In a recent letter to members of Congress, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick said the agency is researching whether a regulation could be published before April 1 to rescind its policy requiring a physician or qualified practitioner's signature on requisitions for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests, noting that CMS policy officials "have publicly expressed their support for rescinding the requirement." CMS included the policy in the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, then delayed its enforcement until April 1.
Last month, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers urged CMS to delay enforcing the requirement until 2012, citing "the myriad potential harmful consequences of this policy on Medicare beneficiaries' timely access to laboratory testing, coupled with the increased administrative burden on health care providers and cost to the health care system." The American Hospital Association and 28 other health care organizations have urged CMS to reconsider the requirement.
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