Subscribe Now
 Already a subscriber? Log-in!
This biweekly newsletter provides concise, independent coverage and analysis of fast-breaking lab, pathology, blood banking, imaging and diagnostic radiology news from the Nation's Capital.
You'll find out about:
- Medicare payment and policy directives Billing guidelines and coding changes for diagnostic facilities
- CLIA & MQSA regulatory mandates, changes and interpretations
- Congressional actions & legislative initiatives
- Federal compliance requirements
- OIG anti-fraud initiatives
- Stark self-referral prohibitions
Plus you will get other legal news regarding FDA oversight of in vitro diagnostics, blood banks, and radiological devices OSHA, NRC, and state safety standards.
|
|
|
 |
 | NIR September 24, 2007 (full PDF issue) |
| Box: Demo details for lab competitive bidding
ACLA, CAP seek ‘separate seat’ for lab services in new e-health partnership to succeed AHIC
FDA clarifies rules for analyte-specific reagents
California law expands direct billing to include anatomic pathology
New acting CMS chief pledges arms-length dealings with providers, other industry partners
ACLA campaign promoting lab values marks more milestones
New CMS quick guide to lab, pathology tests covered by Medicare preventive services benefit
New on the G2 Web site: Job board live!
Full Article |
| Medicare Lab, Physician Fee Update |
| At press time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was expected soon to release tentative fees for new lab test codes to be added to the Part B fee schedule as of January 1. CMS had set September 7 as the target to unveil the initial fee decisions. Once released, the agency will allow another round of comment before establishing final fees in the 2008 lab fee schedule.
Full Article |
| Labs Up the Ante in Drive to Stop Medicare Bidding Demo |
| Members of Congress are coming under renewed pressure from lab lobbying groups and their own lab constituents to block Medicare’s planned competitive bidding demonstration project for independent laboratory services.
Full Article |
| ACLA, CAP Advocate Separate ‘Lab Seat’ in New E-Health Entity |
| As the Department of Health & Human Services prepares to shift responsibility for development of a nationwide exchange system for personal e-health records to a new public-private partnership, the American Clinical Laboratory Association and the College of American Pathologists are urging that laboratory services be given a separate seat in the entity that will succeed the American Health Information Community (AHIC).
Full Article |
| FDA Clarifies Rules for Analyte-Specific Reagents |
| In industry guidance published in the September 14 Federal Register, the Food & Drug Administration announced the availability of updated Frequently Asked Questions about commercially distributed analyte-specific reagents (ASRs). A draft of the guidance was issued September 7, 2006.
Full Article |
| New Acting CMS Chief Pledges ‘Even Keel’ with Providers |
| In his first press briefing since being named acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Kerry N. Weems said he would take a hands-off approach with healthcare providers and other industry partners to dispel any perception that the agency’s decisions are slanted toward any one group.
Full Article |
| California Expands Pathology Direct Billing Law |
| A California bill that would require direct billing for anatomic pathology services, not just cytopathology, recently passed the state legislature and is currently on the desk of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has 30 days to sign or veto the measure. If he does not act by then, the bill automatically becomes law.
Full Article |
| Lab Value Educational Campaign Marks More Milestones |
| Dovetailing with intensified lobbying on Capitol Hill against Medicare’s competitive bidding demonstration for laboratory services, the Results for Life campaign, spearheaded by the American Clinical Laboratory Association, is moving ahead with its effort to continue to educate lawmakers and the public about the value of lab testing in diagnostic and preventive medicine. One goal is to make lawmakers "think twice" about any further cuts in Medicare fees for lab services.
Full Article |
| CMS Releases Quick Guide to Medicare Preventive Services |
| Be sure you are billing Medicare correctly and getting paid appropriately for laboratory and pathology screening services included as benefits in the Part B preventive services package. To help with this, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that the 2nd Edition of the Guide to Medicare Preventive Services for Physicians, Providers, Suppliers, and Other Health Care Professionals is available in downloadable format from the CMS Medicare Learning Network.
Full Article |
|
|
Please choose an archived issue to view newsletter table of contents above
|
|
