Court Halts Competitive Bidding Demo Start-Up: What’s the Bottom Line for Your Lab?

Finding that a Medicare laboratory competitive bidding demonstration project in San Diego, CA could cause "irreparable harm" to affected labs and patients, federal court judge Thomas Whelan granted a motion for a preliminary injunction against the Department of Health & Human Services from proceeding with the demo.

This ruling, if finalized, could well speed-up action by Congress to cut Medicare lab payments starting next year either through a new freeze or via a downward adjustment of the lab schedule.

What the April 8 decision ultimately means—albeit a temporary setback to the government or a final knockout blow for lab interests—will depend on a number of key variables ranging from counter legal moves by HHS to congressional efforts to repeal the lab demo authority altogether.

Join Washington G-2 Reports as top legal and industry experts discuss this landmark legal ruling including its impact on future HHS efforts to implement lab bidding and ongoing industry initiatives to axe the project. During the audio conference you'll:

Understand the court’s thinking about the harm the lab demo could cause and the legal flaws it found in the HHS project
Find out what options the government has to overturn the court order
Learn how the decision is playing on Capitol Hill in efforts to repeal the lab demo project
Discover what labs can do to affect congressional deliberations
Assess how the ruling could impact on future lab payments

You’ll also have an opportunity to ask questions in our interactive Q&A portion of the program. Take this hassle-free approach to learn about these critical developments affecting whether Medicare can test a controversial payment method resulting in big cuts in lab payments. Invite your entire staff to join-in—for one low fee.

FEATURED FACULTY

Patric Hooper
Founding Partner, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, Inc.

Mr. Hooper’s practice involves litigation against the federal and state governments involving health care matters. His cases include some of the most important and complex Medicare, Medicaid and CHAMPUS cases in the health care field. In addition, Mr. Hooper also regularly advises non-profit and for-profit health care organizations and practitioners regarding reimbursement, fraud abuse and certification and licensure issues associated with business transactions and combinations.

Alan Mertz,
President, American Clinical Laboratory Association

Alan Mertz became President of the American Clinical Laboratory Association in 2003. During his tenure as President, he has more than doubled ACLA’s membership, tripled its resources, broadened its staff and advocacy agenda, and increased the visibility and influence of the laboratory industry with policymakers.

Mertz has overseen and directed ACLA’s remarkable string of advocacy successes. The following stand out among the many ACLA legislative and regulatory advocacy initiatives: Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House and Senate to repeal Medicare Laboratory competitive bidding demonstration project; defeating a 2003 proposal to add a Medicare laboratory copay; successfully opposing Senate legislation on FDA regulation of Laboratory Developed Tests; raising concerns about the subsequently withdrawn OIG “excessive charges” rule; successfully urging CMS to promulgate regulatory language curbing "POD" laboratories; leading a successful campaign against a single-winner competitive bidding proposal in Florida Medicaid; slowing and modifying the CMS "Medically Unbelievable Edits" project; and successfully seeking the inclusion of laboratories in CMS/OIG regulations on electronic health records.

Host & Moderator:

Dennis Weissman
Founder & Executive Editor, G-2 Reports & President, Dennis Weissman & Associates, LLC

For more information, please call 800-401-5937, ext. 2. Continuing education credit is available.