CMS further clarifies applicable laboratories, data under CLFS final rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued guidance further clarifying the steps for determining whether a laboratory qualifies as an “applicable laboratory” under a final rule implementing changes to the Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule, which take effect Jan. 1, 2018. The guidance also clarifies what data applicable laboratories and reporting entities must collect and report to CMS; the data collection and reporting periods; and the implementation schedule. Additional information on the data collection system and advanced diagnostic laboratory tests will be issued through separate guidance, CMS said.  For more on the final rule, see the recent AHA Regulatory Advisory for members.