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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Providers, Payers and CMS Gear Up for ICD-10 Implementation, but Will They Be Prepared for Launch by October 1, 2014?

Pathologists and medical laboratory managers have only nine months to prepare their labs for ICD-10 implementation

Most clinical laboratory managers and pathologists know that October 1, 2014, is the date for implementation of ICD-10. After that date, each Medicare claim submitted by a medical laboratory must include the ICD-10 code provided by the referring physician.

This is a unique reason why clinical laboratories and pathology groups have keen interest in a smooth transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Medicare will reject clinical laboratory test claims that either don’t have an ICD-10 code or have an incorrect ICD-10 code. Thus, labs hope that their client physicians make a smooth transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. (more…)

Forbes Tells the World How Medicare Bollixed Molecular Diagnostic Test Payments, Leaving Nation’s Clinical Laboratories Unpaid for Months

Columnist Steve Gottlieb, M.D., wrote that “This sort of bungling may be without precedent, even for the Medicare agency”

Since the beginning of the year, most Medicare contractors and private health insurers have not paid clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology practices for molecular diagnostic test claims coded to the 114 new molecular test CPT codes.

This unprecedented situation of labs going unpaid for more than three months has created financial turmoil and uncertainty across the medical laboratory profession. In fact, the question must be asked: Did Forbes columnist Scott Gottlieb, M.D., wake up the nation’s Medicare contractors with his column published on March 27? (more…)

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