Jun 29, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Management & Operations
Price transparency expected to encourage competition among healthcare providers, including medical laboratories
Before consumers visit a clinical laboratory, they can now check the “fair” price of medical laboratory tests. New websites have sprung up that make it easy for consumers to find what experts consider to be fair market prices for each type of lab test, as well as for other medical procedures and healthcare services.
Pathologists should think of the well-known “Kelly Blue Book” that has been the price authority for prices of new and used automobiles for decades. These new medical price websites are easy to use and make it quick for a consumer to find “fair” prices for common clinical laboratory test and medical procedure.
These new web-based companies are organized to serve the needs of consumers who are enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHP). For an individual, an annual deductible can be as high as $2,500—and as much as $5,000 for a family. Thus, clinical laboratory managers should not be surprised that consumers are actively price-shopping before they visit their laboratory to have a specimen collected.
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Nov 14, 2011 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Two Senate committees seem interested in how certain medical laboratories offer discounted laboratory test prices to selected health insurers
Is it a coincidence that discounted medical laboratory test pricing offered by the nation’s two largest clinical laboratory companies appears to now be the subject of interest for the Senate Judiciary and Senate Finance Committees? Last Tuesday, Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a press release titled “Grassley, Baucus Scrutinize Practice by Health Insurers and Testing Labs.”
Baucus is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Grassley is the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Together, these two Senators sent letters last week to two clinical laboratory companies and three big health insurance firms: (more…)
Oct 28, 2011 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Data represents $1 trillion in spending since 2000 and contains clinical laboratory and pathology data
In what may turn out to be a positive development for clinical laboratories and pathology group practices, four of the nation’s five biggest health insurance companies will collaborate and put their medical claims data for billions of transactions into a single data base. Researchers say this database will give them an unprecedented ability to assess utilization trends and the clinical care delivered to patients covered by private health insurance.
The four health insurance companies that will provide data are:
The data provided by each of these health insurers will be submitted to the newly-created Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). This data will consist of more than five billion medical claims dating back to 2000. These claims represent more than $1 trillion in spending. The health insurers are also providing the financing required to launch HCCI. (more…)
