| R. Lewis Dark:
"Here's to Plain Talk and Clear Understanding!"
"WELL, SIR, HERE'S TO PLAIN TALK AND CLEAR UNDERSTANDING." That's a wellknown
line in the classic 1941 detective movie, "The Maltese Falcon." It's spoken
by the Kasper Gutman character, played by Sidney Greenstreet, to San
Francisco private eye, Sam Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart. Gutman thinks
Spade has the pricelessMaltese Falcon statue and he wants to get to the answers
quickly.
I've been reminded of that line during the past seven months, every time
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has stepped into the
public arena and discussed the impending Medicare Clinical Laboratory
Competitive Bidding Demonstration Project or released documents about
the pilot demonstration it plans to conduct in the San Diego-Carlsbad-San
Marcos MSA (metropolitan statistical area). Officials from CMS have
absolutely failed to meet the standards outlined by Kasper Gutman, when he
asked for "plain talk and clear understanding."
To the contrary, officials from CMS and its minions at RTI International,
Inc. (the contractor which has done development work for the past 12 years on
the laboratory competitive bidding project) have done the opposite of “plain
talk and clear understanding." They refuse to speak in a clear, understandable
manner. They decline to offer objective, frank, and easy-to-understand insights
about the requirements of the laboratory competitive bidding demonstration
project. What makes this doubly insulting to the laboratory profession is that
these same officials are public servants, chartered by the Constitution and various
statutes to serve in the interest of the American public, with due process, and
respect for the concepts of fair play that make this Republic an example of freedom
and the rule of law.
Against the morass of obfuscation, complexity, and deliberate negative bias
that marks the way CMS is proceeding with the lab competitive bidding demonstration,
I think it is refreshing how at least one leader in the lab industry is willing
to boldly use "plain talk and clear understanding" to state the obvious. As
you will read on the following pages, Alan Mertz, President of the American
Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) inWashington, DC, declared that the
laboratory competitive bidding demonstration is "coerced bidding to force labs
to bid below the true cost of providing the service... and that’s not a bid demonstration
which is objective and competitive." Kudos to Mr. Mertz. Let's hear
more plain talk and clear understanding from our lab industry leaders!
Labs Face "Coercive" Bid,
Not Competitive Bidding
Lab coalition plans next strategy to change most egregious aspects of Medicare Bidding Demo
CEO SUMMARY: In the weeks since the December 5 bidders’
conference in San Diego, where Medicare officials took the
wraps off the complete requirements for the Laboratory Bidding
Demonstration Project, the Clinical Laboratory Coalition has
begun to consider strategies to delay or cancel the project.
Options include litigation in court to stop the submission of bids
on February 15, as well as continued education of members of
Congress about the poor design and bias of the bidding demo.
FDA Approves New Test For Respiratory Viruses
Using non-invasive specimens, multi-analyte
assay can detect 12 viruses and viral subtypes
CEO SUMMARY: Respiratory viruses are responsible for
75% of all visits to physicians and yet physicians struggle to
identify whether an infection is viral or bacterial. Now there is
a new molecular assay with FDA clearance that allows physicians
to test for 12 common viral infections. It is the xTAG
Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) from Luminex Molecular
Diagnostics. Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, is one
of the first hospitals to offer this test.
CMS Spotlights AP as It
Delays Anti-Markup Rule
Anti-Markup rule implemented on January 1
targets one specific type of anatomic path lab
CEO SUMMARY: When Medicare officials postponed
implementing a new anti-markup rule late last month, it did so
because of questions about how the new rule will be applied.
However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
did implement an aspect of the anti-markup rule on January 1,
2008, that affects one anatomic pathology laboratory model.
Attorney Rick Hindmand offers fives steps to help pathologists
comply with the newly implemented anti-markup rule.
New Study Demonstrates How
Lean Labs Outperform Peers
Analysis shows Lean labs consistently do better than conventional labs
CEO SUMMARY: A new study provides powerful evidence
that laboratories using Lean, Six Sigma, and similar process
improvement methods consistently outperform conventionally
managed laboratories. Using data sets from 100 laboratories,
including 14 Lean/Six Sigma laboratories, consultant Thomas P.
Joseph, of Management Insight, LLC, demonstrated that Lean
labs have dramatically improved turnaround times and consistently
produce common results in less than an hour. They also
have significantly fewer defects per million opportunities and
operate with 40% less technical staff in key testing work cells,
when compared with conventional labs. THE DARK REPORT provides
a first look at some of the significant findings of this study.
Healthcare Trends: Total Health Spending Rises 6.7%,
Tops $2.1 Trillion during 2006
INTELLIGENCE: Late & Latent
PRIVATE INSURERS
FOLLOW CMS, STOP
PAYING FOR ERRORS
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