TAG:
executive war college
Cigna Program Addresses Genetic Test Utilization
CEO SUMMARY: Cigna launched a program that requires genetic counseling for patients and pre-authorization of genetic tests. Its partner is InformedDNA, a firm that provides genetic counseling services. The goals include better patient engagement, improved test utilization…
PeaceHealth Lab Helps Docs with Info to Improve Outcomes
CEO SUMMARY: Described by its CEO as “an information company that happens to do laboratory testing,” PeaceHealth Laboratories of Springfield, Oregon, is moving swiftly to develop and deliver value-added services to its client physicians. The lab’s goal is to help re…
Laboratory Offers Early Lessons in Positioning for Success with ACOs
CEO SUMMARY: Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are already leading the shift from fee-for-service reimbursement to population payment. ACOs are leading healthcare’s evolution to preventive care, wellness, and better management of patients with chronic disease. This evolution will re…
Health Insurers See Big Increase in Lab Utilization
CEO SUMMARY: In a recent public workshop, managed care executives revealed that the annual cost of outpatient laboratory testing is increasing at twice the rate of all other medical services. One big driver in the increased spending on lab testing is increased utilization…
Aetna To Lower Lab Test Prices, New Fees Are Effective on July 1
IN RECENT MONTHS, labs are reporting the receipt of letters from Aetna, Inc., announcing that it will pay dramatically less than Medicare prices for many key lab tests. Aetna said that these lower prices will take effect on July 1, 2013. Three examples illustrate the deep fee cuts t…
Labs Should Prepare for Larger Patient Deductibles
CEO SUMMARY: Employers are taking active steps to control the year-over-year increases in the cost of health benefits. One strategy gaining favor is to move employees away from traditional health plans and enroll them in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). This is a trend with huge fina…
Executive War College Sessions Center Upon Three Trends
CEO SUMMARY: There was an interesting blend of anxiety and optimism as a record crowd gathered in New Orleans last week for the 18th annual Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management. The anxiety was rooted in the shrinking prices paid by payers for lab testing services….
Unpaid for Molecular Tests, Some Labs Are Closing
THERE IS GREAT FRUSTRATION ACROSS THE LABORATORY MEDICINE PROFESSION on the subject of getting paid for claims covered by the new Tier I and Tier II molecular test CPT codes. We are now in the fifth month of the year and pathologists are still waiting for an acceptable resolution to this situation. …
Anticipating Washington’s Next Blows to Lab Testing
CEO SUMMARY: With the advent of 2013, almost every lab was responding to some type of price cut. Clinical labs are dealing with the sequential, multi-year cuts to the Medicare Part B Lab Test Price Schedule. Anatomic pathology labs are still adjusting to the expiration of the TC Grandfath…
Road Map to Most Pressing Trends In Healthcare
YOU SHOULD FIND THIS ISSUE OF THE DARK REPORT TO BE A USEFUL ROAD MAP to several of the major trends now confronting clinical labs and pathology groups across the United States. One trend involves payer efforts to control the cost of lab tests. A second trend centers upon accountable…
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.