Laboratory Question for the Week of July 20, 2020

Question:

Is it true that CMS will increase payment for COVID-19 specific lab tests?

Answer:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on April 15, that Medicare will be offering almost double the payment for specific COVID-19 lab tests accomplished through high-throughput technologies to expedite the diagnosis of large numbers of COVID-19 cases. The policy aims to expand testing to the public and particularly for Medicare patients who remain among the nation’s most vulnerable, and impacted, such as nursing home residents. This announcement is part of a multitude of actions to expand COVID-19 testing. Medicare will now reimburse the tests at a higher rate of $100 for COVID-19 clinical diagnostic lab tests “making use of high-throughput technologies developed by the private sector that allow for increased testing capacity, faster results, and more effective means of combating the spread of the virus.”

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