Medicare Program Final Rule; Medicare Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests Payment System

On June 23, 2016, the federal Department of Health and Human Services released this final rule implementing requirements of section 216 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), which significantly revises the Medicare payment system for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. Under the final rule, clinical diagnostic tests will be reimbursed at the weighted median of private payer rates determined for that specific test. The new reimbursement rates will go into effect January 1, 2018 . . .