2023 Updates

A summary of ASDP Activities in 2023.

November 2023 
The ASDP, in cooperation with the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), invited members to oppose the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed rule to increase federal regulatory requirements for laboratory developed tests (LDTs). The ASCP invited ASDP members to use the ASCP e-Advocacy Center to send the FDA and members of Congress a message opposing the rule.  

ASDP joined 48 state medical societies and 73 national medical organizations and state medical societies to strongly urge Congress to quickly pass legislation to stop another impending round of Medicare payment cuts on January 1, 2024. 

August 2023 
ASDP promoted support of a national study about physician practices, sponsored by the American Medical Association (AMA) and supported by more than 170 health care organizations. The objective of the study was to help document changes in the U.S. health care delivery system that impact everyday dermatopathology practice. 

May 2023 
The ASDP advocated the AAD’s AMA resolution to support HR 2474, "Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act" and make it a top priority to advocate before Congress to deliver positive annual updates to the Medicare PFS to, at minimum, accurately account for annual inflation, cost of living, and practice expense increases.  

The ASDP also championed the AAD’s AMA resolution to advocate for provision of health care and reimbursement models that are in the best interest of patients with more robust risk adjustment methodologies to prevent financial penalty to the physician and other healthcare team members who take care of the sickest patients; oppose capitation care healthcare systems, such as ACOs, when such systems place physicians and other healthcare team members at financial risk for the overall healthcare costs of their patients, including costs attributable to care provided by other entities ; advocate for flexible pathways for small practice participation to greatly mitigate additional bureaucratic burdens for those practices and protects them from large financial penalties otherwise assigned to large health systems for cost overages; oppose CMS mandates that require Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in ACOs ; and oppose the expansion of capitation care systems, such as ACOs, as a means of providing coverage and services for all Medicare enrollees. 

The ASDP signed-on to the AMA’s letter encouraging Cigna to rescind policy requiring submission of office notes with all claims including evaluation and management (E/M) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes 99212, 99213, 99214, and 99215 and modifier 25 when a minor procedure is billed.