Since 1995, Reliable Business Intelligence for Clinical Laboratories, Pathology Groups and Laboratory Diagnostics

Subscriber?

Volume XVII No. 18 - December 27, 2010

Any Future for Loss-Leader Lab Pricing?

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark / By

OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA, few pathologists or laboratory administrators are awareĀ of the unfolding enforcement campaign that was initiated by the stateā€™s Medi-Cal program. At issue is a decades-long practice of offering providers low laboratory test pricesā€”in some cases well below the Medi-Cal fee schedule. You may say, ā€œwhatā€™s the big deal?ā€, since, for years, youā€™ve seen …

Any Future for Loss-Leader Lab Pricing? Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Discounted Lab Prices Become Issue in California

Laboratory Compliance / By

CEO SUMMARY: For decades, Californiaā€™s lab testing market has been considered the Wild West because clinical lab companies have felt relatively free to offer deeply-discounted prices to expand market share and take business away from competitors. Now these discounted pricing practices are being scrutinized by no less than three government bodies. First came a whistleblower …

Discounted Lab Prices Become Issue in California Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Medi-Cal Gets Tough on Low Lab Test Prices

Laboratory Compliance / By

CEO SUMMARY: This may be the most significant lab industry story of 2010, which has gone unreported until now. Starting in June and July, Californiaā€™s Department of Health Care Services determined that between 10 and 30 labs had submitted what the agency considers to be false claims. It sent out letters to these labs to …

Medi-Cal Gets Tough on Low Lab Test Prices Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Who Wins and Who Loses With 51501 Enforcement

Laboratory Compliance / By

CEO SUMMARY: Assume that Californiaā€™s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) wins all challenges to enforcement of its interpretation of 51501(a). DHCS will get a one-time cash infusion as it collects money from labs which violated the state statute. But going forward, federally qualified health centers, independent practice associations, private payers, and patients will pay …

Who Wins and Who Loses With 51501 Enforcement Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

How Could So Many Labs Violate California Law?

Laboratory Compliance / By

CEO SUMMARY: If a 40-year-old state law on Medi-Cal pricing was known to regulators and clinical laboratories alike, how did the legal and compliance departments of so many laboratoriesā€”staffed by some of the smartest legal minds in California and nationallyā€”interpret the law in such a different way as the stateā€™s primary laboratory regulator? After all, …

How Could So Many Labs Violate California Law? Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Calif. Officials Back Off From Suspending Labs

Laboratory Compliance / By

CEO SUMMARY: Early in the summer, Californiaā€™s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) delivered letters to between 10 and 30 laboratory companies notifying them that, effective immediately, it was withholding their Medi-Cal payments and was suspending each labā€™s Medi-Cal license. However, the intense reaction triggered by this unexpected and unequal enforcement campaign apparently caused DHCS …

Calif. Officials Back Off From Suspending Labs Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Did Qui Tam Suit Trigger Medi-Cal Price Concerns?

Laboratory Compliance / By

CEO SUMMARY: It is easy to track backwards to understand why the California Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) began aggressive enforcement of its interpretation of statute 51501(a) against a number of labs this summer. DHCS officials were given a full education and a roadmap for action when, in April, 2009, the whistleblower lawsuit that accused …

Did Qui Tam Suit Trigger Medi-Cal Price Concerns? Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

December 27, 2010 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

Late Breaking Lab News / By

As the year ends, a bit of humor is in order and the recent dust-up involving Michael Mooreā€™s healthcare documentary, titled ā€œSicko,ā€ and a State Department cable posted on wikileaks.com may be just the item. About a week ago, The Guardian newspaper in Manchester, England, reported that a State Department cable posted on wikileaks.com had …

December 27, 2010 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News” Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in

The Dark Report ā€¢ 21806 Briarcliff Dr ā€¢ Spicewood, TX 78669
Phone: 512-264-7103 ā€¢ Toll Free Number: 800-560-6363
Email: customerservice@darkintelligencegroup.com

Ā© 2022 The Dark Report. All rights reserved.

;