Love Your Labs—Support SALSA
April 21, 2023
As Lab Week 2023 approaches, it’s important to reflect on the ways in which laboratory professionals contribute to patient care and how legislation can impact their work. The Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) and the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) have a direct impact on laboratory services.
Did you know?
In just three years, PAMA has resulted in payment cuts of nearly $4 billion.
On March 28, Congress reintroduced SALSA to correct the most grievous pricing and reporting issues caused by PAMA. PAMA price cuts were projected to reap $2.5 billion in reimbursement rate cuts over 10 years, but instead we’ve seen nearly $4 billion in cuts after just three years, with a new round slated for 2024.
SALSA stands to permanently reform PAMA and address the issues within the data reporting requirements to ensure it reflects a statistically valid sample of private payor rates from the laboratory market. The legislation is aggressively backed by organizations such as the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) and the National Independent Laboratory Association (NILA). As proud members of both ACLA and NILA, and supporters of SALSA, we encourage you to lend your voice and join us in advocating for the lab industry. We believe that diagnostic labs are critical to a thriving healthcare ecosystem. Laboratory services provide vital information for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases. In short, Lab is Life.
So, in celebration of Lab Week this year, let’s show our support for the vital work that laboratory professionals do by staying informed and advocating for their profession.
Published by XiFin