New Legislation Passed to Reduce 2023 Medicare Payment Cuts
January 5, 2023On December 29, President Joe Biden signed the $1.7 trillion Omnibus appropriations bill that funds the government through FY2023 and contains several provisions to reduce scheduled 2023 Medicare cuts.
Key provisions included in the bill include:
- PAYGO – Lifting the 4% Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) cuts to Medicare payments for two years
- PAMA – Extending PAMA-related clinical laboratory fee schedule cuts and data reporting requirements one year until 2024
- Physician Fee Schedule – Reducing the physician fee schedule conversion factor cuts from 4.5% to 2% for 2023 and around 3% for 2024
- Telehealth – Providing a two-year extension to telehealth waivers and allowing continued flexibilities in providing telehealth services
The Verifying Accurate Leading-Edge IVCT Development Act (VALID Act) was not included in the bill meaning laboratory-developed tests will continue to be regulated under the clinical laboratory fee schedule. In addition, while the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA Act) was not passed, the ACLA praised the Stop Lab Cuts campaign for helping secure a one-year reprieve from PAMA payment cuts and reporting requirements that would have gone into effect in January 2023.
Click here, to review the American Hospital Association’s full summary and key highlights of the bill.
Source: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare-fee-for-service-payment/clinicallabfeesched/pama-regulations