AMP Offers Recommendations to CMS, HHS to Prepare for Next Pandemic

The Association for Molecular Pathology released a report on Tuesday with recommendations for the federal government to prepare for future public health emergencies.

The main recommendation in the report is that the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should “engage laboratory stakeholders early and across the spectrum of care delivery environments before laboratory policies are implemented.” Doing this will “ensure that reactionary policies do not have unintended and negative consequences for laboratories and impede their ability to respond effectively,” it said.

The organization specifically cited the importance of coding, coverage, and pricing processes, which are typically time-consuming to develop and require changes during a public health emergency. Such decisions “must be considered in the context of the overall financial impact to both the providers of testing and those who pay for it,” the report said.

Source: https://www.genomeweb.com/reimbursement-news/amp-offers-recommendations-cms-hhs-prepare-next-pandemic#.Ynwj9FTMKUl