Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act of 2012

HR 1 Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act 2011, making appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011; HR 2 Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, to repeal the job-killing health care law and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; HR 4 Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011, offsets the cost of 1099 repeal by increasing the maximum amount of tax subsidy to be repaid if a persons (or familys) income exceeds 400% of poverty; HR 5, S 218, HR 105 and S 1099 Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, to improve patient access to health care services and provide improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system; HRes 9 Instructing four committees to produce legislation to replace the health reform law and to include a permanent fix to the SGR; S 296 and HR 2245 Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act of 2011, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide the Food and Drug Administration with improved capacity to prevent drug shortages; HR 705 The Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the expansion of information reporting requirements to payments made to corporations, payments for property and other gross proceeds, and rental property expense payments; HR 1213 To repeal mandatory funding provided to States in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to establish American Health Benefit Exchanges; HR 1217 to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund; S 539 Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2011, a bill to amend the Public Health Services Act and the Social Security Act to extend health information technology assistance eligibility to behavioral health, mental health, and substance abuse professionals and facilities; S 668 Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act, a bill to remove unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats from seniors' personal health decisions by repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board; Allow hospitals to claim the full cost of provider taxes as allowable costs; Ensure CAHs are paid at least 101 percent of costs by Medicare Advantage plans; Ensure that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) appropriately addresses the issue of direct supervision for outpatient therapeutic services for rural hospitals and CAHs; Ensure rural hospitals and CAHs have adequate reimbursement for certified registered nurse anesthetist and stand-by services; Exempt CAHs from the Independent Payment Advisory Board; Extend expiring provisions; Provide small, rural hospitals with cost-based reimbursement for outpatient laboratory services and ambulance services; Provide CAHs bed size flexibility; Reinstate CAH necessary provider status; Remove unreasonable restrictions on CAHs ability to rebuild; Discussions on a bill to credit some observation status days to 3 day inpatient hospital stays; Worked with HHS on establishing the Partnership for Patients Program to improve patient safety activities in hospitals; HR 1929 Emergency Nursing Relief Act, provides for 20,000 additional immigrant visas (green cards) for Registered Nurses, and their immediate family members. Visas issued to the family members would not count against the 20,000 quota. The Secretary of State would not be permitted to issue more visas than this set quota. Employers are charged $1,500 for these visas which would support funding US nursing programs; HR 1933, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify the requirements for admission of nonimmigrant nurses in health professional shortage areas and calls for a limited revival of the H-1C program; S 778 Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect to physician supervision of therapeutic hospital outpatient services; HR 1363 Department of Defense and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011; Letter to oppose Cuts to the funding of the Hospital Preparedness Program; HR 1214 a bill to repeal mandatory funding for school-based health center construction, it amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to repeal the program requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to school-based health centers or their sponsoring facilities to support the operation of such health centers. Rescinds unobligated appropriations for the program. Urging that final Accounting of Disclosures rule not include the proposal to require provision of an access report to patients; HR 1540 National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, a bill to establish a working group within the Department of Defense to comprehensively review all TRICARE policies and practices related to pediatric care and to develop recommendations that specifically address the health care needs of children of military families; S 1854 Medical Surge Capacity Act, a bill to enhance medical surge capacity which uses lessons learned from previous disasters to make critical changes when responding to a natural or manmade disaster; HR 2405 and S 1855 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization of 2011, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize various programs under the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act; S. 1979 Conrad State 30 Improvement Act (Immigration) , a bill to help streamline J-1 visa waiver process for hospitals to hire international physicians to practice in rural and medically underserved communities; Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Letter from Rep. Ron Kind and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson to the supercommittee to protect CAH from potential cuts or other detrimental policy changes; Urging the Super Committee to reject cuts to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs); Extender's letter to supercommittee with a list of hospital specific issues that need to be addressed; HR 3586 Good Samaratin Health Professionals Act, a bill to amend the PHSA to limit the liability of healthcare professionals who volunteer to provide healthcare services in response to disaster; HR 3839 Drug Shortage Prevention Act of 2012, to address critical drug shortage; S 2193 Ensuring Safe Medical Devices for Patients, a bill to require the Food and Drug Administration to include devices in the postmarket risk identification and analysis system, to expedite the implementation of the unique device identification system for medical devices; HR 4246 VA Enrollment Act, to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the expansion of eligibility for veteran reimbursement for emergency treatment provided in non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities; HR 5800 Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2012, to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for increased price transparency of hospital information and to provide for additional research on consumer information on charges and out-of-pocket costs; H.R.6118 and S.3391 Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act of 2012. to amend the Public Health Service Act to revise sanctions for laboratories that intentionally refer proficiency testing samples required for certification to another laboratory for analysis by: (1) giving the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) discretion to substitute intermediate sanctions for such violations instead of the two-year prohibition against ownership or operation which would otherwise apply, and (2) making the one-year certificate revocation for such a laboratory optional rather than mandatory. Which gives CMS more discretion in enforcing the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments to preserve patient access to lab services.

