Laboratory Question for the Week of December 13, 2021

Question:

I’ve heard that pathologists are facing reimbursement cuts for 2022. Is this true?

Answer:

As anticipated, pathologists will now have to prepare for Medicare cuts estimated at 3.71%. According to the analysis conducted by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the reimbursement reduction is a consequence of the finalized conversion of $33.5983 which indicates a 3.71% decrease from the previous conversion factor in 2021. As many in healthcare already know, this decrease is a result of finalized policies intended to “offset increases to other physician services such as any increases to evaluation and management services.” CAP noted that efforts were made over the course of the year to allocate another $3 billion for the purposes of mitigating reimbursement decreases. Among the advocacy efforts, CAP also revealed that their political action halted another 1% reduction in reimbursement. The proposed rule contained policies that would have cost pathologists another 1% in Medicare cuts because of an update to practice expense clinical labor rates. Due to the efforts of CAP, CMS decided to implement a delay for this update and thus not moving forward with this particular cut.

This question was answered in an edition of our Laboratory Compliance Manager. For more hot topics relating to laboratory services, please visit our store or call us at 1.800.252.1578, ext. 2.