TAG:
laboratory test
New Federal Law Changes How CMS Sets Lab Prices
CEO SUMMARY: CMS wanted more power to cut the prices it pays for clinical lab testing. A significant part of the lab industry wanted more transparency and consistency in how CMS established coverage guidelines and prices for new lab tests. Congress appears to have attempted to craft a law…
Congress’ New SGR Law Has Mixed News for Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Once again, the lab industry faces a mixed bag following passage of a new law by Congress last week. Besides the one-year fix for the SGR, H.R. 4302 also has language that may defer adjustments to Medicare Part B lab test fees until 2017 and creates a new procedure for Medica…
April 07, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service’s (NHS) biggest consolidation of clinical laboratory services is expected to take place in May, after the government’s Office of Fair Trading said it will conduct no further investigation into the project. Six health trusts are c…
CMS Gives Deemed Status to A2LA under CLIA Law
CEO SUMMARY: Quietly published in the March 25 issue of the Federal Register was a notice that CMS had granted deeming authority for CLIA to the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). This action gives laboratories in the United States a new choice to meet the accredita…
Clinical Labs Spending Money in New Ways
CEO SUMMARY: In response to the many changes now unfolding in the U.S. healthcare system, labs are investing their scarce capital in different ways. Five trends in lab spending can be identified. They range from expanding the informatics capabilities of a lab organization to acquiring the…
March 17, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
People walking down a street in Weatherford, Connecticut on March 10, found lab test reports for at least 16 patients, according to a news report by a local television news station. This is a breach of protected health information (PHI) under the federal HIPAA statute. Reporters from WSFB contacted o…
Physician Group ACO Targets High-Volume Tests for Savings
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW an accountable care organization views cost control. Atrius Health sought to control excess costs by focusing on high-priced items. It started with inappropriate hospitalizations and imaging studies and moved on to laboratory testing. Atrius Health is…
New Mass Spectrometry Toxicology Test Delivers Clinical Benefits
CEO SUMMARY: Researchers at the University of Colorado in Aurora used mass spectrometry technology to create a paradigm-shifting toxicology test. It uses a urine specimen and can identify 112 compounds and more than 500 illicit and brand-name drugs in a single assay. For pain management t…
Federal Judge Lets Trial Proceed in Case against Quest
CEO SUMMARY: Four California labs have charged that Quest Diagnostics engaged in predatory pricing in a case filed originally in November 2012. After the lawsuit was amended last summer and fall, U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick III heard various motions in the case. On February 6 he…
Scrutinizing the Cost of Lab Testing
IT SEEMS LIKE THE COST OF LABORATORY TESTING continues to be a high-profile issue. On the pages that follow, you will read two different stories about how the cost of lab testing is undergoing intense scrutiny. This is not an accident. Rather, it shows how healthcare’s evolution is already undermin…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 7 – May 12, 2025
Economic, Tech changes drive lab concerns, The Dark Report provides insights from the Executive War College speakers about how clinical labs can use business strategies and tactics to handle the new tariffs, future regulations, and artificial intelligence (AI). Also, this issue provides guidance on how labs and pathologists should prepare for payer audits.
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