Client expense: $5,350,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Housing & Urban Development, Dept of (HUD), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Justice, Dept of (DOJ), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, White House Office

Healthcare Reform Legislation and its impact on clinical laboratories and laboratory personnel; FDA initiatives to regulate laboratory-developed diagnostic tests; legislation concerning regulation of laboratory-developed diagnostic tests (including H.R. 3207); support Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act (H.R. 6118; S.3391).

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $10,000

Government targets: Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE

Health reform law implementation issues including application of the medical device tax to clinical laboratories; in office ancillary services exemption to the Stark law; H.R. 3207, the Modernizing Laboratory Test Standards Act for Patients Act; H.R. 6118/S. 3391, the Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act; the coding, pricing, and placement of molecular pathology laboratory tests; Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule reimbursement levels; H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

Client expense: $200,677 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Office of Management & Budget (OMB), President of the U.S., SENATE

Health reform law implementation issues including application of the medical device tax to clinical laboratories; in office ancillary services exemption to the Stark law; H.R. 3207, the Modernizing Laboratory Test Standards Act for Patients Act; H.R. 6118/S. 3391, the Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act; the coding, pricing, and placement of molecular pathology laboratory tests; Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule reimbursement levels; H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

Client expense: $200,677 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Office of Management & Budget (OMB), President of the U.S., SENATE

Appropriations for Federal Health Agencies Stark Self Referral Reform; Workforce Investment Act -- Laboratory Workforce Shortage Regulation of Laboratory Developed Tests; Clinical Lab Fee Schedule HR 6118 Essential Steps for Testing Act

Client expense: $40,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE

Implementation of Affordable Care Act; Electronic Health Record (H.R.4066) Stark Self-Referral Reform; HR 6118 Essential Steps for Testing Act Elimination of SGR Formula Under Medicare; HR 6352 Physician Shortage Reduction & GME Accountability Act Appropriations for Federal Health Agencies; Global Health Initiative

Client expense: $40,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE

Health reform law implementation issues including application of medical device tax to clinical laboratory tests and laboratory fee schedule. In-office ancillary services exception to Stark Law. H.R. 3207, The Modernizing Laboratory Test Standards for Patients Act. H.R. 6118, The Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act (Became PL 112-202 on December 4, 2012)

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $60,000

Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, 111-152) issues related to insurance coverage for the uninsured and delivery system and reimbursement reforms ; health information technology issues (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, H.R. 1 (P.L. 111-5; Equal Access and Parity for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act (H.R. 2500)); discussion with Congress to support CMMI application to be designated a Hospital Engagement Contractor under the Partnership for Patients Program; organ donation issues; and The Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act (H.R. 6118); issues related to Superstorm Sandy and the supplemental appropriations bills.

Client expense: $220,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, 111-152) issues related to insurance coverage for the uninsured and delivery system and reimbursement reforms ; health information technology issues (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, H.R. 1 (P.L. 111-5; Equal Access and Parity for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act (H.R. 2500)); discussion with Congress to support CMMI application to be designated a Hospital Engagement Contractor under the Partnership for Patients Program; organ donation issues; and The Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act (H.R. 6118); issues related to Superstorm Sandy and the supplemental appropriations bills.

Client expense: $220,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Health reform law implementation issues including application of medical device tax to clinical laboratories; in-office ancillary services exception to the Stark law; H.R. 3207, the Modernizing Laboratory Test Standards for Patients Act; H.R. 6118.S.3391, the Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act; the coding and pricing and placement of molecular pathology laboratory tests

Client expense: $191,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE

H.R. 6272, Trial and Experimental Studies Transparency Act S. 3391/H.R. 6118 -- Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act -- legislation regarding Medicare sanctions for proficiency testing referrals

Client expense: $13,700 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

S. 3391/H.R. 6118 -- Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act -- legislation regarding Medicare sanctions for proficiency testing referrals Medicare reimbursement for blood, transfusion medicine and cellular therapies.

