H.R. 3590, which is the Senate version of Health Care Reform, "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act", passed the House late Sunday March 21 by a partisan vote of 219 to212 (34 Democrats and 178 Republicans voted "no"). The reconciliation package (H.R. 4872) passed by a vote of 220 to 211 (33 Democrats and 178 Republicans voted "no").

H.R. 3590 was signed by the president on March 23. The reconciliation bill moved to the Senate where a few details had to be corrected and sent back to the House for another vote.

For the laboratory community, the Bill includes an across-the-board clinical laboratory fee schedule cut of 1.75 percent for 5 years, scheduled to begin in 2011. In addition, the Senate bill includes a "productivity adjustment" to the annual CPI update for labs which replaces the 0.5% reduction to updates implemented just last year. The productivity adjustment would reduce the laboratory fee schedule further. The just-passed Senate version of reform provides that the productivity adjustment cannot reduce the CPI update below zero. These provisions are contained in section 3401(l) of the Bill"