Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act

HR 1835, the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act, modifies Medicare’s payment system for clinical laboratory tests to reduce administrative burdens. It allows the Medicare program to use random sampling of laboratories (instead of requiring full reporting) for "widely available" tests - defined as tests costing under $1,000 per test and performed by over 100 labs - starting in 2026. The bill also delays reporting deadlines, adjusts payment reduction limits, and sets annual caps on payment increases for these tests. This primarily affects independent, hospital, and physician office laboratories that perform common, low-cost tests meeting the defined criteria.