Jan 21, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Experts blame insurance regulators for not ensuring the adequacy of healthcare networks that include hospital-based physicians, such as pathologists and radiologists According to a recent study, clinical laboratories, anatomic pathologists, radiologists, and anesthesiologists top the list of providers who bill patients for the difference between what they charge for their services and a hospital’s contracted reimbursement rates. This so-called “balance-billing” not only causes hardship for...
Jan 16, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Popularity of Medicare Advantage Plans fuels influx of new companies into the marketplace with anticipated enrollment of more than 22.6 million beneficiaries, or more than one-third of Medicare-eligible consumers Continuing enrollment growth in Medicare Advantage plans is expected in 2019 and beyond. The projections are for double-digit percentage increases in Medicare Advantage enrollees. This is not auspicious for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups because it means a...
Jan 14, 2019 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
All labs face the challenge of coping with shrinking budgets and staffing shortages, which is why coaching, management observation, and continuous improvement initiatives are proving helpful to medical laboratories It’s the biggest generational shift since baby boomers began working in clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. Across the nation, labs are watching their most experienced and knowledgeable medical technologists and other lab scientists retire. The need to train their...
Jan 9, 2019 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Rising cost of prescription drugs tops Becker’s list of ‘headwinds’ facing healthcare industry, but no clinical laboratory issues make the list Clinical laboratory managers and anatomic pathologists working in hospitals and health network systems will find their employers facing many familiar challenges in the coming year. And a report by Becker’s Hospital Review (Becker’s) predicts the top challenges it expects hospitals and health systems to encounter in 2019. Topping the list is the rising...
Dec 10, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, Uncategorized
Clinical laboratory leaders will want to pay close attention to a significant development in Maryland. The state’s All-Payer Medicare program—the nation’s only all-payer hospital rate regulation system—is broadening in scope to include outpatient services starting Jan. 1. The expanded program could impact independent medical laboratories, according to the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA), which told Dark Daily that those labs may see hospitals reaching out to them. The Centers for Medicare...
Dec 7, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Experts say medical laboratories must overcome staffing challenges and develop a culture of continual inspection readiness Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups will be entering 2019 facing not only financial upheaval from Medicare Part B fee cuts and narrowing payer networks, but also an increasingly rigorous and ever-evolving regulatory environment. Although the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) requirements have not undergone major changes since debuting in...
