Fee schedules for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests; percentage of prevailing charge level; nominal fee for samples; adjustments; recipients of payments; negotiated payment rate

(A) Subject to subsections (d)(1) and (aa) of section 1395m of this title , the Secretary shall establish fee schedules for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests (including prostate cancer screening tests under section 1395x( oo ) of this title consisting of prostate-specific antigen blood tests) for which payment is made under this part, other than such tests performed by a provider of services for an inpatient of such provider.

(B) In the case of clinical diagnostic laboratory tests performed by a physician or by a laboratory (other than tests performed by a qualified hospital laboratory (as defined in subparagraph (D)) for outpatients of such hospital), the fee schedules established under subparagraph (A) shall be established on a regional, statewide, or carrier service area basis (as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate) for tests furnished on or after July 1, 1984 .

(C) In the case of clinical diagnostic laboratory tests performed by a qualified hospital laboratory (as defined in subparagraph (D)) for outpatients of such hospital, the fee schedules established under subparagraph (A) shall be established on a regional, statewide, or carrier service area basis (as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate) for tests furnished on or after July 1, 1984 .

(D) In this subsection, the term “qualified hospital laboratory” means a hospital laboratory, in a sole community hospital (as defined in section 1395ww(d)(5)(D)(iii) of this title ), which provides some clinical diagnostic laboratory tests 24 hours a day in order to serve a hospital emergency room which is available to provide services 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

(A) (i) Except as provided in clause (v), subparagraph (B), and paragraph (4), the Secretary shall set the fee schedules at 60 percent (or, in the case of a test performed by a qualified hospital laboratory (as defined in paragraph (1)(D)) for outpatients of such hospital, 62 percent) of the prevailing charge level determined pursuant to the third and fourth sentences of section 1395u(b)(3) of this title for similar clinical diagnostic laboratory tests for the applicable region, State, or area for the 12-month period beginning July 1, 1984 , adjusted annually (to become effective on January 1 of each year) by, subject to clause (iv), a percentage increase or decrease equal to the percentage increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (United States city average) minus, for each of the years 2009 and 2010, 0.5 percentage points, and, for tests furnished before April 1, 2014 , subject to such other adjustments as the Secretary determines are justified by technological changes. (ii) Notwithstanding clause (i)— (I) any change in the fee schedules which would have become effective under this subsection for tests furnished on or after January 1, 1988 , shall not be effective for tests furnished during the 3-month period beginning on January 1, 1988 , (II) the Secretary shall not adjust the fee schedules under clause (i) to take into account any increase in the consumer price index for 1988, (III) the annual adjustment in the fee schedules determined under clause (i) for each of the years 1991, 1992, and 1993 shall be 2 percent, and (IV) the annual adjustment in the fee schedules determined under clause (i) for each of the years 1994 and 1995, 1998 through 2002, and 2004 through 2008 shall be 0 percent. (iii) In establishing fee schedules under clause (i) with respect to automated tests and tests (other than cytopathology tests) which before July 1, 1984 , the Secretary made subject to a limit based on lowest charge levels under the sixth sentence of section 1395u(b)(3) of this title performed after March 31, 1988 , the Secretary shall reduce by 8.3 percent the fee schedules otherwise established for 1988, and such reduced fee schedules shall serve as the base for 1989 and subsequent years. (iv) After determining the adjustment to the fee schedules under clause (i), the Secretary shall reduce such adjustment— (I) for 2011 and each subsequent year, by the productivity adjustment described in section 1395ww(b)(3)(B)(xi)(II) of this title ; and (II) for each of 2011 through 2015, by 1.75 percentage points. Subclause (I) shall not apply in a year where the adjustment to the fee schedules determined under clause (i) is 0.0 or a percentage decrease for a year. The application of the productivity adjustment under subclause (I) shall not result in an adjustment to the fee schedules under clause (i) being less than 0.0 for a year. The application of subclause (II) may result in an adjustment to the fee schedules under clause (i) being less than 0.0 for a year, and may result in payment rates for a year being less than such payment rates for the preceding year. (v) The Secretary shall reduce by 2 percent the fee schedules otherwise determined under clause (i) for 2013, and such reduced fee schedules shall serve as the base for 2014 and subsequent years.

