In its brand new budget proprosal, to keep the government open til early 2024, the House passes a full one-year delay of PAMA.
The math is a little confusing. Congressional Budget Office scores each year's delay of PAMA (from 2020 to 2025) as saving the government some $600M (perhaps because CBO assumes inflation increases in prices are being avoided). On the other hand, SALSA, the PAMA reform act, scores a cost to the government of several billion dollars, which makes it much harder to pass than each of these one-year delays.
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PRESS RELEASE
11/15/2023
HOUSE PASSES 1-YEAR DELAY OF PAMA REIMBURSEMENT CUTS
NILA is thrilled to share that, thanks to your unwavering advocacy and grassroots efforts, we have achieved a victory for laboratories! Today, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded past the November 17, 2023, deadline, which included a one-year delay to the impending PAMA reimbursement cuts that were set to take effect on January 1, 2024. This vote is the first step in the process for the funding bill, which is expected to be taken up in the Senate later this week. We will keep you posted on its progress!
While celebrating this victory, we are not losing sight of our ultimate goal: the full passage of SALSA in 2024. The one-year delay is a strategic advantage, providing us with more time to intensify our efforts and strengthen our relationships with members of Congress for the long-term solution that SALSA represents.
