure patient access to laboratory testing services, protect the nation's clinical laboratory infrastructure, and support innovation in testing to advance the next generation of personalized care. More than 60 patient, provider, and consumer organizations support this important legislation.
SALSA is critically needed to correct flaws in the implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA), passed by Congress in 2014 to reform the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS). Congress intended for private market data collected from all types of laboratories, including hospital outreach laboratories, independent laboratories, and physician office laboratories to be the basis for CLFS payment rates. Unfortunately, the first round of data collection captured fewer than 1 percent of laboratories, artificially reducing laboratory test payments.
The result has been three years of up to 10 percent cuts for 75 percent of laboratory tests, amounting to $3.8 billion in payment reductions for the most commonly ordered test services for Medicare beneficiaries. Congress, on a bipartisan basis, has intervened three times to prevent further PAMA cuts. However, cuts of up to 15 percent will resume January 1, 2024, absent congressional action.
If imposed, these steep Medicare cuts for clinical laboratory services could reduce patient access to testing and impede research and innovation in the next generation of laboratory services that can improve and save lives. These cuts would also undermine the nation's testing capacity and infrastructure that is critical in times of health emergency, day-to-day care, and essential to meeting the growing health care needs of the country, including in medically underserved communities.
SALSA would simplify the data collection process by providing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with the authority to collect data from a statistical sampling of all major types of laboratories that provide services to seniors, including independent, hospital, and physician office laboratories. Targeted sampling, as designed by SALSA, is a straightforward solution to collecting complete representative private market data to achieve accurate and sustainable Medicare rates for laboratory services.
In the long-term, sustainable reimbursement for laboratory services will support strong clinical laboratory infrastructure to protect patient access and public health, while fostering innovation in tomorrow's diagnostics to improve and save lives.
Join the Stop Lab Cuts campaign. Clinical laboratories along with many provider, patient, and consumer stakeholder groups are coming together to advocate for sustainable Medicare rates for laboratory services. The Stop Lab Cuts campaign advocates for passage of the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act to ensure patient access to laboratory testing services, protect the nation's clinical laboratory infrastructure, and support innovation in testing to advance the next generation of personalized care.
Visit StopLabCuts.org to learn more.
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ACLA Statement on One-Year Delay to Clinical Laboratory Payment Cuts Being Included in Congressional Spending Package
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ACLA Statement on House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing on Medicare Legislation
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Letter from Leading Patient Advocacy Organizations on Passing the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act
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Letter from Leading Provider Organizations on Passing the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act
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ACLA and 33 Provider Organizations Urge Congress to Protect Americans’ Access to Essential Laboratory Tests
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ACLA Applauds Introduction of Bipartisan Bill to Protect Seniors’ Access to Critical Diagnostic Tests
Association Relaunches ‘Stop Lab Cuts’ Campaign Washington, D.C. – The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) today welcomed the bipartisan and bicameral introduction of the Saving ... Read More -
ACLA Commends the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
The 2023 Omnibus provides critical relief for labs and patients Washington, D.C. – The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) commends inclusion in the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill ... Read More -
New Analysis Shows Value of Clinical Laboratories to the U.S. Economy
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ACLA Leads #StopLabCuts Twitter Day of Advocacy Urging Congress to Pass the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act
The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) recently led a Twitter Day of Advocacy to raise awareness of the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA / S. ... Read More -
ACLA Launches “Stop Lab Cuts” Ad Campaign Urging Congress to Protect Access to Laboratory Services for America’s Seniors
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