Apr 1, 2020 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
Price shopping for clinical laboratories and other healthcare services and surgical procedures creates a ‘healthy competitive environment,’ an Optum executive noted With the threat of infection from SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) on the minds of most Americans, price transparency for medical care is more critical than ever, and new smartphone applications (apps) are helping patients shop for the best prices and quality when selecting healthcare, including clinical laboratory...
Mar 4, 2020 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
By negotiating directly with healthcare providers, employers cut health insurers out of the loop, at least for certain specified healthcare conditions and surgeries It’s a new trend in how employers provide healthcare benefits for their employees. In order to save money, a growing number of employers are going to low-cost hospitals, physicians, and other providers to contract directly for their services. This may be the opening that allows some clinical laboratories to approach larger...
Dec 18, 2019 | Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
North Carolina turned to reference pricing to reduce employee health costs, but hospitals in the Tarheel State fought back Efforts by North Carolina’s State Health Plan to adopt reference pricing for its state employees have largely failed, due to united opposition to the reimbursement model by the state’s hospitals, Modern Healthcare reported. Clinical laboratory leaders are aware that reference pricing is a tool employers and health insurer can use to reduce the wide variation different...
Aug 9, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Following the raid, the company’s co-founders resigned from the board of directors Microbiome testing company, uBiome, a biotechnology developer that offers at-home direct-to-consumer (DTC) test kits to health-conscious individuals who wish to learn more about the bacteria in their gut, or who want to have their microbiome genetically sequenced, has recently come under investigation by insurance companies and state regulators that are looking into the company’s business practices. CNBC...
Dec 13, 2017 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing
Recognizing the need to serve patients with high-deductible health plans, hospital systems are opening healthcare centers in outpatient settings where patients can receive care and undergo procedures—including clinical laboratory tests—more conveniently and for less cost Health systems are putting medical imaging services, such as MRIs, in strip malls and shopping centers as a way to make it easier for patients. Such locations can also offer lower-cost procedures because of lower overhead...