Off the Fiscal Cliff?

Dec. 9, 2012

With less than a month until the automatic spending cuts mandated by law are due to go into effect (on January 2), President Obama and leaders in Congress are working to find an alternative–presumably, some compromise that balances revenue enhancement and budget cuts–that will prevent “sequestration” from happening. All Americans have reason to be interested, if only because the temporary reduction in payroll tax that we have been enjoying for two years will disappear if no solution is found. The clinical laboratory community has reasons of its own, because the across-the-board cuts will have an impact on healthcare. As the “Washington Report” article by APHL's Peter Kyriacopoulos (page 36 in the December 2012 issue of MLO, or find it on the MLO website) points out, the cuts will reduce CDC funding for the governmental public health laboratory system, affecting many key programs. Beyond that, Medicare payments to doctors may be affected, with various down-the-line ramifications. President Obama, Speaker Boehner: Please keep working. Let's hope neither party sees a political  advantage in letting the country go over the “fiscal cliff” and then pinning the blame on the other party. Some commentators have analyzed the situation in those terms; let's hope the experts are wrong, as they often are. Glad to share perspectives from readers!