By Mike O’Brien bio For managers in charge of HR, the so-called lazy days of summer have been anything but lazy, as they strive to adapt to the COVID era and stay up to date on seemingly constant … [Read more...]
Reimbursement
Not Making Insurers Pay for Back-to-Work COVID-19 Testing May Leave Labs Holding the Bag
July 20, 2020
Who should pay for desperately needed COVID-19 testing? In the first stage of the public health crisis, the federal government’s answer was that insurers should pay the bills and not pass along the … [Read more...]
Beyond COVID-19
The 6 Hottest Lab Compliance Stories That Almost Nobody Is Paying Attention To
July 20, 2020
If not burnout, you may be suffering from a case of COVID-19 fatigue right now. And you’re not alone. The monster virus has seemingly consumed everything in its path over the past six months, … [Read more...]
Focus On
The Next Round of COVID-19 Legislation: What It Will Take to Prevent a Second Outbreak?
June 17, 2020
The next wave of federal COVID-19 relief legislation is in the works and the lab industry is doing its level best to ensure that it includes the necessary support for lab testing that the previously … [Read more...]
COVID-19 Politics & Lab Testing
$3 Trillion HEROES Stimulus Bill Clears House Will Die in Senate
May 20, 2020
On May 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 208 to 199, a new $3 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill that includes $75 billion to support diagnostic testing and contact tracing … [Read more...]
PAMA
COVID-19 Relief Bill Defers 2021 Medicare Part B Lab Test Price Cuts for One Year
April 14, 2020
The $2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act), provides for free coronavirus testing without adequately compensating the labs who perform the tests. … [Read more...]
Industry Buzz
COVID-19 Relief Bill Leaves Labs Out in the Cold
March 30, 2020
Labs who have answered the call to mobilize beyond capacity so that people can be tested for COVID-19 can be forgiven for thinking nobody in Washington “CARES” about them. What else are they supposed … [Read more...]
LDTs
Laboratory Developed Tests: The VALID Act is Back
March 18, 2020
With all the attention commanded by the coronavirus crisis, a potentially huge development affecting the future of the lab industry has flown under the radar. What’s at stake is the issue that has … [Read more...]
Congress Moves One Step Closer to Passing “Surprise Billing” Legislation
Prospects for the passage of legislation banning “surprise billing” of patients before the presidential election advanced significantly on Feb. 12 with the powerful House Ways and Committee … [Read more...]
EKRA: More than a Year Out, Major Questions Remain Unresolved
January 26, 2020
One of the scariest new lab compliance laws in recent memory is the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA). While laws banning remuneration in exchange for referrals is nothing new to … [Read more...]
