Things are getting ugly. The unfortunate convergence of resurgent COVID-19 cases, lingering testing supply bottlenecks and Thanksgiving are once more stretching labs to the breaking point and fraying … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
NIPT Lab Company Pays $49 Million to Settle False Billing and Kickback Charges
September 11, 2020
Case: A month after going public, Progenity agreed to shell out $49 million to settle claims of overbilling and paying physicians kickbacks to order its noninvasive prenatal tests (NIPT). The case, … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
Connecticut Methadone Clinic Settles Urine Drug Test False Billing Charges for $354.3K
August 29, 2020
Case: A methadone clinic settled claims of overbilling the Connecticut Medicaid Program for urine drug tests for $354,367. Under state rules, methadone clinics receive a bundled weekly per patient … [Read more...]
Compliance Alert
Be Sure You Can Document Medical Necessity of COVID-19 ‘Add-On Tests’
August 4, 2020
Memo to Lab Compliance Managers: Brace yourself for what may become the next big federal false billing crackdown against labs, specifically labs performing COVID-19 tests. The OIG has let it be known … [Read more...]
Reimbursement
Payors Gradually Increasing Coverage of Liquid Biopsies but Obstacles Remain
July 28, 2020
Gaining the acceptance of insurers and payors for new tests and testing technology is a perennial challenge for laboratories and test developers. This has been especially true with liquid biopsy … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
Arizona Lab’s 20-Year Quest to Regain CLIA Certification Comes Up Empty
July 2, 2020
Case: CMS revoked an Arizona lab’s CLIA certification in 2000. Three unsuccessful appeals and one failed petition to the U.S. Supreme Court later—eight years in total—the seven CLIA deficiencies, … [Read more...]
Reimbursement
Feds Say Insurers Not Required to Pay for Employer Return to Work COVID-19 Testing
June 30, 2020
Since the public health emergency began, the US government has taken the position that insurers shouldn’t be allowed to make consumers pay for COVID-19 lab tests. But now comes news that insurers will … [Read more...]
Billing & Coding
AMA Creates New CPT Code 87426 for COVID-19 Antigen Testing
June 30, 2020
On June 24, the American Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) approved new CPT code 87426 to report COVID-19 antigen tests, which use immunofluorescent or immunochromatographic … [Read more...]
Billing & Coding
CMS Issues Reminders for Billing COVID-19 Specimen Collection & Symptom/Exposure Assessment
June 29, 2020
On June 18, CMS offered up some guidance on billing Medicare for COVID-19 symptom and exposure assessment and specimen collection performed on and after March 1, 2020: Use CPT code 99211 to bill … [Read more...]
Medicare Reimbursement
CMS Waivers Expand COVID-19 Testing Coverage Rules
June 1, 2020
On May 1, CMS issued regulatory waivers temporarily expanding coverage and clarifying billing of COVID-19 testing for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries during the public health emergency (PHE). Here … [Read more...]
