According to current Medicare rules, the date of service for a lab test ordered within that time frame is the date on which the specimen was collected. As a result, the test is treated as having been performed when the patient was in or at the hospital, and the hospital must bill for it. The practical effect is that access problems have arisen for this category of tests, notes the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). The Senate bill (S. 1220) is sponsored by Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). A similar bill (H.R. 1699) was introduced in the House in March by Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Tim Murphy (R-Pa.). ACLA “strongly supports the legislation,” said president Alan Mertz in a statement. “Genetic and molecular diagnostics are at the cornerstone of the important and emerging field of personalized medicine. This bill corrects an antiquated Medicare rule so that patients can receive cutting-edge genetic and molecular diagnostic tests in time to make a difference. “Advances in lab medicine have enabled providers to be far more effective in targeting treatment for patients or in determining a patient’s predisposition to a disease or condition. Many of these tests are not only helping to save lives but also reduce the cost of care.”