PAMA mandatory lab reporting period starts May 1
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 has brought short-term relief and new updates to the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) lab mandatory reporting requirements. Key changes include:
- Delay in payment reductions: Rate cuts under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) have been postponed until January 2027.
- New data collection timeline: Laboratories must report data from the first half of 2025 during the mandatory period from May 1 to July 31, 2026.
- Future payment adjustments: CMS will use 2025 data to set CLFS rates for 2027–2029, limiting annual reductions for each test to 15%.
Reporting entities must use their Tax Identification Number (TIN) to determine reporting obligations and ensure accurate data submission based on revenue and expenditure thresholds. To assist with compliance, CMS has issued updated guidance and recently hosted a webinar—slides and a recording are available for laboratories seeking additional information.
- Webinar slides
- Webinar recording (passcode: =8Jwys2*)
May 20 webinar: “Medical liability reform: Current legislative trends, research and advocacy efforts”
Medical liability reform remains an advocacy priority for the AMA. While some states have strengthened these protections, others are seeing significant efforts to roll back progress. In this Advocacy Insights webinar on May 20 at 5:00 p.m. CT, we’ll break down what’s happening across the country, share the data that support medical liability reform, and highlight how one state medical society is responding to recent legislative challenges. Register now.
Host
- David H. Aizuss, MD, chair, AMA Board of Trustees
Speakers
- Mike Stinson, vice president, Public Policy and Legal Affairs, Medical Professional Liability Association
- Allen Hardiman, PhD, lead economist, American Medical Association
- Scott Castro, senior director of health policy, Medical Society of Virginia
