05 Nov Stop Lab Cuts
Medicare payment cuts threaten patient access to clinical laboratory services, which are essential to preventing and diagnosing diseases and conditions, empowering patients and their clinicians to make informed decisions about care. Tell Congress to pass the Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services (RESULTS) Act this year.
Screening and diagnostic tests performed by clinical laboratories inform life’s most important health care decisions.
Scheduled reimbursement cuts under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) could jeopardize access to many of the clinical laboratory tests that are used to screen, diagnose, monitor, and manage common diseases for all patients, including more than 60 million seniors.
But the threat doesn’t stop there. After three rounds of up to 10 percent cuts, planned payment reductions of up to an additional 15 percent in 2026 could weaken the clinical laboratory infrastructure, making it more difficult to deliver routine health care and respond to the next public health crisis. Strong clinical laboratories are foundational to the U.S. health care system.
Medicare reimbursement cuts also curtail investment in the next generation of diagnostic tests, including those that enable personalized care for diseases like cancer.