Client expense: $13,700 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

HR 1 Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act 2011, making appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011; HR 2 Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, to repeal the job-killing health care law and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; HR 4 Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011, offsets the cost of 1099 repeal by increasing the maximum amount of tax subsidy to be repaid if a persons (or familys) income exceeds 400% of poverty; HR 5, S 218, HR 105 and S 1099 Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, to improve patient access to health care services and provide improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system; HRes 9 Instructing four committees to produce legislation to replace the health reform law and to include a permanent fix to the SGR; S 296 and HR 2245 Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act of 2011, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide the Food and Drug Administration with improved capacity to prevent drug shortages; HR 705 The Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the expansion of information reporting requirements to payments made to corporations, payments for property and other gross proceeds, and rental property expense payments; HR 1213 To repeal mandatory funding provided to States in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to establish American Health Benefit Exchanges; HR 1217 to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund; S 539 Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2011, a bill to amend the Public Health Services Act and the Social Security Act to extend health information technology assistance eligibility to behavioral health, mental health, and substance abuse professionals and facilities; S 668 Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act, a bill to remove unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats from seniors' personal health decisions by repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board; Allow hospitals to claim the full cost of provider taxes as allowable costs; Ensure CAHs are paid at least 101 percent of costs by Medicare Advantage plans; Ensure that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) appropriately addresses the issue of direct supervision for outpatient therapeutic services for rural hospitals and CAHs; Ensure rural hospitals and CAHs have adequate reimbursement for certified registered nurse anesthetist and stand-by services; Exempt CAHs from the Independent Payment Advisory Board; Extend expiring provisions; Provide small, rural hospitals with cost-based reimbursement for outpatient laboratory services and ambulance services; Provide CAHs bed size flexibility; Reinstate CAH necessary provider status; Remove unreasonable restrictions on CAHs ability to rebuild; Discussions on a bill to credit some observation status days to 3 day inpatient hospital stays; Worked with HHS on establishing the Partnership for Patients Program to improve patient safety activities in hospitals; HR 1929 Emergency Nursing Relief Act, provides for 20,000 additional immigrant visas (green cards) for Registered Nurses, and their immediate family members. Visas issued to the family members would not count against the 20,000 quota. The Secretary of State would not be permitted to issue more visas than this set quota. Employers are charged $1,500 for these visas which would support funding US nursing programs; HR 1933, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify the requirements for admission of nonimmigrant nurses in health professional shortage areas and calls for a limited revival of the H-1C program; S 778 Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect to physician supervision of therapeutic hospital outpatient services; HR 1363 Department of Defense and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011; Letter to oppose Cuts to the funding of the Hospital Preparedness Program; HR 1214 a bill to repeal mandatory funding for school-based health center construction, it amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to repeal the program requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to school-based health centers or their sponsoring facilities to support the operation of such health centers. Rescinds unobligated appropriations for the program. Urging that final Accounting of Disclosures rule not include the proposal to require provision of an access report to patients; HR 1540 National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, a bill to establish a working group within the Department of Defense to comprehensively review all TRICARE policies and practices related to pediatric care and to develop recommendations that specifically address the health care needs of children of military families; S 1854 Medical Surge Capacity Act, a bill to enhance medical surge capacity which uses lessons learned from previous disasters to make critical changes when responding to a natural or manmade disaster; HR 2405 and S 1855 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization of 2011, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize various programs under the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act; S. 1979 Conrad State 30 Improvement Act (Immigration) , a bill to help streamline J-1 visa waiver process for hospitals to hire international physicians to practice in rural and medically underserved communities; Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Letter from Rep. Ron Kind and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson to the supercommittee to protect CAH from potential cuts or other detrimental policy changes; Urging the Super Committee to reject cuts to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs); Extender's letter to supercommittee with a list of hospital specific issues that need to be addressed; HR 3586 Good Samaratin Health Professionals Act, a bill to amend the PHSA to limit the liability of healthcare professionals who volunteer to provide healthcare services in response to disaster; HR 3839 Drug Shortage Prevention Act of 2012, to address critical drug shortage; S 2193 Ensuring Safe Medical Devices for Patients, a bill to require the Food and Drug Administration to include devices in the postmarket risk identification and analysis system, to expedite the implementation of the unique device identification system for medical devices; HR 4246 VA Enrollment Act, to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the expansion of eligibility for veteran reimbursement for emergency treatment provided in non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities; HR 5800 Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2012, to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for increased price transparency of hospital information and to provide for additional research on consumer information on charges and out-of-pocket costs; H.R.6118 and S.3391 Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act of 2012. to amend the Public Health Service Act to revise sanctions for laboratories that intentionally refer proficiency testing samples required for certification to another laboratory for analysis by: (1) giving the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) discretion to substitute intermediate sanctions for such violations instead of the two-year prohibition against ownership or operation which would otherwise apply, and (2) making the one-year certificate revocation for such a laboratory optional rather than mandatory. Which gives CMS more discretion in enforcing the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments to preserve patient access to lab services.

