Susan sent me an email that I find interesting. It’s an experience that many current and former LabCorp patients have lived through. It goes to the root of the problem, that the supervisors and managers at LabCorp, in my opinion, are some of the worst in the industry. I can’t blame the technicians, phlebotomists and clerks for their actions when the managers and supervisors fail to properly train them or even call to their attention their wrongdoings.

As many LabCorp employees have stated in this site ”forget qualifications, if you kiss butt at LabCorp you move up.” In my personal case when I complained to Bob Blanco, the district manager, he insulted me and called me a liar. The director of patient services, Ana Garcia, also insulted me and said I was lying. This is how these bad managers cover their incompetence. If the employees are not doing their job appropriately, the managers are responsible. By supervisors closing their eyes to reality and making believe that everything is good, they believe that they did their job. The worst part is that the company executives believe them and instead of firing them, promote them. I predict that this fantasy land scenario will bring this company down, regardless of how much money they sucker out of Wall Street.

I am very bad with computers and didn’t see where to post my own story,  but I have quite a tale that you can file with whomever you wish.  I would title it “Lab Corp technicians are not fully trained to a competent level.”  I sent a similar story to Lab Corp a while back and called our insurance company,  BC/CS of NJ Directly this morning.

On January 22, 2010,  I had a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) done at a Lab Corp.  The technician told me I was scheduled to have a one hour GTT and directed me to drink the sugar water.  Startled, I asked if they didn’t need to take a base line blood evaluation ahead.  He said no, so I drank it.  Fifteen minutes later a worker came rushing into the waiting room and said I needed to take a base line test IMMEDIATELY.  The same now nervous tech took 3 tries getting my blood.  Admitting I should have had the test prior to drinking,  he also told me that I had only drunk 2/3 the amount of glucose required for that test,  therefore guaranteeing me false results.

For the next 45 minutes  I shivered on the table unable to get warm (shock?).  I’ve had cancer and mono and so don’t take such tests lightly.  During that time  I heard my tech giving instructions  on “how to do it” to yet another tech that was administering another GTT in a different room!

For the final blood drawing my tech tied the rubber tubing so tight around my arm that I yelled.  He loosened it,  but I had fairly continuous tingling in my hand for the next 5 or 6 days, and still do on occasion weeks later.  Yet a new symptom and worst,  when I went to get off the table  I couldn’t walk.  More than 5 weeks later I still have trouble walking.  I pointed out to the insurance company this morning that they have spent an exorbitant amount on me for this mistaken test.  I have been to emergency and specialists’ rooms fairly continuously since then.  Indeed,  I spent the night before last in the hospital under observation;  the reason being that I could not stand at all.

I told our insurance company I was making a complaint about Lab Corp and “suggested” that they do one of two things.  Either they should not have Lab Corps as their only covered lab or that they pressure the company to adequately train their technicians before releasing them to commit mayhem.  Weeks ago  I had written to Lab Corp that I didn’t feel that the technicians are the responsible parties when I see TWO at such a loss.  I blame the company!

I was motivated to call this morning since I need yet another blood test tomorrow to find out why my legs keep collapsing.  I dread another visit to Lab Corp!

There are many complaints about employees in LabCorp locations throughout the country mistreating patients. Deb sent me an email about her unfortunate encouter in LabCorp’s Arlington Virginia Location. What one would expect to be a 5 minute event turned into an hour ordeal. Why? Just because they can. Management in these LabCorp locations does not seem to care about patient satisfaction. After all, LabCorp is the low-price leader to HMOs and insurance companies. Who needs to treat people with the respect that they deserve when you get them through pricing practices. While I find Laboratory Corporation of America employees who treat patients this way revolting, it’s really managements fault. The supervisors do not seem to care and just push for production. Patients will complain as Deb did about the Arlington VA location, but management does nothing about it.

I went to LabCorp in Arlington VA last Saturday am in the middle of a snowstorm that was getting worse by the minute. All I had to do was drop off a specimen, and I informed them of that the minute I walked in. After two more interruptions by me asking why I couldn’t just drop it off, they finally took it from me – an hour after I walked in the door. So, I sat for an hour in a waiting room filled with sick people (and I am not sick), while 8 inches of snow was falling and the roads getting worse by the minute, and they couldn’t be bothered to take a plastic bag of test tubes from me. They weren’t even apologetic. I think I would have been there another hour if I hadn’t finally thrown a huge FIT at the desk.

I wrote an email complaining to them about this, but you know they won’t even respond to it. They are a terrible company.

Just last month, LabCorp reported that they made $131.4 Million dollars in profit for the latest quarter, on revenue of $1.19 Billion. That was a 17% increase in profits as compared to the same quarter last year. Obviously LabCorp stock (NYSE: LH) went up to a new yearly high and all the senior executives high-fived each other.

