Aug 21, 2013 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Many hospital outreach lab programs are dealing with the double whammy of successive reductions in Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Test fees and a shrinking budget by their parent hospitals
Over the past 24 months, all the painful cuts to lab test prices have made depressing news. These decreases in the prices paid to clinical laboratories by the Medicare program and major private health insurers mean that labs in 2014 will have significantly less revenue, even as the volume of specimens to be tested increases.
The logical response by many medical laboratory organizations has been to take active steps to decrease expenses. In fact, the price and revenue erosion experienced by labs of all sizes and types over the past two years is the reason why cutting unnecessary costs is now a primary management goal at clinical laboratories throughout the United States. (more…)
Nov 21, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Uncategorized
Nation’s smaller independent medical laboratories and pathology groups provide clinical lab testing services in many under-served communities
Nov. 21, 2012, WASHINGTON, DC—Last Thursday, owners of independent clinical laboratory companies fanned out across Capitol Hill to meet with their respective Senators and Representatives. Probably the number one concern of these lab owners was further cuts to the Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Test Fee Schedule.
Congress is preparing to tackle a host of spending issues, not the least which is the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate sustainable growth rates(SGR). Earlier this year, in February, Congress raided Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Test Fees by $2.7 billion over 10 years to provide a source of funding to temporarily fix SGR. (See Dark Daily, “In Fixing Physician Medicare Pay, Congress Enacts Yet Another Cut in Clinical Laboratory Test Fee Schedule,” February 20, 2012.) (more…)
Nov 16, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Organized by the National Association of Independent Laboratories, this effort attempts to educate lawmakers about the negative impact of cuts to Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Test fees
November 16, WASHINGTON, DC—This week, an intrepid group of clinical laboratory owners gathered in the nation’s capital specifically to visit their Senators and Representatives. The goal was to educate these elected officials about the tenuous financial condition of independent medical laboratory companies.
In particular, ongoing budget cuts to the Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Test Fee Schedule are undermining the ability of medical laboratories to deliver top-flight lab test services. This is particularly true for smaller independent clinical laboratories, particularly these located in communities not well-served by national lab companies. (more…)
