Joseph Burns
Joseph Burns is the senior editor of The Dark Report. An independent journalist in Falmouth, Mass., Burns has covered health care since 1991 and clinical laboratories since 2004. He writes for a variety of publications, including Managed Care magazine (where he is a contributing editor), Hospitals & Health Networks, and Healthcare Finance News. In addition, he is the insurance topic leader for the Association of Health Care Journalists and has worked as a writer and editor for The Commonwealth Fund, the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute, the National Business Coalition on Health, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and the National Quality Forum. Burns has edited books on health care business strategies for Faulkner & Gray and Panel Publishers and was editor-in-chief of Business & Health magazine, formerly published by Medical Economics Co., and later was a contributing editor and columnist for Managed Healthcare Executive magazine. He began his career as a journalist in Connecticut, working as a newspaper reporter for The Wallingford Post and the Meriden Record-Journal and as a copy editor, reporter, and regional news editor for The Hartford Courant, the nation’s oldest newspaper. While working for The Courant, he taught news writing at the University of Connecticut.
Articles by Joseph Burns
JAMA Study: 17% Fewer Pathologists Since 2007
CEO SUMMARY: The number of pathologists working in the United States declined by 17.53% from 2007 to 2017, according to recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. When adjusted for the U.S. population, the researchers said the workforce of pathologists i…
Fewer Pathologists Means Tighter Market for Jobs
CEO SUMMARY: Pathologists seeking jobs will find that a more competitive job market is pushing salaries up over $300,000 per year on average. In addition, most new jobs come with a hiring bonus and funds for relocation of as much as $12,000 and for continuing medical education of $3,500. …
Pathologists Bio-Med Labs Is Purchased by PathGroup
TWO ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY SUPERGROUPS in two different regions joined forces this month. This happened when PathGroup of Nashville, acquired Pathologists Bio-Medical Laboratories (PBM) of Dallas. Both groups are similar in that they are very large and do a combination …
What Labs Can Expect from PAMA in 2019
CEO SUMMARY: Attendees at the Executive War College learned that CMS has taken steps to expand the number of hospital labs required to report their private payer lab test price data under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, but the unbundling of certain test panels could be problematic…
TriCore Forges Ahead to Help Payers Manage Population Health
CEO SUMMARY: To develop new sources of revenue to offset declining fee-for-service payments, TriCore Reference Labs is collaborating with health insurers in novel ways to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs. To achieve this, TriCore brings together data from lab tests, EHR…
CMS, Lab Groups Begin Talks About Issues with NCCI Edits
SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW GUIDELINES for the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) that were implemented on Jan. 1 have caused nine clinical laboratory associations and groups to come together and voice their concerns to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services…
Improve Your AP Group’s Financial Performance
CEO SUMMARY: Across the nation, health insurers are paying less for anatomic pathology services. This shrinks pathology group revenue and reduces pathologist compensation. Savvy pathology groups are responding to this trend by reviewing long-standing processes in their coding, billing, an…
PAMA Price Cuts Now Delivering One-Two Punch to Labs’ Revenue
WHEN DISCUSSING THEIR EARNINGS with Wall Street analysts in February, executives from both Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) and Quest Diagnostics explained that the lab test price cuts from the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) were not onl…
Labs Get High Denial Rates Under New NCCI Rules
CEO SUMMARY: Under guidelines the National Correct Coding Initiative issued last year, many clinical laboratories are not getting paid for some tests. The rates of denial for labs running mostly molecular tests could range from 40% to 100% of revenue, one billing expert said. Implemented …
UHC Sets July 1 Launch for New Preferred Network
CEO SUMMARY: UnitedHealthcare will launch a new preferred laboratory network with seven lab companies on July 1. In an April 22 announcement, UHC said physicians and consumers may continue to use its existing network of more than 300 labs currently in-network. One goal is to give patients…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
Now that a federal judge has vacated the FDA’s LDT rule, The Dark Report analyzes the judgement and notes the various steps the FDA could take in response. Also, lab testing at pharmacies is proving to be less successful than was once anticipated.
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