At Long Last, CMS Issues Final Rule For Lab Fee Schedule Changes

Last Friday afternoon CMS released its eagerly anticipated final rule (the Final Rule) implementing the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), which, together with the Final Rule, will make sweeping changes to the rate-setting process under the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (MCLFS). According to CMS estimates, Medicare Part B payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests (CDLTs) will decrease by $390 million in fiscal year 2018 when the repricing will take effect. The Final Rule comes nearly nine months after CMS issued its proposed rule (the Proposed Rule) and long after PAMA's statutory deadline. Our previous coverage of the Proposed Rule is available here, here, and here.