Nearly four out of five Medicare lab codes are slated for cuts starting January 1, the first big update to the Clinical Lab Fee Schedule since 2017. The team breaks down why CMS’s data doesn’t match what AMGA members actually see, how the cuts spill into commercial and Medicare Advantage contracts, and what’s at stake for patients who rely on fast, in-house testing. Plus, what AMGA is asking of CMS and Congress, including support for the bipartisan RESULTS Act, and what members can do right now.

Everyone in Washington is talking affordability, but CMS leadership has a different word for it: deflationary. The team gets raw (yes, there’s an Eddie Murphy reference) on who actually pays when Medicare decides it can get the same lab test, scan, or office visit cheaper somewhere else. The team discusses the preliminary 2027 lab fee schedule, a provision requiring every off-campus hospital department to get its own NPI, and why that data may power the next round of site-neutral cuts.

It’s Libra Season, the gang is all together, and we’re here to discuss the most pertinent issue of the moment: Lauren (aka Diva 1) and her birthday adventure. In less important news, the gang also tackles the upcoming midterm elections, cutting through the campaign noise to unpack what the 2026 election could mean for AMGA members through the end of the year—and how they should prepare. Then it’s on to the December lame-duck session: telehealth extensions, physician payment reform, must-pass legislation, potential offsets, and the perennial question: What can Congress actually get across the finish line before the year ends? Finally, we look beyond the lame duck to the next Congress, covering Medicaid and ACA coverage, Medicare Advantage, drug pricing, 340B, prior authorization, consolidation, and more—and give AMGA members practical steps to prepare for what’s coming.