Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) Reintroduction (2023)

Read POCTA’s position paper on SALSA, which includes detailed background on the need for a legislative solution. | View the Position Paper

Read POCTA’s summary of the bill, which compares the original PAMA provisions to the proposals included in SALSA. | View the Summary

Update on the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) Timeline

See changes to the collection and reporting periods as a result of recent legislative changes included in the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2023. | View the PowerPoint

How the Depletion of Federally-Purchased Supplies Could Potentially Impact COVID-19 Testing, etc.

This Kaiser Family Foundation analysis describes how the depletion of federally-purchased supply and the potential end to the COVID-19 public health emergency may impact access to and cost of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests. | Read the Full Analysis

Medicare Payment for Triplex (COVID + FluA + FluB) Lower Than COVID Only Test, Leading to Inefficient Diagnosis of Upper Respiratory Infection

For CY2022, CMS set the Medicare payment rate for a combined Covid-19, Flu A & Flu B instrumented antigen test1 to $30.94, whereas the payment rate for a Covid-19-only instrumented antigen test ranges from $35.33 to $45.23. CMS’s own expert advisory panel overwhelmingly recommended a $61.88 rate for the combined test to reflect the additional resources required to produce two additional results, but CMS did not accept this recommendation and has not offered a meaningful rationale for its decision. | Read the Full Position Paper

Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) (2022)

POCTA and other stakeholders have joined together in support of the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), which would result in several favorable reforms to the CLFS data collection and rate-setting processes that we expect would be specifically beneficial for point of care testing | Read the Full Position Paper

POCTA outlines current amendments of PAMA and the corresponding proposed reforms under the lens of SALSA | Read the Full Summary