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June 7, 2016
California Approves the CAP as an Accreditor Ensuring Labs Meet State Requirements
Following a 2009 law enacted with support from the California Society of Pathologists (CSP) and the CAP, state officials approved the CAP as an accrediting organization with authority to deem California clinical laboratories to be in compliance with statutory licensure and registration requirements. Implementation of the statute will save laboratories in California from duplicative oversight requirements.
The CAP received notification its application was approved by the California Laboratory Field Services on May 31. The CSP worked collaboratively with the CAP to ensure the 2009 law that raised state clinical laboratory licensing fees included recognition of accrediting bodies.
"At that point a very critical state audit of Laboratory Field Services demonstrated that LFS needed to focus its inspection efforts on labs that were not privately accredited," said Bob Achermann, CSP executive director. "The statute established a process for accrediting organizations, like the CAP, to submit an application for approval and have it evaluated within six months. Yet in 2015 after another state audit it was determined that LFS continued to fail in its responsibilities and pointed to the lack of approval of accrediting organizations. The CAP application had been pending for almost four years."
The CSP pushed legislation in 2016 to reform LFS oversight. Though not ultimately successful, it resulted in LFS finally implementing the reforms from 2009. The recent approval of the CAP’s application is an example of that reform which saves laboratories in California from duplicative oversight requirements.
Under the law, laboratories accredited by approved accreditation organizations are not be subject to the routine state inspections, provided the laboratory agrees to allow the state to have access to any accreditation record the department may require, including notification of every violation of condition-level requirements. In addition, the department continues to have full authority to conduct complaint investigations, sample validation inspections, and to require submission of proficiency testing results to ensure compliance with state standards.
CAP Webinar: How Medicare's New Physician Payment Systems Will Affect Pathologists
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its proposed regulation to implement Medicare payment reform under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). CAP leaders will review the proposed MACRA rule and discuss how it affects pathologists during a 60-minute webinar presentation on July 7 at 2 PM ET.
The MACRA regulation would set two payment pathways for physicians beginning in 2019: the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs). MIPS is expected to have an estimated $1.5 billion impact on payments to pathologists. Physicians participating in eligible APMs would not be subject to MIPS and would receive 5% Medicare payment bonuses.
The CMS is proposing to use 2017 as its first year to start measuring physician performance under the new payment system. Learn more about MACRA, MIPS, and APMs during this complementary presentation for CAP members. At the end of the presentation, our expert panel will answer your questions.
Register Today
Registration for this complementary presentation is available for CAP members and their staff. If you are unable to attend the live event, those who register will automatically receive an email link to an archive recording of the presentation by July 11.
CAP Webinar: Key Concerns for Pathologists in the 2017 Proposed Medicare Fee Schedule
Throughout this hour-long panel discussion on July 14, CAP experts will explain the changes proposed by the CMS in the draft 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The presentation begins at 2 PM ET.
Expected to be published by the CMS in early July, the proposed fee schedule contains reimbursement changes affecting pathologists. Under a new requirement, the CMS will provide additional detail on its intention to revalue certain pathology services targeted as potentially misvalued. During the webinar presentation, the CAP will review proposed changes, discuss how the rule affects Medicare reimbursement for pathology services, and the CAP's advocacy efforts to impact the CMS' proposal prior to its finalization.
The second part of the webinar will be a question-and-answer session.
Register Today
CAP members are encouraged to register for this complementary presentation. If you are unable to attend the live event, those who register will automatically receive an email link to an archive recording of the presentation by July 18.