MSNJ's New Statewide Interoperability and Analytics Tools

MSNJ Objects to Clinical Laboratory Fee Rule

MSNJ joined AMA and others in a letter to CMS objecting to regulations implementing the clinical laboratory fee rule provisions in the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014. The method by which data is being collected to set laboratory fees may result in physician office-based laboratories being priced out of the market. This would cause patients not to receive essential rapid testing in the office setting. We seek a rule amendment to conduct targeted market segment surveys (including reference, independent, hospital and office-based laboratories) to validate price data in each market segment. 

Medicare's 2018 Physician Fee Rule

MSNJ filed comments on CMS's 2018 Physician Fee Rule proposal on September 11 echoing the concerns of AMA and organized medicine. We supported the delay of the implementation of the Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) program, the reduction of penalties under the Value Modifier program in 2018, and the reduction of documentation submission requirements for Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations. We expressed significant concerns with CMS's proposal to report 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) data on Physician Compare and implementation of the clinical laboratory fee schedule.