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Issues Archive

The most complete archive of clinical and pathology lab industry news available, including issues from 1997 to the present.

Volume XXI No. 14 – October 13, 2014

In this issue:

SOME FLORIDA PHYSICIANS ARE DECLARING their intent to leave UnitedHealthcare’s network because they find the insurer’s new BeaconLBS laboratory benefit management system to be time consuming and onerous. The defections come as the program goes through a soft launch that began on October 1. Apparently in response to physician complaints, UHC announced a delay in the date when it will begin to use BeaconLBS to make coverage decisions on certain lab tests. Also, doctors at Johns Hopkins have improved lab test utilization of cardiac testing, helping the health system save $1.3 million over 12 months.

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Volume XXI No. 13 – September 22, 2014

In this issue:

FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING INTO possible violations of the antikickback law by a number of labs offering cardiology tests. The labs under investigation are alleged to have paid physicians processing fees of up to $20 per patient, the Wall Street Journal reported in a front page story. The labs under scrutiny deny that they violated federal and state antikickback laws. Additionally, there is the potential for federal prosecutors to bring enforcement action against physicians who accepted the processing fees. Also, a group of lab collaborators proposes a four-level laboratory value pyramid as an effective roadmap to guide labs from their current state to a future state that delivers the right value to stakeholders.

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Volume XXI No. 12 – September 2, 2014

In this issue:

ACROSS THE U.S., clinical labs, histology labs, and pathology groups are experiencing both a much longer payment cycle for claims and a decreased gross collection rate. Blame can be placed on several trends. One trend is the steady increase in the number of patients with high-deductible health plans. Another trend involves payers implementing detrimental changes to their out-of-network payment policies. Collectively, these facts are making it tougher for labs to get paid. Also, a Florida family practice physician says the new UnitedHealthcare requirement to obtain a pre-notification number for 81 lab tests by using the BeaconLBS system is “onerous” and will cause significant “work flow interruptions for office-based physicians.”

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Volume XXI No. 11 – August 11, 2014

In this issue:

ONE OF THE BIGGEST UNKNOWNS in the lab testing industry today is Theranos, the lab testing company based in Palo Alto, California. It says its proprietary technology is poised to transform the lab testing experience for patients and physicians, allowing it to perform hundreds of lab tests, using a finger stick collection with a micro-specimen and return results in four hours. THE DARK REPORT sent its editor to have Theranos perform lab tests for him and his physician, and he reports on his experience here.

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Volume XXI No. 10 – July 21, 2014

In this issue:

SWIFT TRANSFORMATION of the American healthcare system is causing financial challenges for those clinical labs and pathology groups that have been slow to react to these developments. At NorDx Laboratories in Scarborough, Maine, the team is following the classic five rules for laboratory success. However, as NorDx CEO Stan Schofield said in his presentation at the Executive War College in April, in today’s more competitive marketplace, it is essential to drop the “old school” execution of these essential rules and adopt “new school” approaches to be successful. Also, lab executives asked to join UnitedHealth’s new BeaconLBS lab benefit management system in Florida have multiple concerns. The primary issue is that BeaconLBS is a subsidiary of LabCorp—their major competitor.

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Volume XXI No. 9 – June 30, 2014

In this issue:

CHANGES IN HEALTHCARE are motivating insurers and the nation’s largest lab testing companies to enter into contracts in which the large lab company lowers its lab test prices to the payer in return for having the payer exclude that lab company’s toughest competitors from the payer’s provider network. Also, one expert says the next three years will bring major changes to healthcare including a swift adoption of budgeted, not value-based care, more consolidation that creates behemoth health systems, and a shift from a vertical business model to a horizontal business model. For labs, he predicts that this consolidation will reduce the number of customers.

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Volume XXI No. 8 – June 9, 2014

In this issue:

IT MAY SOUND RIDICULOUS to assert that the nation’s largest health insurers are now “waging war” against clinical labs. However, some very smart people in the profession of laboratory medicine are expressing this opinion. To support such a conclusion, they point to payers’ recent drastic price cuts and network contracting strategies. Moreover, these lab observers are concerned that, without a vigorous response by lab industry leaders, many community labs will be forced to close in coming years.

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Volume XXI No. 7 – May 19, 2014

In this issue:

TO FILL THE UNMET DEMAND for quality clinical laboratory testing in China, a partnership between pathologists at UCLA and Centre Testing International Corp. of Shenzen have built and will operate a lab facility in Shanghai. The new lab will open by late September 2014 and will initially provide core lab testing services to pharma-ceutical companies, other similar clients, and for clinical trials. The lab will then develop and offer sophisticated molecular, genetic, and next-generation gene sequencing test services for cancer and other diseases.

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Volume XXI NO. 6 – April 28, 2014

In this issue:

FOR DECADES, PATHOLOGISTS HAVE POINTED OUT that their expertise in laboratory medicine can be tapped by physicians to improve utilization of lab tests, contribute to improved patient outcomes, and reduce the overall cost of care. And that’s exactly what’s happening at Atrius Health, where new value-based reimbursement models and integration of clinical care have created an opportunity for pathologists and lab experts to develop care pathways and help physicians order the right laboratory test at the right time. Also, labs are facing bad debt exposure from new patients in ACA plans.

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Volume XXI No. 5 – April 7, 2014

In this issue:

QUIETLY PUBLISHED in the March 25 issue of the Federal Register was a notice that CMS had granted deeming authority for CLIA to the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). This action gives laboratories in the United States a new choice to meet the accreditation requirements of CLIA. Founded in 1978, A2LA is itself recognized as compliant with ISO 17011 and has offered ISO 15189 accreditation services to clinical labs for more than a decade. This is the first time in two decades that CMS has granted deemed status to a new organization for CLIA requirements.

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CURRENT ISSUE

Volume XXXIII, No. 4 – March 23, 2026

A federal court ruling has established a safe harbor for clinical labs when they run tests ordered by physicians. Lab leaders should examine this briefing for pitfalls. Also, it turns out that providers may be ordering inappropriate vitamin D tests, according to one expert.

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