TAG:
clinical laboratory tests
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…
Lawsuits Alleging Overcharges to Proceed in Two Courts in 2020
CEO SUMMARY: Two lawsuits filed in federal courts against Laboratory Corporation of America and Quest Diagnostics may have consequences for the entire lab industry. The plaintiffs are patients who allege that the two defendant lab companies charged them as much as 10 times more than what …
2019’s Top 10 Lab Stories Reveal Major Laboratory Industry Trends
This is an excerpt of a 3,163-word article in the Dec. 16, 2019 issue of THE DARK REPORT (TDR). The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: There was plenty of bad news in 2019 for clinical labs and pathology groups. Yet lurking inside this new…
ASCP, CAP Ask Anthem to Roll Back Price Cuts
CEO SUMMARY: One association representing pathologists says new payment rates that Anthem, Inc., is introducing in 14 states do not cover the costs of performing anatomic pathology and clinical lab testing for the tests in question. Another association says the steep payment cuts threaten…
After Two-Year Battle with CMS, True Health on Verge of Collapse
CEO SUMMARY: In 2017, an auditor for CMS alleged that True Health filed fraudulent claims and the federal Medicare program cut all payments to the lab company and one month later reduced the cut to 35% of the billed amount. Two months ago, CMS ended all payments again. These facts became …
Aetna Ends Payment for Professional Component
CEO SUMMARY: As of Aug. 1, Aetna will stop paying out-of-network pathologists for the professional component review of certain clinical pathology tests. Until now, the health insurer has paid for the professional component when out-of-network labs billed for clinical lab tests using the m…
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…
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…
New UnitedHealthCare Preferred Lab Network Launches July 1
This is an excerpt from a 1,900-word article in the April 29, 2019 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: A new UnitedHealthCare (UHC) preferred lab network will launch July 1 with seven lab companies. In an April…
Best Ways to Gather, Access, Report PAMA Price Data to CMS
CEO SUMMARY: All clinical labs required to report their private payer lab test price data are now in the midst of collecting that data. One big change in PAMA reporting is that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services now defines most hospital and health system labs as “ap…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXVII, No. 18 – December 28, 2020
There are several surprises in The Dark Report’s annual list of the Top 10 Lab Stories for 2020. Despite the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic dominating every aspect of clinical care, social life, and economic activities since March, at least one major health insurer pushed ahead with two major policies governing how labs can submit claims. In another big story, for the first time in decades, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law were revised with new final rules. Also, Medicare lab test spending increased in 2019 despite PAMA cuts.
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