Unique Opportunity to Make a Difference

ASCLS and 25 other healthcare groups have signed onto a letter to Congressional leaders calling for the passage of the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA/H.R. 8188/S.4449). The letter is available here .

This new law would fix the worst elements of PAMA, which has led to disastrous cuts to laboratory reimbursements. SALSA is a permanent solution that would set Medicare reimbursement for lab services on a sustainable path forward and give CMS new authority to collect private market data through statistically valid sampling from all laboratory segments for the widely available test services where previous data collection was inadequate. The bill ensures true private market rates are included, provides a much-needed reduction in reporting burden, and protects labs and Medicare from dramatic rate increases or decreases with a gradual phase-in approach going forward.

Laboratory advocates in Washington have been laying the groundwork for years to bring this bill to the floor and there appears to be a narrow window for us to push for passage this fall. It will require everyone in the laboratory community to push in unison.
To that end, the Stop Lab Cuts campaign is hosting an Advocacy Day on Twitter on Tuesday, September 20 to raise awareness of the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA). Here are ways you and your organization can support this effort and encourage Congress to enact SALSA this year:

Post this tweet (or a variation of your choosing) on your Twitter handle on Tuesday, September 20 (not before):

Passing the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) would help protect access to the most common laboratory tests that America's patients depend on. Congress: Please pass SALSA and #StopLabCuts. Learn more: https://stoplabcuts.org/.