“Five years ago, Companion DX Reference Lab hoped to cash in on cutting-edge genetic tests paid for by Medicare…but the lab went bust last year after Medicare ordered it to repay more than $16 million for genetic tests health officials said were not needed….”
“As the nation’s bill for drug and genetic tests has climbed to an estimated $8.5 billion a year, there’s mounting suspicion among health insurers that some testing may do more to boost profit margins than help treat patients…”
“Medicare officials don’t routinely verify that the sales claims labs make to doctors are rooted in scientific evidence. Some labs have hawked genetic tests as a tool for making pain management safer…”
“Spending on genetic testing…shot up from about $167 million in 2013 to more than $466 million a year later, according to Medicare billing data. In 2015, the program spent about $317 million on the tests and some $165 million last year…”
Source: Medicare Fails To Recover Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Lab Overcharges – By Fred Schulte, December 15, 2017, Kaiser Health News. Read the full article here.
