A change in how Medicare pays laboratories for COVID-19 diagnostic tests took effect Jan. 1, with a 25 percent pay cut enacted for facilities that take more than two days to complete the tests.
Three things to know:
1. Medicare lowered the base payment for COVID-19 tests that use high-throughput technology to $75. Labs can get an additional $25 if they provide results in two days or less.
2. CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the pay change aims to incentivize labs to speed up turnaround for COVID-19 results.
3. CMS announced the changes in October 2020.
Read the full policy here.