Hospitals, medical lab sue over Medicare pilot program
Two local hospital systems and an Oceanside medical testing laboratory say they have sued the federal government to stop an experimental Medicare program proposed for San Diego County.
The Medicare demonstration program would set up a competitive bidding process to find the most efficient laboratories, according to Medicare's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Sharp HealthCare, ScrippsHealth and Internist Laboratory state in court documents that the program would hurt competition and reduce the number of testing laboratories. A press release said the lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
However, the plaintiffs say the program would favor large labs over smaller ones, which are often more convenient for doctors and patients.
Sharp and Scripps "may have to discontinue completely, or significantly decrease, furnishing laboratory services to non-hospital patients as a result of the demonstration project," the lawsuit stated.
A spokesperson for Medicare said they would not comment on the lawsuit, as the complaint had not yet been reviewed and the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation.