News-At-A-Glance: Illinois Could Prohibit Markup of AP Services

The Illinois Senate has passed a bill, SB 1630, that would require physicians to disclose the name and address of the laboratory that provided the anatomic pathology (AP) service and the amount the physician paid for the service. The bill is essentially a disclosure law and does not actually prohibit physicians from adding fees to the amount the reference lab charges them, according to a posting by the Pathology Blawg on May 5. It does, however, prohibit a physician from increasing the amount subject to disclosure, which is the amount charged by the reference lab. It allows additional fees for specimen collection and transport, but such fees must reflect the actual cost of the collection and the additional charges must be separately coded according to the American Medical Association coding policies. If the state passes the new law, it would be the 17th state with a disclosure law for AP services and the eighth state to prohibit marking up the amount paid for those services.