May 18, 2018 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
From reduced medical laboratory test ordering to dealing with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups are impacted daily by rising healthcare costs. Until now, however, one demographic was not affected—affluent Americans. But that is no longer the case. According to Bloomberg, thousands of people—some earning more than $125,000 a year—are now foregoing health insurance altogether and instead choosing concierge medicine because it costs less....
Sep 1, 2017 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Price transparency trend is altering decision-making in many aspects of healthcare and providing lesson for medical laboratory executives Medical laboratory executives are well aware that price transparency is an increasingly powerful trend in healthcare. Now, as consumers increasingly opt for lower-cost options when making healthcare decisions, the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides a notable example of this new reality, with consumers making cost, not choice, their top concern when...
Aug 28, 2017 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Two different deals aim to bring a new style of healthcare insurance to individuals and small businesses Designed to be a new model for health insurance, the much-watched Oscar Health (Oscar), founded in 2012, has just inked deals with both the Cleveland Clinic and Humana, Inc. What makes Oscar worth watching by pathologists and clinical laboratory managers is that the innovative insurer was founded and is run by Gen X and Gen Y (Millennial) executives. Oscar Health is billed by its Millennial...
May 31, 2017 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
As the latest attempts to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) generate increased debate over protections for pre-existing conditions, Kaiser Family Foundation highlights that using pre-ACA underwriting guidelines would result in an estimated 52-million Americans unable to obtain coverage With the American Health Care Act (AHCA) clearing the House on the way to the Senate, the public and media are scrutinizing key points. One highly-contested topic is insurance availability for people with...
Apr 10, 2017 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Aetna’s CEO Mark Bertolini highlights how the current system increases costs for both insurers and consumers At the moment, probably no issue is more politicized than that of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called Obamacare. Because it controls the design of health insurance coverage, it also influences the way health plans pay hospitals, physicians, clinical laboratories, and anatomic pathology groups. However, understanding the truth about what is working and what is not with the...
