April 2016

CMS Update Plans for Medicare Clinical Lab Fee Schedule Could Be in Trouble

This is an excerpt from a 1,400-word article in the April 11 issue of THE DARK REPORT. Full details of the California program are included in the original article, available to paid members. CEO SUMMARY: Evidence from California shows that national lab test price reporting, required for CMS to set rates for the Medicare Clinical Lab Fee […]

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Giving Back to the Clinical Lab Profession

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark / R. Lewis Dark

MANY OF US ARE CONCERNED about how the next generation of clinical lab and anatomic pathology leaders will be trained and prepared to step up and assume responsibility for the clinical excellence and financial performance of their respective lab organizations. To contribute to the training of promising young lab managers, in the past two years THE DARK REPORT

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Just 66 of 742 Labs Submit Rate Data to California Department of Health Care Services

Laboratory Compliance / Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Federal officials tasked with implementing the PAMA lab market price reporting requirement would be well-served to study what happened in California when the Department of Health Care Services mandated market price reporting. According to DHCS, last year, only 9% of the state’s 742 labs submitted price data! This is evidence that requiring a lab to report every payer’s

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Mayo Medical Laboratories Will Close Massachusetts Lab

Clinical Laboratory Trends / Robert Michel

IN AN ANNOUNCEMENT MADE LAST MONTH, Mayo Medical Laboratories said that it would close the lab facility it operates in Andover, Massachusetts, by the end of the year. As a result of this move, Mayo will eliminate 105 jobs in this leafy suburb north of Boston. For 20 years, MML has operated the lab in Andover, its only facility in New England. News

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How to Cover Genetic Tests Confounds Health Insurers

Genetic Testing / Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Managed care experts say health insurers are being overwhelmed by the number of new genetic tests and that many labs find it tough to get paid for these tests. UnitedHealthcare just announced it will require pre-authorization of molecular and genetic tests during 2016. Meanwhile, Cigna, which already has pre-authorization in place for certain genetic tests, said it intends to

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Marshfield Clinic Lab Tackles Phlebotomy Workflow Redesign

Lean Six Sigma / Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Before a redesign of phlebotomy workflow at Marshfield Clinic, patients might wait as long as an hour, particularly before noon when phlebotomists would see 75% of each day’s patients. After the redesign, the number of draw sites was reduced from five to two while handling an increase in daily patient volume from 700 to 855. Patient wait times fell

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Accumen Acquires Chi To Beef Up Lab Consulting

Laboratory Management / Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Two different business models of clinical laboratory consulting have now been brought together. Chi consultants have long focused on analytics and improving outreach performance, among other areas of lab performance. By contrast, Accumen’s business model is nontraditional and centers upon a shared-savings partnership with a hospital or health system. Executives at Accumen are betting that a combination of both types

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April 11, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News

Late Breaking Lab News / Robert Michel

Tonya Mallory is back in the news and this time she is teaming up with the former CEO of Bon Secours Virginia to launch a new healthcare company. Mallory was formerly CEO of Health Diagnostic Laboratory of Richmond, Virginia. This is the lab company that settled a major whistleblower case with the federal government, without admitting guilt. In court filings, federal prosecutors claim that HDL was paid $500 million by

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