ASCLS-NE NEWSLETTER

www.ascls-ne.org

THE FILTER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

SPRING 2015

President’s Message Submitted by Kevin McGuire Happy Summer!!! I hope you are all enjoying these warmer temperatures. Thank you for all that you do within the laboratory profession. You play a vital role in health care. Without the dedication of laboratory personnel, the practice of modern medicine would be impossible. It is our duty as laboratory professionals to promote the profession and inform the general public of the impact we have on healthcare. Inform others about what you do and who you are. The Spring of 2015 was a busy time for laboratorians in Nebraska. In March, the Annual Legislative Symposium was held in Alexandria, VA. Three laboratory professionals from Nebraska attend this event in order to inform the Nebraska Representatives and Senators on Capitol Hill about what we do and why we are such an important profession. The 2015 Spring Laboratory Meeting was held April 8-10th in La Vista, Nebraska. The meeting was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who helped out with this event including members of ASCLS-NE, ASCLS-IA, CLMA Great Plains Chapter, PAMET-USA NE, and ASCP. Without the dedication of the volunteers, the meeting would not be possible. National Laboratory Professionals Week was held April 19-25th to honor the critical work laboratory professionals perform in the laboratory. Many laboratories celebrated this week in different ways. This week was a great opportunity to increase public understanding of and appreciation for clinical laboratory personnel.

ASCLS-NE is a society dedicated to its members and the laboratory profession as a whole in Nebraska. We are the voice of the laboratory. Without active members involved in leadership within the society, this advocacy would not be possible. I encourage all of you to find out ways that you can become involved within ASCLS-NE. Please feel free to contact me at president@ascls-ne.org if you are interested in learning more about the volunteer opportunities within ASCLS-NE. Have a great summer!

President’s Page……………………………………………….….1 2015 Legislative Symposium………………………………..2 ASCLS NE Scholarships & Awards……………………..3-4 2015-16 Board of Directors Election results…………5 Lab Week Highlights………………………………………...6-7 Leg days………………………………………………………….8-11 Congrats 2015 grads………………………………………….12 ASCLS Annual Meeting dates………………………………13

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2015 Legislative Symposium Submitted by Kevin McGuire

The 2015 Legislative Symposium was held March 16-17 in Alexandria, Virginia. I attended the event for the first time and had a great experience! Joining me from Nebraska was Roxanne Alter and Jennifer Sanmann. During the first day, we were educated on the how-to’s of lobbying and issues related to the laboratory profession. This education prepared each of us to speak to our Senators and Congressman the following day. One of the issues discussed was the establishment of a new grant program within Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (PHS) to ensure an adequate supply of clinical laboratory personnel to meet the growing demands for essential clinical laboratory services. Another topic was concerns about the implementation of the congressionally mandated update to fee schedule. It was a tremendous opportunity to go to Capitol Hill and lobby on behalf of our profession. We stressed the importance of what the laboratory does and the need to reject any further cuts that will erode the quality of care to Medicare beneficiaries. We met with Congressman Adrian Smith and Congressman Brad Ashford. We met with legislative assistants for Senator Deb Fischer, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, and Senator Ben Sasse. These meetings helped provide the face of the laboratory. We even saw Pierce Brosnan!

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2015 ASCLS-NE Scholarships and Awards Banquet Submitted by: Lynnett Paneitz, MLS(ASCP)CM

The 2015 ASCLS-NE Scholarships were awarded to:

C.J. Woslager from the UNMC CLS program

Carrie Schumacher from the SCC MLT program

Award of Excellence:

Jessica Loontjer

Technical Support Award of Excellence:

Andrew Binderup

Filter Award:

Linsey Donner

Key to the Future Award:

Megan Brown

Shirley Noble Award:

Janis Bible

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Top left: Kevin McGuire with C.J. Woslager Top right: Kevin McGuire with Andrew Binderup Middle left: Lynnett Paneitz with Carrie Schumacher Middle right: Lynnett Paneitz with Janis Bible Bottom left: Kevin McGuire with Jessica Loontjer Bottom middle: Kevin McGuire with Linsey Donner

