Patients, payors and health exchanges await nervously as the drama over the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) continues to play out. It looked like the U.S. Supreme Court had settled the issue … [Read more...]
PAMA Unlocks Golden Age for Innovative Diagnostics
By Chance Scott bio The publication of the 2018 Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) in January saw a long and heated debate within the lab community come to fruition. When Congress … [Read more...]
How to Adjust to the April 2018 Medicare Beneficiary Cards
By Sean McSweeney bio In a press release on May 30, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) commented regarding their fraud prevention initiative program and their … [Read more...]
Utilization Trends: Teaching Hospitals Consistently Order More Lab Tests
A new study provides solid evidence for a long-held assumption about how hospitals consume lab tests: teaching hospitals utilize tests at a consistently higher rate than nonteaching hospitals. The … [Read more...]
High-Deductible Plans Tied to Reduced Use of Health Care, Including Diagnostic Testing
People enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) cut their use of health services, including laboratory testing, according to a study published in the October issue of Health Affairs. HDHPs … [Read more...]
“Applicable Labs”: The Fly in the PAMA Market-Based Pricing Ointment
The lab industry has no objection to basing Medicare payments for lab tests on the actual rates charged to payors in the private market. What has the industry so upset is how CMS has executed the … [Read more...]
AACC Calls for Lab Professionals to Support Value-Based Care
Laboratory professionals have a central role to play in supporting the transition to value-based care, according to a position statement released by the American Academy of Clinical Chemistry on May … [Read more...]
ACA Impacts Screening Test Usage
As efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have not yet resulted in its repeal, it appears there has been an uptick in preventive screening caused by the ACA. Yet, cancer-screening rates in … [Read more...]
FDA Exempts 71 Class I Device Types From 510(k) Filings
The FDA has determined that 71 device types, including some diagnostic test kits, should be exempt from 510(k) filings. These devices are deemed "sufficiently well understood and do not present … [Read more...]
Trump Budget “Blueprint”: 4 Ways It Will Impact Labs
President Trump's 2018 budget proposal includes a number of items likely to affect your laboratory. Here are the four things lab managers need to know about the proposal. What It Is & Is Not The … [Read more...]