TAG:
lab tests
Cigna Expands Program For Genetic Counseling When Genetic Tests Are Needed
CEO SUMMARY: For three years, Cigna has required genetic counseling for members seeking genetic testing for hereditary breast, ovarian, and colorectal cancer, and for a particular heart condition. Such counseling increased member satisfaction, causing Cigna to expand the program. It now r…
July 25, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Throughout the profession of laboratory medicine, concern is surfacing following publication of a proposed rule by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would expand the authority of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to supervise and perform laboratory testing. This …
PAMA Final Rule Issued, CMS Plans to Cut Rates by 5.6%
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…
Florida Pathology Group Lost Volume After BeaconLBS Started
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…
PAMA Final Rule a Threat To Community Lab Survival
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…
Quest to Manage Six Labs at HCA HealthONE Hospitals
CEO SUMMARY: For decades, hospitals were reluctant to allow any outside lab company to run their inpatient lab operations because they preferred to maintain control over quality results and turnaround times. That attitude may be changing as health systems face increasing margin compressio…
Walgreens Tells Theranos: ‘Lab Deal Is Terminated’
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…
Genetic Testing Lab Finds Payers Respond To Education on Test Utility
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…
UnitedHealth Sues 5 Tox Labs, Says It Was Defrauded of $50M
FLORIDA IS ONCE AGAIN GROUND ZERO for a major case of lab testing fraud. UnitedHealthcare has filed suit against five toxicology laboratory companies, three general partners in those companies, eight urinalysis referral sources, and other entities, claiming the defendants defrauded t…
Lab, Emergency Department at Cleveland Clinic Collaborate to Reduce Hemolysis Rates
CEO SUMMARY: Two years ago, the rate of hemolysis in blood drawn in the Cleveland Clinic’s Emergency Department was about nine times higher than the ASCP recommended rate of 2%. With a two-year cooperative agreement and funding from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
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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