TAG:
lab test
PAMA Final Rule Issued, CMS Plans to Cut Rates by 5.6%
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXIII No. 9 – July 5, 2016 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: CMS issued its final rule for implementing the laboratory payment reform included in the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) on June 17. All labs will see significant reductions to the Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule that becomes effective on Jan…
Is CMS about to Create New Lab Winners, Losers?
By R. Lewis Dark | From the Volume XXIII No. 9 – July 5, 2016 Issue
FROM ITS INCEPTION IN 1966, THE MEDICARE PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED to give beneficiaries easy access to healthcare services while allowing any qualified provider to provide those clinical services. That is about to change for…
PAMA Final Rule a Threat To Community Lab Survival
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXIII No. 9 – July 5, 2016 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Will implementation of the final PAMA private payment rate reporting rule for labs put smaller, community labs at financial risk? Yes, says the National Independent Laboratory Association (NILA). By deliberately setting a standard to exclude private payer payment data from ho…
McKesson, Change Healthcare Decide to Create New Company
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXIII No. 9 – July 5, 2016 Issue
ACROSS THE NATION, the hundreds of pathology groups and clinical labs that use McKesson Technology Solutions for their billing and collections, along with labs that use the Advanced Diagnostics Solutions group, should pay attention to a major corporate deal announced…
New Threat To Community Lab Survival: CMS Clinical Lab Fee Schedule Cuts
By Mary Van Doren | From the Volume XXIII No. 9 – July 5, 2016 Issue
This is an excerpt from a 2,000-word article in the July 5 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The original article is available to paid members of the Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: Everyone has read the basic facts, but THE DARK REPORT has gone further …
Florida Pathology Group Lost Volume After BeaconLBS Started
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXIII No. 9 – July 5, 2016 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: A 22-physician pathology group in Tampa has complied with rules for lab test ordering that UnitedHealthcare and BeaconLBS established, yet has experienced a steep decline in the volume of specimens it receives. Physicians told the pathologists that other labs were not using t…
July 5, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIII No. 9 – July 5, 2016 Issue
More developments have happened at Theranos, Inc., the beleaguered clinical lab company based in Palo Alto, California. On June 24, Brook Buchanan, Vice President of Communications at Theranos, resigned, giving personal reasons for the decision. Buchanan was hired in November 2015, …
Quest Makes Second Deal For Inpatient Lab Volume
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXIII No. 8 – June 13, 2016 Issue
NEWS OF A HOSPITAL INPATIENT LAB MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT between HealthONE of Denver and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated marks the second time in six months that the public lab company has earned an inpatient lab management pact with a multi-hospital health system. Ther…
Genetic Testing Lab Finds Payers Respond To Education on Test Utility
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXIII No. 8 – June 13, 2016 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: In recent years, insurers have raised the bar and become much tougher when making coverage and reimbursement decisions for molecular assays, genomic, and genetic tests. Yet several lab testing companies are having good success at demonstrating the validity and clinical utilit…
Walgreens Tells Theranos: ‘Lab Deal Is Terminated’
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIII No. 8 – June 13, 2016 Issue
BREAKING NEWS: As this issue of THE DARK REPORT went to press, it was learned that Walgreens had announced the termination of its lab testing agreement with Theranos, effective immediately. Theranos loses access to about 40 Walgreens pharmacies in Phoe…
CURRENT ISSUE

Volume XXXII, No. 13 – September 15, 2025
The Dark Report examines a new bill that would reform PAMA and avoid reimbursement rate cuts scheduled for January 2026. Clinical laboratory leaders are urged to make their voices heard in Congress. Also, an expert describes how labs can fix pre-analytical errors and avoid disaster.
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.
Topics
- Anatomic Pathology
- Clinical Chemistry
- Clinical Laboratory
- Clinical Laboratory Trends
- Digital Pathology
- Genetic Testing
- In Vitro Diagnostics
- IVD/Lab Informatics
- Lab Intelligence
- Lab Marketplace
- Lab Risk & Compliance
- Laboratory Automation
- Laboratory Billing
- Laboratory Compliance
- Laboratory Equipment
- Laboratory Information Systems
- Laboratory Management
- Lean Six Sigma
- Managed Care Contracts
- Molecular Diagnostics
- Pathology Trends
- People
- Uncategorized