Medicare Payments for Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests in 2017: Year 4 of Baseline Data

Medicare is the largest payer of clinical laboratory services in the Nation. Medicare Part B covers most lab tests and pays 100 percent of allowable charges. Medicare beneficiaries do not pay copayments or deductibles for lab tests. In 2016, Medicare paid $6.8 billion for lab tests, accounting for about 2 percent of all Part B payments. The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 requires OIG to publicly release an annual analysis of the top 25 laboratory tests by expenditures under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act. (Pub. L. No. 113-93 § 216(c)(2)(A)). In accordance with the Act, we will publicly release an analysis of the top 25 laboratory tests by expenditures for 2017.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
Completed	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	Medicare Payments for Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests in 2017: Year 4 of Baseline Data	Office of Evaluation and Inspections	OEI-09-18-00410	2018