Laboratory Compliance Question of the Week
August 4, 2008
Question:
What is happening regarding independent labs and the billing of the technical
component (TC) of pathology services? I know that something was supposed
to change about this policy on June 31. Did it?
Answer:
On July 16, Congress passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and
Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008. This legislation (HR 6331) brings welcomed
news to laboratories, including the reinstatement of the moratorium that
allows independent laboratories to bill for the TC of physician pathology
services furnished to hospital patients. For details, see Transmittal 1561
at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R1561CP.pdf
and provider-information memo MM6042 at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6042.pdf.
To view an archive of the Laboratory Compliance Question of the Week, click
here
To receive the FREE Compliance Question of the Week in your email, please
click here