02/11/2011

CMS TO WITHDRAW PHYSICIAN SIGNATURE RULE!

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l	Clinical Laboratory Coalition (CLC) Successfully Opposes Onerous Medicare Payment Policy
	Final House Letter House Signers Listed by State
	Final Senate Letter to CMS Senate Signers Listed by State

AAB/NILA heard from CMS first thing this morning that the agency has determined
the physician signature rule is unworkable and that the best thing to do is to
pull it back in its current form.

According to CMS, their intention was to verify the adequacy of payments being made for Part B laboratory services, but the rule itself does not achieve this and causes disruption and confusion. CMS wants to work with the laboratory community to reevaluate the issues.

An official notice revising the rule is forthcoming, and CMS is determining the best way to announce the change well in advance of April 1, 2011. We anticipate Congress may receive formal notice of this decision even sooner.

Thanks to AAB/NILA's hard work, bipartisan letters expressing concern over the rule from the House and Senate were forwarded to CMS last night. The House letter included 89 signatures from House Representatives. Click the link above to view the House letter. The Senate letter was signed by 34 Senators. Click the link above to view the Senate letter.

We will post additional details as they become available.

Thanks for your hard work on this issue!!!

Mark S. Birenbaum, Ph.D.
Administrator
American Association of Bioanalysts
National Independent Laboratory Association

CMS TO WITHDRAW PHYSICIAN SIGNATURE RULE!