News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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New Federal Law Has Potential to Financially Devastate Local Clinical Laboratories, While Favoring Larger National Medical Labs

“Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014” requires most medical laboratories to report market data and allows Medicare officials cut prices of Part B lab tests beginning in 2017

NEW ORLEANS, LA—No single development in the clinical laboratory industry grabbed more attention last week at the Executive War College than news that a new federal law gives Medicare officials the ability to reduce prices of individual medical laboratory tests by as much as 75% between 2017 and 2022.

This law is titled the “Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014” (PAMA). Congress passed this legislation to patch the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula until April 2015. (more…)

Quest Diagnostics Discloses Pending Agreement to Pay California $241 Million to Settle Medi-Cal Medical Laboratory Test Pricing Case

A final settlement between both parties may become the template state officials use to resolve Medi-Cal overcharge claims involving other clinical pathology laboratories

Authorities in California and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) appear to be close to resolving a major lawsuit involving allegations that the nation’s largest clinical laboratory company had overcharged Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, for a period of years beginning in 1995.

Last week, Quest Diagnostics announced it had “reached an agreement in principle to settle a previously disclosed civil lawsuit” and, as part of this agreement in principle, it will pay $241 million to settle the legal matter.
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