Bottom right: Kevin McGuire with Megan Brown

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2015-2016 Election Results for the ASCLS-NE Board of Directors Submitted by: Linsey Donner, MPH, CPH, MLS (ASCP)CM

The elected Board Members for the 2015-2016 year are:

President: Brad Hays

President-Elect: Kevin McGuire

Secretary (2-year term): Donna Kruger

Senior Board Member: Chelsea Dockins-Reischl

Junior Board Member: Megan Brown

First Year Professional: Kevin Nicholson

The Board Members who are serving a second year of their term are:

Past-President: Kevin McGuire

Treasurer: Ashley Collins

The final Board Member who is yet to be determined due to timing/program start dates:

Student Forum President: TBD after students start school year

If you see any of these individuals please be sure to congratulate them and thank them for all of

their hard work and dedication to our profession!

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Medical Laboratory Professionals Week

April 19–25, 2015

Links from Nebraska Medicine Lab Week activities: http://www.unmc.edu/news.cfm?match=16843&pk_campaign=email&pk_kwd=Time_out_with_TO_The_faceless_profession

http://www.unmc.edu/news.cfm?match=17099

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Lab Week celebration at Nebraska Medicine

Submitted by Brenda Jershin MT (ASCP), Lab week committee 2015

This year’s Lab Week theme was “Not all superheroes wear capes, some wear lab coats”. Our Lab Week committee every year contributes to an outreach project. This year we came upon a fund raising idea that was an instant hit. We offered to sell a lab candy gram for $1 to employees. The candy gram would be sent to a coworker with a short message. We expected 200-300 orders and were amazed when we netted nearly 1,200 candy grams! The proceeds of the fundraiser went to our project “Super capes for super kids”. Capes were purchased for our pediatric inpatient population as well as our oncology kids. Each lab department submitted designs and the winning design will be printed on the capes. The committee members took orders and collected money for the candy grams the week prior to Lab Week. Candy was purchased and urine cups were ordered as the candy gram container. Adhesive labels were used as the gift tag with the name of the recipient, sender and message. The committee members then met to form an assembly line to put the candy grams together. The candy grams were then sorted by departments and distributed to employees.

Candy grams!!!!

One of Nebraska Medicine’s Extraordinary Kids gets

her Cape!!!!

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Government Affairs Committee March 15, 2015

Hilton Hotel - Old Alexandria, VA

Present: Rick Panning (Chair), Patrick Cooney (Legislative Consultant), Elissa Passiment (ASCLS Staff Liaison, Jennifer Alvares, John Bandura, Annette Bednar, Gretchen Brocksmith, Judy Davis, Dana Duzan, Theresa Fruehling, Linda Goossen, Zohaib Ishaq, Cindy Johnson (BOD Liaison), John Koenig, Lori Murray, Stephanie Noblit, Kim Przekop, Jacqueline Raetz, Debbie Shell Excused Absence: Paula Garrott, Kathy Hansen, Joan Longberry, Kathy Sudduth Absent: Helen Bixenman , Katie Goff, Jim Griffith, Angela Phillips, Josh Pulido, Becky See, Ajna Uzini Guests: Evelyn Weaver (MS), Suzanne Campbell (KS), Kevin McGuire (NE), Barbara Snyderman (PA), Roslyn McQueen (MI), Deb Rodahl (MN), Jean Bauer (MN), Brenden Collins (MT), Joni Gilstrup (MT), Jacquie Briceno (MT), Karrie Hovis (LA), Shirley Heber (SD), Melissa Saxlund (SD), Sally Pestana (HI), J.R. Constance (CO), Susie Zanto (MT), Rebecca Rogers (TN) 1. Meeting

2. Legislative Update - Patrick Cooney (Legislative Consultant):

Congress next week will probably repeal the Sustainable Growth R ate (SGR) under

Medicare Part B. This is the formula for payment for physician/provider services. Cuts to

health professionals will have been greater than 20% by the end of March 2015.

