UnitedHealthcare Delays Lab Test Registry Protocol Indefinitely
After several postponements, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) announced on July 1 that it would delay implementing its planned clinical and pathology Laboratory Test Registry Protocol until further notice.
UHC’s Laboratory Test Registry Protocol would have required in-network, freestanding and outpatient laboratory claims to contain a laboratory-specific, unique code for the overwhelming majority of lab tests and pathology services, in addition to the standard Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. UHC had planned to deny payment for claims containing non-registered tests or panels starting January 1, 2022.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) had opposed the insurer’s lab test registry. AHA and CAP said that the new requirements would have overburdened hospitals, labs and pathologists with unnecessary administrative and reporting requirements.