May 8, 2017 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Mergers that would have reshaped the nation’s largest insurance companies would directly affect the provider networks independent medical laboratories rely on
For pathology groups and medical laboratories, the news about two thwarted deals involving mega insurance companies might be seen as a positive development.
The proposed deals—Anthem’s $48-billion bid to buy Cigna, and a proposed $37-billion Aetna–Humana merger—would have reshaped the US health insurance industry had they not been blocked by federal judges who cited possible harm to market competition, Bloomberg reported.
For now, all four health insurance companies will continue to use their existing provider networks, which is good news for clinical laboratories. Experts had expected the bigger players in each deal—Anthem and Aetna—to possibly prune the provider networks of Cigna and Humana, respectively, which could have financially burdened thousands of healthcare organizations and independent medical laboratories. (more…)
Apr 13, 2015 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Under the DOJ’s settlement agreement, HDL may need to pay as much as $100 million, according to a published report
Health Diagnostics Laboratory Inc. (HDL), of Richmond, Virginia, and Singulex Inc., of Alameda, California, agreed to pay $48.5 million to settle charges that they violated the False Claims Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.
According to the DOJ, the labs violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by paying physicians in exchange for patient referrals, in addition to billing federal health care programs for medically unnecessary testing. Pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, and clinical laboratory directors have watched this case closely since it became public knowledge last fall.
Other Clinical Laboratories and Lab Executives Face Federal Lawsuits (more…)
Jan 9, 2015 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Survey results show pathologists and clinical lab managers why largest health insurers have market clout and can exclude local labs from their provider networks
Over the past two decades, ongoing mergers and acquisitions of health insurance organizations have led to ever-greater concentration of market share, even as the number of large health insurance companies has shrunk. One consequence of this trend is that many clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups have lost access to managed care patients.
The degree of market concentration will surprise most pathologists and medical laboratory professionals. The concentration of market ownership is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the 25 largest health insurers in the United States now control two-thirds of this $744-billion market. But the largest plans are not necessarily the best, according to 2013 consumer satisfaction surveys conducted by J.D. Power & Associates. (more…)
Apr 22, 2011 | Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
At issue is ability of biotech companies to hold patents on genes that might be used in clinical laboratory testing
Patents involving human genes have always been controversial among pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. This is one reason why many in the medical laboratory testing industry are following the progress of the well-publicized lawsuit that challenged certain patents involving human genes that are held by Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Myriad), of Salt Lake City, Utah.
In the trial, which was conducted last year, a federal judge ruled against Myriad Genetics. The company filed an appeal and, on April 4th, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Court of Appeals) heard oral arguments in the case of Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP) (plaintiffs) versus United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (defendants). This lawsuit was originally filed on March 29th, 2010, in the United States District Court Southern District of New York (District Court).
(more…)