Congress has tried 14 times to fix the SGR. Repeal will be expensive, at $170-190 billion

over 10 years. Patrick expects a full repeal this year. Congress wanted to push to “fix”

off another 6 months, but last week House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) spoke directly

with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CVA) to help get the bill through. Boehner

would like to pass the bill with only a partial offset of approximately $70 Billion. The

“pay for” will be probably be divided between provider cuts and increase in patient

copays and deductibles and include reductions in reimbursement for post-acute care,

bundled payments, and decreased hospital reimbursements; the rest will be put on the

national debt. Boehner needed to reach out to the Democrats because the Republicans

Leg Days Submitted by: Roxanne Alter

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will not pass the repeal or fix the SGR with an increase to the national debt. The vote

will be tight. The SGR does not impact labs, but we are worried how Congress will pay

for fixing or repealing the SGR; i.e., money to offset provider payments. Patrick has not

heard anything about any new provide cuts. Most of the discussion about the SGR is

taking place in the House; not much happening in the Senate. If they do not engage the

senate soon, time will run out.

SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) is related to the SGR. Congress needs

to extend authorization for the SCHIP. The Republicans want a 2-year extension and the

Democrats want a 4-year extension.

Health Care Reform- there is an issue at the supreme court (King v. Burwell) as to

whether it is constitutional to provide subsidies to people in the Affordable Care Act

(ACA) who are enrolled through federal exchange (34 states where the governor did not

sign up for a state exchange).

Workforce – Need to find a couple of champions to urge the House and Senate to

reauthorize the Allied Health Special Projects and Grants Program, and send money to

the states with the state determining where the workforce dollars are going. We would

also like to promote increased federal funding specifically for clinical lab educational

programs through a new grant program.

Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) have continued delays releasing

reimbursement rates for the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule.

Medical Device Tax - There is a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices. ASCLS urges repeal

of this tax. Repeal, however, would be at a significant cost, and thus congress would

have to find an offset for it or put the cost on the national debt. ASCLS will add our voice

to support industry, which is pushing for repeal of the tax. It is not our role to determine

how to pay for it – only to identify it as a problem.

Sequestration – Sequestration was put in place a few years ago as a deal between the

white house and congress to address the budget when they could not find the “grand

bargain”. Sequestration cuts everything except authorized spending at approximately

6%. It includes military and nonmilitary programs; e.g. training people, feeding children,

buying ammunition. Patrick thinks congress will try to get rid of sequestration but

Obama will need to make some other deal with Congress, if this is to happen. If it

happens, it will be in 2015, not 2016 because of the 2016 presidential race. They cannot

get rid of sequestration without a budget deal.

3. Regulatory Update – Elissa Passiment (ASCLS Staff Liaison)

The Laboratory Developed Tests (LDT) guidance is out. Elissa went to the FDA open

hearing January 8 and 9 and presented comments. She was also part of a panel to

address clinical validity concerns with LDT. ASCLS supports what the FDA is trying to do

but have some suggestions. It is within our scope of practice to tinker with FDA

approved tests; the FDA says this is a LDT, and we say it is not. We think they should

worry about de novo tests that companies are developing and marketing. The American

Clinical Laboratory Associate (ACLA) says that CLIA already is in charge of LDT; CLIA says

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they do not have anything to do with clinical validity. Elissa saw Alberto Gutierrez, the

head of FDA’s Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiologic Health (OIR). He reported

that the FDA is getting a lot of comments on the guidance. They do not have to accept

or follow all the comments, but they will consider them.

Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) – this deals with the Clinical

Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS). CMS is supposed to collect information from labs by

January 2016 regarding their reimbursements for lab tests from all their payers and CMS

is to use that information to recalculate the fee schedule. CMS needs to get a rule out

how the data is to be collected. The rule should be out by July. ASCLS hoped to get some

information by now so that we would have 120 days to comment, but that has passed,

and the 90 day window giving us 60 days to comment has passed; in order to have 30

days to review and comment, CMS will have to publish the rule in April. It would not be

good for CMS to have to go back to Congress and ask for an extension.

Proficiency Regulations – CLIA regulations on Proficiency testing and Quality Control.

The regulations are still at the CDC. Judy Yost is no longer director of the Division of

Laboratory Services at CMS (CLIA); the current acting director is Karen Dyer. There are

currently no regulations on PT for PCR or MALDI-TOF since the regulations were written

in 1992. We are not sure what the holdup is - CDC says it is very complicated and the

regulations need to be rewritten for the future as new tests are developed.

The glucose meter guidance was rescinded yesterday (3-14-15). The guidance concerns

glucose testing on critically ill patients and glucose meters developed for person al use.

There is no definition of a critically ill patient. There are no glucose meters that meet the

requirements to test critically ill patients. There is a difference between meters

developed for personal use vs. those developed for bedside testing.

4. 2015-2016 GAC Committee membership changes

Rick Panning and Angela Phillips are in their second 3 year term and will be leaving the

committee July 31. New members will be Annette Billing from Tennessee and Shellie Smith

from Alaska. Linda Goossen will be chair for 2015-16 and Debbie Shell will be Vice Chair

for2015-16.

5. Publications:

ASCLS Today:

May 2015 – Legislative Symposium - Linda Goossen will write and Rick and Theresa

will edit. Due April 1

July Issue – due date is June 1

E-newsletter - will do a post-legislative symposium e-newsletter summarizing the issues

discussed at the Legislative Symposium.

6. Region Updates:

Region I: J Raetz - no report

Region II: A Bednar - no report

Region III: J Bandura - no report

Region IV: L Goossen – no report

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Region V – L Murray - R Panning reported that ASCLS MN is Kathy Hanson and

Donna Spannaus-Martin are organizing a state legislative symposium for April 23.

They will be taking the National Legislative Day issues to their state representatives.

Region VI: J Koenig - Nebraska is starting to looks at Licensure. Missouri is rewriting

their licensure bill and will be resubmitting it.

Region VII: B See - no report

Region VIII: D Shell –Debbie is giving an advocacy presentation to the R VIII

legislative symposium. Idaho held a legislative symposium last week. They will

introduce a licensure bill in 2016.

Region IX: A Phillips - no report

Region X: J Pulido – Josh is leaving BioRad and joining Hologic. No report

New Professionals/Students – T Fruehling is meeting with them tomorrow (3-16-15)

7. Kudos to Kathy Hanson for a great article on coding in CLS Today.

8. Adjournment 5:45 pm

Next Meeting: April 21, 2015 Conference Call 7:00-8:00 pm (Central Time)

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The UNMC CLS Program would like to congratulate all 54 program completers/graduates! Twenty seven new CLS professionals received their

BSCLS degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Two of those 27 students completed the degree advancement option (DAO) in which

working, ASCP BOC certified or certification eligible practitioners, complete their BS degree as distance education students. The UNMC CLS Program has

contractual agreements with the following institutions: University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri

Western State University and Washburn University. Due to these relationships, 27 more students earned a BS degree or certificate from their

sponsoring institution by completing the UNMC CLS Program as visiting students. Over 90% of the program’s graduates/completers have jobs (probably 100% by the time of this publication). Several students had

multiple job offers. The retention rate was 100% for this graduating class! The UNMC CLS Program Faculty and Staff are very proud of the hard work

and dedication exhibited by these new professionals!

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Attending the meeting this year are Roxanne Alter, Brad Hays, and Kevin McGuire

Secretary minutes from Spring Meetings in 2015 will be published in The Filter’s Summer 2015 edition….stay tuned!