First Coast Service Options, the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Florida, is proposing to retire its Local Coverage Determination (LCD) for special histochemical and immunohistochemical stains. Comments on the proposed retirement of the policy (L36234) note issues with potential restriction of a pathologist’s ability to order appropriate staining for accurate diagnoses.
The LCD, initially implemented in 2015, is being retired as “a review of the current literature revealed that the LCD and its corresponding Billing and Coding Article are neither reflective of the current standard of practice, nor having a significant impact on Medicare expenditures,” per the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The CAP had opposed this policy when it was first implemented and supports this change (June 21, 2022 | College of American Pathologists (cap.org)).
