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CT Society of Pathologists
127 Washington Ave
East Bldg, Lower Level
North Haven, CT 06473
Executive Administrator:
Denise Tyrrell
Phone: (203) 865-0587
Email: admin@ctpath.org
Webmaster:
Christine Minerowicz, MD
Connecticut Society of |
Advocacy
Please visit our forum for current events and discussions
Jonathan Earle, MD, CSP Advocacy Committee Chair presents during the inaugural meeting held on February 24, 2024. The February meeting was largest gathering of CT pathologists in the state in over a decade.
Under Dr. Earle's leadership, the CSP Advocacy Committee has 10 active members and a strong link with the Connecticut CAP HOD, lead by Thomas Mezzetti, MD. CT advocacy is further bolstered by Kisha Mitchell Richards, MD as the State Issue Advisor. The CSP Advocacy Committee agenda for the upcoming year includes in-person attendance at all CAP HOD meetings, participating in CAP Hill Day, developing ties with the CT State Medical Society Legislative Committee and our neighboring state pathology societies.
Committee Members Jonathan Earle, MD - Chair Robert Babkowski, MD, MBA Evan Cadoff, MD Bhavna Khandpur, MD Angelique Levi, MD Thomas Mezzetti, MD Christine Minerowicz, MD Nader Okby, MD Kisha Mitchell-Richards, MD Elizabeth Rinehart, MD | College of American Pathologists Representatives State Issue Advisor Kisha Mitchell Richards, MD House of Delegates 2023-26 Thomas Mezzetti, MD - Delegation Chair Robert Babkowski, MD, MBA Jonathan Earle, MD Bhavna Khandpur, MD Uma Krishnamurti, MD, MBBS, PhD Angelique Levi, MD Christine Minerowicz, MD (Ex-Officio) Kisha Mitchell Richards, MD Muhammad Qazi, MD He Wang, MD, PhD Go to CAP House of Delegates webpage. |
The mission of the CSP Advocacy Committee is to bring legislative awareness to pathologists within the state and communicate impacts to policymakers on the federal and state levels.
The prior state pathologist society (formerly also referred to as CSP) worked in conjunction with CAP over the years to preserve the profession of pathology in Connecticut. Special recognition to Dr. Robert Babkowski, MD, MBA for his many contributions in representing pathologists over the past years.
- 2020: During the COVID pandemic, CSP and CAP helped to lead a multispecialty physician coalition to advocate rescinding the governor’s Emergency Executive Order 7U, which attempted to override state law governing payment for out-of-network services (see above). Their advocacy resulted in the rescission of the order, protecting pathologists’ payments.
- 2017-2019: CSP and CAP fought the insurance industry over out-of-network balance billing legislation, arguing for protections for providers and patients, similar to successful legislation by neighboring New York State. The result is that payers must pay pathologists for their work, even if at an in-network rate.
- 2013: Noticing that the donation of Electronic Health Record (EHR) platforms to physician practices (promulgated by large out-of-state labs to secure their anatomic pathology work) could violate state anti-kickback laws, CSP and CAP successfully petitioned a declaratory ruling from the CT Department of Health against this practice.
- 2010: In the face of renewed opposition to direct billing by various medical specialty groups, CSP and CAP mobilized a formidable coalition of state government leaders, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (then Atty General), to defend the standing law. Due to their efforts, the direct billing legislation was upheld.
- 2009: CSP and CAP successfully advocated for the enactment of direct billing legislation for anatomic pathology services, precluding any potential unethical markup by referring providers for that testing. Even when providers insource pathology services, pathologists are fairly paid for their work (not less than the Medicare rate) as a result of this advocacy.
- 2001: After a Department of Social Services decision to reduce pathologists’ Medicaid reimbursement by half, CSP and CAP joined forces to reverse that decision, resulting in full restoration of pathologists’ Medicaid reimbursement.