SECAUCUS,
N.J., Dec. 4, 2018
/PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 80 percent of hospital executives
surveyed are not at all familiar, or only somewhat familiar, with
the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) and its impact on
hospitals, according to a survey conducted by Modern Healthcare
Custom Media on behalf of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the
world's leading provider of diagnostic information
services.
Nearly 80 percent of executives surveyed lacked
significant knowledge of the law: 45 percent of executives
responded that they are "not at all familiar" with PAMA, and 33
percent said they are only "somewhat familiar."
"The data presented here support what we've experienced in
the health care marketplace," said Steve
Rusckowski, Chairman, President and CEO of Quest
Diagnostics. "Many C-suite executives of hospital health systems
aren't aware of the impact of PAMA on the profitability of their
outreach laboratories, especially when the PAMA cuts were first
enacted. When we talk about PAMA with CEOs, they are increasingly
interested in talking more about how we can help them execute their
lab strategy," Rusckowski said.
Signed into law on April 1st,
2014, PAMA has resulted in a significant reduction in
Medicare reimbursement for most lab tests covered by the Clinical
Laboratory Fee Schedule. The new fee schedule includes a decrease
in reimbursement for approximately 75 percent of lab tests that can
be billed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS estimated the cuts to have an overall impact to the industry of
nearly $670 million, or a nearly 10
percent decrease from the previous fee schedule. Similar cuts will
follow over the next two years, and additional cuts are possible
beyond 2020.
Quest commissioned Modern Healthcare Custom Media to
conduct a survey of healthcare professionals in July 2018, seeking to gain insights into
laboratory strategy at U.S. hospitals and awareness of healthcare
leaders regarding PAMA.
A report on the study can be found here.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to
improve health outcomes. Derived from a robust research and
development program and the world's largest database of clinical
lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify
and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health
care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans
and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 45,000 employees
understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our
diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives.
www.QuestDiagnostics.com
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SOURCE Quest Diagnostics