BILL SEEKS GREATER REIMBURSEMENT FOR ADVANCED DIAGNOSTICS

A group of House lawmakers from both parties is sponsoring the Medicare Advanced Laboratory Diagnostics Act, H.R.1321, which is designed to allow greater patient access to the latest diagnostic tests.

The bill, introduced March 5, has the support of industry, which wants to see the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provide more coverage for the tests.

While diagnostic tests account for less than 2 percent of hospital costs, their findings influence as much as 70 percent of healthcare decisionmaking, AdvaMed President and CEO Stephen Ubl said. Yet "the current Medicare reimbursement system provides few incentives to develop new tests."