Facing a government shutdown, the U.S. House and Senate passed a stopgap funding bill on Dec. 2, but Medicare reimbursement cuts for a slate of lab tests were not addressed in the bill, according to a Dec. 6 MedTechDive report.
"To build pressure for an omnibus, the [bill] includes virtually no changes to existing funding or policy (anomalies)," Rosa DeLauro, the House Appropriations Committee chair and a representative from Connecticut, said in the announcement, according to a Dec. 3 CNN report.
The American Clinical Laboratory Association joined 27 health organizations in sending a letter to congressional leaders that said the cuts would negatively impact essential lab services for seniors and those with chronic diseases, the report said.
Congress previously delayed the reimbursement cuts to the lab tests as part of the CARES Act.