Just a few months after its revitalization, the Connecticut Society of Pathologists (CSP) is already making progress in Hartford. The CSP Advocacy Committee recently submitted testimony on two pending bills, while also establishing ties with similar organizations.
Several Yale Pathologists are behind the recent revival of the CSP, and the organization held its first educational meeting in years last month. On March 12, members of the CSP Advocacy Committee submitted testimony in collaboration with the College of American Pathologists to the Connecticut General Assembly’s Human Services Committee on HB 5459 and SB 307. The CSP Advocacy Committee includes Yale Pathology faculty members.
HB 5459, An Act Increasing Rates of Medicaid Reimbursement for Certain Providers, would provide “select providers” with a new rate methodology that would adjust Medicaid rates “to a specified percentage of Medicare for the same service.” However, as the CSP noted in its testimony, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine were omitted from the bill with no language that would allow inclusion if passed. The CSP explained it could only support the bill if amended to include pathology and laboratory services.
The CSP also submitted testimony for SB 307, An Act Concerning Medicaid Coverage of Biomarker Testing. The bill would mandate Medicaid coverage for biomarker testing when supported by medical and scientific evidence. The CSP supports the bill and said it will improve access to care for Connecticut residents who need it the most.
“The lack of accessible biomarker testing, impaired by inadequate coverage, disproportionately impacts patient care and exacerbates unfavorable health care disparities in patient treatment and outcomes within Connecticut for economically disadvantaged groups,” the CAP said.
Both bills have been submitted to the Legislative Commissioners’ Office, which will draft legislation. Meanwhile, the CAP also established relationships with the Connecticut State Medical Society’s Legislative Committee and the Connecticut Hospital Association – two organizations with which it shares many interests – for future advocacy efforts.