Colorado Medical Society

Introduced by: Thomas J. Allen, MD

Subject: Small Office Laboratory Services

Referred to: Reference Committee on Health Affairs

WHEREAS, there is a fee schedule for laboratory services that are performed by large laboratory services (e.g., Quest Diagnostics, etc.), which has discounts built in for offices performing a large volume of laboratory services, and

WHEREAS, smaller offices may occasionally perform a lab service but are still required to take the large office discount, thereby reducing reimbursement for such services to less than the cost of the laboratory service, and

WHEREAS, these services performed at the physician's office are usually of an urgent nature and could keep the patient from going to the emergency room, therefore be it

FISCAL IMPACT: None

RESOLVED, that the Colorado Medical Society encourage all third party payers to develop a schedule of laboratory services appropriately performed on a “stat” basis in a small office, which are reimbursable at rates appropriate for such “one-at-a-time” performance rather than at rates comparable to those paid to contract laboratories for batched and routinely processed work.