September/October 2017
PERILS OF DERMATOPATHOLOGY
this shift in site of care from rural to urban areas may actually increase costs for the Medicare system due to price differences between these areas.
References
CONCLUSIONS Reduced reimbursement for CPT code 88305 has already significantly affected laboratories and patient care. Smaller laboratories have been forced to close, while larger laboratories are being forced to contain costs. This scenario will likely impact patient care through compromised quality of test results and challenges to health care access for patients. Further cuts may come at any time without warning, compromising the quality of test results, despite the fact that the American Medical Association, the College of American Pathologists, and the US government (CMS) have all been very active in determining these payment scales. As government takes an even greater role in determining such payment scales, this caprice does not bode well for the future of medicine.
1 Klipp J. Medicare slashes CPT 88305-TC by 52%. Laboratory Economics. 2012;7:1–3. 2 88305 Reimbursement in 2013. Leading Edge. http:// ascnewsletter.absrcm.com/2013/04/02/215/. Accessed June 8, 2016. 3 ASCP Letter to CMS on Physician Fee Schedule 2013. http://www.ASCP.ORG/pdf/ADVOCACY/ascp-LETTERTO-cms-ON-FINAL-pfs-cy-2013.PDF. March 6, 2016. 4 Burns J. Price Cuts, Long Delays in Payment Are Expected. http://www.darkintelligencegroup.com/wp-content/ uploads/The-Dark-Report-Price-Cuts-Long-Delays-revised policies-for-molecularCPT-codes-123112-2.pdf. Accessed April 12, 2016. 5 Comments Concerning Anatomical Pathology Code 88305. CPACDS. http://cpacds.com/wp-content/ uploads/2013/01/CPACDS-CMS-letter-12-31-12.pdf. Accessed April 12, 2016.
Historical Diagnosis and treatment
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Compromising Patient Care