Medicare froze lab payment cuts for six years while Congress debated. CMS just reimplemented them and now says they'll save $1 billion a year. The labs say the cuts will push rural providers out of the market. Both sides have a point. #Medicare #CMS #LabFees #HealthcarePolicy #GovernmentSpending
Medicare Froze Lab Cuts for Six Years. Now CMS Says It Can Save $1 Billion a Year.
Congress built a market-based system to keep Medicare lab prices in line with private-payer rates. Then it spent six years preventing the system from adjusting anything. CMS just checked the market again and found Medicare was paying 16 percent too much.
bureaucracy.news
October 13, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Medicare froze lab payment cuts for six years while Congress debated. CMS just reimplemented them and now says they'll save $1 billion a year. The labs say the cuts will push rural providers out of the market. Both sides have a point. #Medicare #CMS #LabFees #HealthcarePolicy #GovernmentSpending