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
Insurers Are Rejecting Many PLA, MAAA Codes
>>CEO SUMMARY: Clinical labs developing innovative tests face a challenge getting paid. While Medicare may reimburse for these tests, some commercial payers and state Medicaid programs are not paying for new proprietary laboratory analyses (PLA) codes and multianalyte assays…
New UnitedHealthcare Policy For Hospital Reference Tests
>CEO SUMMARY: Under a new policy UnitedHealthcare will start in May, hospital laboratories will no longer be allowed to bill for reference testing for members who are not hospital patients. The policy is likely to affect clinical lab testing for patients whose testing goes …
Judge Rules in Theranos Case, Elizabeth Holmes Again Is News
Attorneys for former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and former President Ramesh Balwani are in court maneuvering before the federal case starts the trial phase this summer. Last week, Judge Edward J. Davila ruled that prosecutors from the federal Department of Justice …
Northwell Health Labs Produce Value-Added Outcomes, Growth
>CEO SUMMARY: In 2008, the administration at the Northwell Health system on Long Island considered selling its inpatient and outpatient laboratory services to a commercial laboratory company. In response, the leaders of the Northwell Health Laboratories proposed a plan to s…
First EKRA Guilty Plea Involves Lab Kickback
CEO SUMMARY: Federal investigators wasted little time in using the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA) to prosecute fraud involving clinical laboratories and providers. The manager of an opioid treatment center in Kentucky pleaded guilty last month to three counts…
Memorial Hermann Sells Outreach Lab to Quest
>CEO SUMMARY: Need for more capital is probably one reason why Memorial Hermann Health System decided to sell its large clinical laboratory outreach business to Quest Diagnostics in a transaction both organizations announced on Jan. 27. Although terms of …
Two Collaborations: LabCorp-Thermo Fisher, Roche-Illumina
In deals related to the pursuit of companion diagnostics, two lab companies announced collaboration deals with companies that manufacture gene-sequencing equipment. The deals were announced on consecutive days earlier this month. Financial terms were not disclosed. On Jan. 13, Ro…
Vanderbilt Lab Uses Predictive Medicine to Improve Care
> CEO SUMMARY: The integrative diagnostics lab at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center aims to use sophisticated diagnostics to advance the use of precision medicine testing to improve patient care and to do so at an affordable cost. As part of these efforts, the lab staff …
NeoGenomics Spends $37M for Human Longevity’s Oncology Division
Once again, Neogenomics, Inc. is using an acquisition to build up its cancer-testing business. In a deal that closed on Jan. 10, the lab company acquired the Oncology Division of Human Longevity, based in San Diego. Neogenomics said it paid $37 million f…
Labs Get Less Revenue as Billing Shifts Offshore
>CEO SUMMARY:In …
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.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
Lab leaders rely on THE DARK REPORT for actionable intelligence on important developments in the business of laboratory testing. Maximize the money you make-and the money you keep! Best of all, it is released every three weeks!
Sign up for TDR Insider
Join the Dark Intelligence Group FREE and get TDR Insider FREE!
Never miss a single update on the issues that matter to you and your business.