(B) The Secretary may make further adjustments or exceptions to the fee schedules to assure adequate reimbursement of (i) emergency laboratory tests needed for the provision of bona fide emergency services, and (ii) certain low volume high-cost tests where highly sophisticated equipment or extremely skilled personnel are necessary to assure quality.

In addition to the amounts provided under the fee schedules (for tests furnished before January 1, 2017 ) or under section 1395m–1 of this title (for tests furnished on or after January 1, 2017 ), subject to subsection (b)(5) of such section, the Secretary shall provide for and establish (A) a nominal fee to cover the appropriate costs in collecting the sample on which a clinical diagnostic laboratory test was performed and for which payment is made under this part, except that not more than one such fee may be provided under this paragraph with respect to samples collected in the same encounter, and (B) a fee to cover the transportation and personnel expenses for trained personnel to travel to the location of an individual to collect the sample, except that such a fee may be provided only with respect to an individual who is homebound or an inpatient in an inpatient facility (other than a hospital). In establishing a fee to cover the transportation and personnel expenses for trained personnel to travel to the location of an individual to collect a sample, the Secretary shall provide a method for computing the fee based on the number of miles traveled and the personnel costs associated with the collection of each individual sample, but the Secretary shall only be required to apply such method in the case of tests furnished during the period beginning on April 1, 1989 , and ending on December 31, 1990 , by a laboratory that establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary (based on data for the 12-month period ending June 30, 1988 ) that (i) the laboratory is dependent upon payments under this subchapter for at least 80 percent of its collected revenues for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests, (ii) at least 85 percent of its gross revenues for such tests are attributable to tests performed with respect to individuals who are homebound or who are residents in a nursing facility, and (iii) the laboratory provided such tests for residents in nursing facilities representing at least 20 percent of the number of such facilities in the State in which the laboratory is located.

(A) In establishing any fee schedule under this subsection, the Secretary may provide for an adjustment to take into account, with respect to the portion of the expenses of clinical diagnostic laboratory tests attributable to wages, the relative difference between a region’s or local area’s wage rates and the wage rate presumed in the data on which the schedule is based.

(B) For purposes of subsections (a)(1)(D)(i) and (a)(2)(D)(i), the limitation amount for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test performed— (i) on or after July 1, 1986 , and before April 1, 1988 , is equal to 115 percent of the median of all the fee schedules established for that test for that laboratory setting under paragraph (1), (ii) after March 31, 1988 , and before January 1, 1990 , is equal to the median of all the fee schedules established for that test for that laboratory setting under paragraph (1), (iii) after December 31, 1989 , and before January 1, 1991 , is equal to 93 percent of the median of all the fee schedules established for that test for that laboratory setting under paragraph (1), (iv) after December 31, 1990 , and before January 1, 1994 , is equal to 88 percent of such median, (v) after December 31, 1993 , and before January 1, 1995 , is equal to 84 percent of such median, (vi) after December 31, 1994 , and before January 1, 1996 , is equal to 80 percent of such median, (vii) after December 31, 1995 , and before January 1, 1998 , is equal to 76 percent of such median, and (viii) after December 31, 1997 , is equal to 74 percent of such median (or 100 percent of such median in the case of a clinical diagnostic laboratory test performed on or after January 1, 2001 , that the Secretary determines is a new test for which no limitation amount has previously been established under this subparagraph).

(A) In the case of a bill or request for payment for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test for which payment may otherwise be made under this part on an assignment-related basis or under a provider agreement under section 1395cc of this title , payment may be made only to the person or entity which performed or supervised the performance of such test; except that— (i) if a physician performed or supervised the performance of such test, payment may be made to another physician with whom he shares his practice, (ii) in the case of a test performed at the request of a laboratory by another laboratory, payment may be made to the referring laboratory but only if— (I) the referring laboratory is located in, or is part of, a rural hospital, (II) the referring laboratory is wholly owned by the entity performing such test, the referring laboratory wholly owns the entity performing such test, or both the referring laboratory and the entity performing such test are wholly-owned by a third entity, or (III) not more than 30 percent of the clinical diagnostic laboratory tests for which such referring laboratory (but not including a laboratory described in subclause (II)), 8 8 So in original. The comma after “subclause (II))” probably should follow “is performed”. receives requests for testing during the year in which the test is performed 8 are performed by another laboratory, and (iii) in the case of a clinical diagnostic laboratory test provided under an arrangement (as defined in section 1395x(w)(1) of this title ) made by a hospital, critical access hospital, or skilled nursing facility, payment shall be made to the hospital or skilled nursing facility.

