Title: LAB Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Laboratory Access for Beneficiaries Act or the LAB Act
This bill revises the periods during which laboratories must report clinical diagnostic test information to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for purposes of determining Medicare payment rates. The CMS must also contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to evaluate the methodology used to determine a specified laboratory fee schedule.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3584 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3584

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for certain 
amendments relating to reporting requirements with respect to clinical 
          diagnostic laboratory tests, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2019

Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Holding, and Mr. 
  Schrader) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for certain 
amendments relating to reporting requirements with respect to clinical 
          diagnostic laboratory tests, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Laboratory Access for Beneficiaries 
Act'' or the ``LAB Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO REPORTING REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO 
              CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY TESTS.

    (a) Revised Reporting Period for Reporting of Private Sector 
Payment Rates for Establishment of Medicare Payment Rates.--Section 
1834A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m-1(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``Beginning January 1, 2016'' and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(A) General reporting requirements.--Subject to 
                subparagraph (B), beginning January 1, 2016''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Revised reporting period.--In the case of 
                reporting with respect to clinical diagnostic 
                laboratory tests that are not advanced diagnostic 
                laboratory tests, the Secretary shall revise the 
                reporting period under subparagraph (A) such that--
                            ``(i) no reporting is required during the 
                        period beginning January 1, 2020, and ending 
                        January 1, 2021;
                            ``(ii) reporting is required during the 
                        period beginning January 1, 2021, and ending 
                        March 31, 2021; and
                            ``(iii) reporting is required every three 
                        years after the period described in clause 
                        (ii).''; and
            (2) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by striking ``In this section'' and inserting 
                the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), in 
                this section''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Exception.--In the case of reporting during 
                the period described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) with 
                respect to clinical diagnostic laboratory tests that 
                are not advanced diagnostic laboratory tests, the term 
                `data collection period' means the period beginning 
                January 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2019.''.
    (b) Corrections Relating to Phase-In of Reductions From Private 
Payor Rate Implementation.--Section 1834A(b)(3) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m-1(b)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``through 2022'' and 
        inserting ``through 2023''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) in clause (i), by striking ``through 2019'' and 
                inserting ``through 2020''; and
                    (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``2020 through 
                2022'' and inserting ``2021 through 2023''.

SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT BY NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services (referred to in this section as the 
``Administrator'') shall enter into an agreement with the National 
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (referred to in this 
section as the ``National Academies'') to conduct a study to review the 
methodology the Administrator has implemented for the private payor 
rate-based clinical laboratory fee schedule under the Medicare program 
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.).
    (b) Scope of Study.--In carrying out the study described in 
subsection (a), the National Academies shall consider the following:
            (1) How best to implement the least burdensome data 
        collection process required under section 1834A(a)(1) of such 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m-1(a)(1)) that would--
                    (A) result in a representative and statistically 
                valid data sample of private market rates from all 
                laboratory market segments, including hospital outreach 
                laboratories, physician office laboratories, and 
                independent laboratories; and
                    (B) consider the variability of market segments by 
                laboratory procedure code.
            (2) Appropriate statistical methods for estimating rates 
        that are representative of the market.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than the date that is 18 months 
after the Administrator enters into the agreement described in 
subsection (a) with the National Academies, the National Academies 
shall submit to the Administrator, the Committee on Finance of the 
Senate, and the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce of 
the House of Representatives a report that includes--
            (1) conclusions about the methodology described in such 
        subsection; and
            (2) recommendations on ways to improve such methodology.
                                 <all>