The AARP, a leading advocate for seniors, has joined with the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) in lobbying key Senate health leaders against the imposition of a copay for Medicare Part B laboratory services. Cost sharing for these services has been waived since the lab fee schedule was enacted in 1984 and took effect in 1985. In a March 1 joint letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the ranking Republican, Orrin Hatch (Utah), the groups spelled out their arguments against what they called “this widely discussed reform concept.” Hatch has recommended that Medicare beneficiary cost sharing be combined into a single annual deductible for both Part A and Part B, that a uniform coinsurance rate be established for amounts above the deductible, and that an annual catastrophic cap be implemented to financially protect seniors in cases of serious health events. Onerous for Both Beneficiaries and Labs AARP and ACLA counter that requiring coinsurance of any form for Medicare clinical lab services will only shift costs from Medicare and/or Medigap to beneficiaries. “While in some instances having beneficiaries pay a portion of their health care services may be prudent, in the case of clinical lab services it…
