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
PAMA Unlocks Golden Age for Innovative Diagnostics
July 30, 2018
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...]
MACRA REQUIREMENT
How to Adjust to the April 2018 Medicare Beneficiary Cards
July 9, 2018
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...]
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Utilization Trends: Teaching Hospitals Consistently Order More Lab Tests
January 9, 2018
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...]
HEALTH CARE REFORM
High-Deductible Plans Tied to Reduced Use of Health Care, Including Diagnostic Testing
November 27, 2017
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...]
MEDICARE COVERAGE
“Applicable Labs”: The Fly in the PAMA Market-Based Pricing Ointment
October 23, 2017
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...]
HEALTH CARE REFORM
AACC Calls for Lab Professionals to Support Value-Based Care
June 12, 2017
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...]
TESTING TRENDS
ACA Impacts Screening Test Usage
April 25, 2017
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
FDA Exempts 71 Class I Device Types From 510(k) Filings
April 25, 2017
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...]
TOP OF THE NEWS
Trump Budget “Blueprint”: 4 Ways It Will Impact Labs
March 31, 2017
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...]
