The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is warning that patients may lose access to pathology services through provisions of the Lower Health Care Costs Act proposed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).
CAP said that under the proposals, physicians would be paid median rates for out-of-network services performed at in-network facilities, which would eliminate the bargaining power of pathology providers. Insurers will "unilaterally determine the value of physician services and subsume the physician component of hospital care within its own financial, and, potentially, operational control," the organization said in a release.
CAP is pushing instead for an independent arbitration process to settle out-of-network bills.