As labs scramble to come up with a coronavirus detection assay and CMS creates a billing and coding regimen, Congress is working to ensure that private payors provide coverage of SARS-CoV-2 testing. … [Read more...]
Reimbirsement
Congress Calls on Insurers to Cover Coronavirus Testing without Charging Patients
March 30, 2020
Coronavirus
FDA Takes Unprecedented Measures to Promote Rapid Development of Coronavirus Diagnostic Tests
March 19, 2020
The FDA is following a two-prong strategy to promote and expedite development and validation of a test capable of safe, rapid and reliable detection of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the disease caused … [Read more...]
REIMBURSEMENT
Billing & Coding: CMS Sets Rules for Medicare Coronavirus Testing Reimbursement with Private Payors Expected to Follow Suit
March 17, 2020
Good news for labs that are testing Medicare patients for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes coronavirus using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2019 Real Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Test … [Read more...]
ACLA
Lab industry leaders meet with White House on COVID-19 testing
March 8, 2020
The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) has issued a statement following a meeting last week with the White House's Coronavirus Task Force. Here is a statement from ACLA President Julie … [Read more...]
Coronavirus
Two commercial labs testing now for COVID-19
March 8, 2020
Two commercial lab companies have announced they are moving into testing for COVID-19. LabCorp. said Thursday it was immediately offering testing for COVID-19 and Quest Diagnostics has announced it … [Read more...]
Coronavirus
CMS Develops Additional Code for Coronavirus Lab Tests
March 8, 2020
On March 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code that can be used by laboratories to bill for certain … [Read more...]
Billing & Coding: Use New HCPCS Code U0001 to Bill Medicare for CDC Coronavirus Test
March 2, 2020
Good news for labs that are testing Medicare patients for SARS-CoV-2 using the newly approved Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2019 Real Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Test Panel (and … [Read more...]
CLIA: CMS Issues Guidance on How Labs Should Perform Coronavirus Testing
February 27, 2020
On Feb. 6, CMS issued guidance to labs and other providers on how to use the newly approved Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) test for coronavirus. Here are the key takeaways. The … [Read more...]
REIMBURSEMENT
By the Numbers: Improper Medicare Payments Hit 10-Year Low
January 13, 2020
As 2019 came to an end, CMS announced that the rate of improper Medicare payments during the year continued to decline, hitting its lowest point since 2010. Here are some of the key numbers: … [Read more...]
PAMA: The New LAB Act Buys Labs One Year of Price Reporting Relief
January 13, 2020
The lab industry has been making slow but steady progress in its quest for PAMA relief. After winning a federal court appeal preserving its right to challenge CMS’s PAMA pricing systems, the industry … [Read more...]
