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October 12, 2009 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
In the continuing saga of health reform efforts in Washington, DC, the clinical laboratory industry got a bit of good news, at least for the moment. In recent weeks, the Senate Finance Committee removed a provision to raise $750 million annually by enacting a tax on clinical lab revenue. The proposed…
$750 Million Lab Test Tax Proposed in Senate Bill
CEO SUMMARY: A bill that may be the U.S. Senate’s framework for reforming the U.S. healthcare system calls for a tax of $750 million per year to be paid by lab testing companies. The proposed bill also calls for a reduction in Medicare reimbursement for lab testing. One positiv…
CMS Refuses to Return Competitive Bid Docs
CEO SUMMARY: The Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has refused the request of three San Diego-area labs for the return of their bid documents—even though the competitive bidding demonstration project was repealed by Congress last July. The HHS Acting Secretary…
Medically Unlikely Edits Are Back–and a Problem!
CEO SUMMARY: On January 1, 2009, CMS implemented Phase VIII of its policy on medically unlikely edits (MUEs) involving about 100 laboratory CPT Codes. It also began to deny whole claims, not just the “medically unlikely” parts of claims. After hearing of the problem in early …
Unprecedented Times Lie Ahead For Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s a lab industry first: insight and analysis about why hospital/health system laboratories are already feeling the financial pinch as their parent organizations scramble to conserve and accumulate cash. That’s bad news for IVD vendors and other lab industry …
Medicare Carrier Proposes No Pay for Vitamin D Test
CEO SUMMARY: Medicare contractor NGS wants to end payment to labs and physicians for routine Vitamin D testing. In a proposed local coverage determination (LCD), the Medicare carrier says it would cover Vitamin D testing only for patients with chronic kidney disease, osteomalacia…
December 22, 2008 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Last Thursday, Sunquest Information Systems, Inc. of Tucson, Arizona, announced that it would purchase the “Outreach Advantage Solution” software system developed by Pathology Associates Medical Laborator ies of Spokane, Washington. PAML has spent most of this de…
ICD-10 Conversion Costs Underestimated by HHS
CEO SUMMARY: Criticism of the October 1, 2011 implementation date for ICD-10 is building. Last week, a new study was released that highlights how federal officials underestimated the costs and time required to implement the complex new codes for ICD-10. One large national laboratory compa…
New Senate Bills Include Repeal of Competitive Bid
CEO SUMMARY: One proposed Senate bill would repeal the laboratory competitive bidding demonstration project, replace the 10.1% cut to physician fees with a 1.1% increase, and extend the so-called technical component (TC) grandfather clause. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana),…
Three San Diego Labs Stop Competitive Bid Demo
CEO SUMMARY: Last Tuesday, a federal judge handed a big court victory to the three plaintiffs in their lawsuit seeking to delay or stop implementation of the Medicare Laboratory Competitive Bidding Demonstration pilot in the San Diego area. In his written opinion, the judge ruled in favor…
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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