- S.3187, Food and Drug Administraton Safety and Innovation Act (drug shortages in hospitals) and Related Conference Report P.L.112-144. - S.296/H.R.2245, Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act (drug shortages in hospitals). - H.R.3839, Drug Shortage Prevention Act (drug shortages in hospitals) - S.319, Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act (drug shortages in hospitals). - H.R.5651, Food and Drug Administration Reform Act (drug shortages in hospitals). - Medicaid provider taxes. - Medicare and Medicaid Payment reductions, including Graduate Medical Education, bad debt payments, post-acute care payments, CAH payments, IPPS coding offset, rural hospital payments, section 508 wage index reclassification, Medicare Dependent Hospital authorization, inpatient coding offset, small rural clinical hold harmless, Sole Community Hospital (SCH) outpatient department hold harmless, outpatient therapy cap moratorium, and hospital outpatient department (HOPD) evaluation and management (E/M) service. - Medicare physician fee schedule fix. - Medicare hospital wage index. - H.R.3519, To exempt the Medicare program from fallback sequestration under the Budget Control Act of 2011. - S.2620/H.R.5943, Rural Hospital Access Act (MDH/LV Adjustment 1-year extension). - S.1680/H.R.3859, Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity (R-HoPE) Act. - H.R.2500, The Equal Access and Parity for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act (Electronic Health Record multi-campus incentive bill). - H.R.2224, Improving Physician Access to Teaching Hospitals Act (Medicare residency slots). - S.1627/H.R.6562, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (Medicare residency slots). - H.R.452, Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2011 (IPAB repeal). - S.668, Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act (IPAB repeal). - Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Electronic Health Record Incentive ProgramStage 2; Health Information Technology: Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology, 2014 Edition; Revisions to the Permanent Certification Program for Health Information Technology; Final Rules (CMS and ONC Medicare and Medicaid EHR Meaningful Use Incentive Program Stage 2 final rules). - New York State 1115 Medicaid Waiver Application to CMS. - H.R.6118, Taking Essential Steps for Testing (TEST) Act (unintentional proficiency testing laboratory referrals). - Medicare and Medicaid Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Programs.

Healthcare Reform Legislation and its impact on clinical laboratories and laboratory personnel; FDS initiatives to regulate laboratory-developed diagnostic tests; legislation concerning regulation of laboratory-developed diagnostic tests (including H.R. 3207); support taking essential steps for Testing Act (H.R. 6118; S. 3391).

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $10,000

Government targets: Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE

Appropriations for Federal Health Agencies Stark Self Referral Reform; Workforce Investment Act -- Laboratory Workforce Shortage Regulation of Laboratory Developed Tests; Clinical Lab Fee Schedule HR 6118 Essential Steps for Testing Act

Client expense: $55,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), SENATE

Implementation of Affordable Care Act; Electronic Health Record (H.R.4066) Stark Self-Referral Reform; HR 6118 Essential Steps for Testing Act Elimination of SGR Formula Under Medicare; HR 6352 Physician Shortage Reduction & GME Accountability Act Appropriations for Federal Health Agencies; Global Health Initiative

Client expense: $55,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), SENATE

CLIA Laboratory Certification Review Procedures, H.R.6118 Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act

Client expense: $80,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE

Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, 111-152) issues related to insurance coverage for the uninsured and delivery system and reimbursement reforms ; health information technology issues (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, H.R. 1 (P.L. 111-5; Equal Access and Parity for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act (H.R. 2500)); discussion with Congress to support CMMI application to be designated a Hospital Engagement Contractor under the Partnership for Patients Program; organ donation issues; and The Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act (H.R. 6118).

Client expense: $210,000 · Firm income: Not reported

AACC endorsed S.3391 & H.R.6118, the "Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act," which would modify the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 to give the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services greater latitude in determining what penalties it could impose on laboratories that referred a proficiency testing specimen to an outside laboratory for analysis.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Health reform law implementation issues including application of medical device tax to laboratory tests and laboraty fee schedule cuts; the oversight of laboratory-developed tests, HR 3207, the Modernizing Laboratory Test Standards for Patients Act; Budget Control Act of 2011(PL 112-225); in-office ancillary services exception to Stark law; HR 5651, Food and Drug Administration Reform Act, S. 3187, Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, HR 6118, the Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act

Client expense: $200,000 · Firm income: Not reported