(B) In the case of such a bill or request for payment for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test for which payment may otherwise be made under this part, and which is not described in subparagraph (A), payment may be made to the beneficiary only on the basis of the itemized bill of the person or entity which performed or supervised the performance of the test.

(C) Payment for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test, including a test performed in a physician’s office but excluding a test performed by a rural health clinic may only be made on an assignment-related basis or to a provider of services with an agreement in effect under section 1395cc of this title .

(D) A person may not bill for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test, including a test performed in a physician’s office but excluding a test performed by a rural health clinic, other than on an assignment-related basis. If a person knowingly and willfully and on a repeated basis bills for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test in violation of the previous sentence, the Secretary may apply sanctions against the person in the same manner as the Secretary may apply sanctions against a physician in accordance with paragraph (2) of section 1395u(j) of this title in the same manner such paragraphs apply 9 9 So in original. Probably should be “such paragraph applies”. with respect to a physician. Paragraph (4) of such section shall apply in this subparagraph in the same manner as such paragraph applies to such section.

For tests furnished before January 1, 2017 , in the case of any diagnostic laboratory test payment for which is not made on the basis of a fee schedule under paragraph (1), the Secretary may establish a payment rate which is acceptable to the person or entity performing the test and which would be considered the full charge for such tests. Such negotiated rate shall be limited to an amount not in excess of the total payment that would have been made for the services in the absence of such rate.

Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (4) and section 1395m–1 of this title , the Secretary shall establish a national minimum payment amount under this part for a diagnostic or screening pap smear laboratory test (including all cervical cancer screening technologies that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a primary screening method for detection of cervical cancer) equal to $14.60 for tests furnished in 2000. For such tests furnished in subsequent years, such national minimum payment amount shall be adjusted annually as provided in paragraph (2).

(A) The Secretary shall establish by regulation procedures for determining the basis for, and amount of, payment under this subsection for any clinical diagnostic laboratory test with respect to which a new or substantially revised HCPCS code is assigned on or after January 1, 2005 (in this paragraph referred to as “new tests”).

(B) Determinations under subparagraph (A) shall be made only after the Secretary— (i) makes available to the public (through an Internet website and other appropriate mechanisms) a list that includes any such test for which establishment of a payment amount under this subsection is being considered for a year; (ii) on the same day such list is made available, causes to have published in the Federal Register notice of a meeting to receive comments and recommendations (and data on which recommendations are based) from the public on the appropriate basis under this subsection for establishing payment amounts for the tests on such list; (iii) not less than 30 days after publication of such notice convenes a meeting, that includes representatives of officials of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services involved in determining payment amounts, to receive such comments and recommendations (and data on which the recommendations are based); (iv) taking into account the comments and recommendations (and accompanying data) received at such meeting, develops and makes available to the public (through an Internet website and other appropriate mechanisms) a list of proposed determinations with respect to the appropriate basis for establishing a payment amount under this subsection for each such code, together with an explanation of the reasons for each such determination, the data on which the determinations are based, and a request for public written comments on the proposed determination; and (v) taking into account the comments received during the public comment period, develops and makes available to the public (through an Internet website and other appropriate mechanisms) a list of final determinations of the payment amounts for such tests under this subsection, together with the rationale for each such determination, the data on which the determinations are based, and responses to comments and suggestions received from the public.

(C) Under the procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— (i) set forth the criteria for making determinations under subparagraph (A); and (ii) make available to the public the data (other than proprietary data) considered in making such determinations.

(D) The Secretary may convene such further public meetings to receive public comments on payment amounts for new tests under this subsection as the Secretary deems appropriate.

(E) For purposes of this paragraph: (i) The term “HCPCS” refers to the Health Care Procedure Coding System. (ii) A code shall be considered to be “substantially revised” if there is a substantive change to the definition of the test or procedure to which the code applies (such as a new analyte or a new methodology for measuring an existing analyte-specific test).