NEW YORK – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday changes in reimbursement for high-throughput COVID-19 testing performed by laboratories.
Under the new rule, CMS will only pay its highest reimbursement rate, $100 per test, to labs that complete high-throughput testing within two calendar days of specimen collection. For labs that take longer than two days, the reimbursement rate will be $75 per test. The new rate will be effective Jan. 1. High-throughput tests can process at least 200 specimens a day, according to CMS' original payment rule.