Well that was last month. Just a few days ago Labcorp went to the state and local governments in North Carolina for a handout of taxpayer money.  LabCorp wants to consolidate its billing operations and if it selects Greensboro as the location of the new facility, it would receive nearly $900,000 in taxpayer money. That’s free money from the taxpayers that will never be repaid.

I recently received an email from John Hoevel, a prominent attorney in Chicago, who is thinking about filing a class action lawsuit against LabCorp for over billing patients. It seems that LabCorp is billing the patient’s insurance company and then over-billing the patient more than the patient responsibility portion of the insurance (or as they call it in the insurance world, more than the co-payment). The bottom line is that if LabCorp is billing patients more than they are allowed, Hoevel & Associates wants to stop them.

He would like to hear from you if:

1. Your insurance company processed a claim for LabCorp services, and

2. LabCorp or LCA Collections billed you for a balance higher than the patient responsibility amount shown on your insurance company’s Explanation of Benefits (EOB), and

3. You paid the balance, or any portion thereof.

You can contact Mr. John Hoevel by emailing him at lab@hoevellaw.com. All emails will be kept confidential and you may have an opportunity to recover some of those over-billings.

If you are a LabCorp employee who knows about this or any other unethical practice by LabCorp, please contact Mr. Hoevel. Your statements can be very useful in stopping unethical actions by LabCorp and you and your job will be fully protected by the law under the Whistleblower Act. You might even get a reward.

LabCorp (Laboratory Corporation of America) said it earned $136.4 million, or $1.24 per share, during the second quarter of 2009, up from $104.2 million, or 92 cents per share, during the same period in 2008.

Excluding restructuring charges, earnings per share were $1.30, compared to $1.24 last year. That’s an almost 5% increase in earnings.

Laboratory Corporation of America, whose NYSE symbol is LH, said its testing volumes rose 2.4 percent from the second quarter of last year, and revenues were $1.19 billion, an increase of 3.6 percent from the same period a year ago.

With about $1.2 billing in revenue for the quarter, LabCorp is making lots of money for their shareholders. But is it at the expense of patients? Is it by sacrificing quality of care? According to patient complaints on this site, it’s a very real possibility. Has Laboratory Corporation of America forgotten that it’s the patients that matter, and not just the insurance companies and third party payers?

When a company grows quickly, it tends to lose its competitive advantage by losing some control over its operation. Incompetent managers take control and run matters their own way, without regards to core company values. In most cases the senior managers see this happening and take immediate action to eliminate the bad apples. The decisions are made by senior managers who have the foresight to see their company succeed in the long-term, not just the short-term. In my personal opinion, LabCorp senior managers have not taken the necessary actions needed to get rid of those lower level managers who will eventually lead to the demise of such a fast growing company. It’s a common story in the health care industry. Remember Integrated Health Services, Coastal Physician Group and Coach? They all had big short-term growth but in the end did not succeed.

Even in this economy, LabCorp jobs are available. So what does it mean when you have a down labor market yet LabCorp still can’t find all the phlebotomists and technicians it needs? Maybe it’s the low wages they pay or the constant turn over that they have because of management issues?

U.S. labs employ 309,000 clinical workers, including 145,890 medical technicians who’s job entails running simple diagnostic tests, and 163,270 medical technologists who perform more complex tests. Technicians in the United States earn an average $17.36 an hour, or $36,110 a year. Technologists make $25.20 an hour, on average, or $52,410 a year. Technologists  require training comparable to that of a nurse, but earn less and have less chances of advancement. Besides low wages, job issues also compound the LabCorp problems.

Hospitals employ 97,370 medical technologists, that’s nearly 60 percent of the total. They also employ 64,300 technicians, or 44 percent. Hospitals tend to pay better for these jobs and therefore demand higher standards.

What does it all mean? Just read what their employees are saying in LabCorpSucks.com and that will give you an idea of how they feel about their employer. Another problem at LabCorp is the disproportionate amount of male to female managers. While a majority of the techs are female, the majority of the managers are males. It’s ripe for government action and sanctions under anti-discrimination laws.

Here’s a recent story from the Winston-Salem News. LabCorp’s clear violation of the HIPAA laws is of grave concern. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, releasing medical information to someone that has not been authorized to receive it is punishable by up to $10,000 per incident and prison time. The only problem is that out of tens of thousands of complaints filed, the government has fined just a handful. Well here’s the LabCorp HIPAA violation, which is probably happening on a daily basis.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — April 11, 2009, A Triad medical company said it mistakenly faxed almost a dozen pages of personal patient information to the wrong number.The lab test results were sent from LabCorp, and were meant to go to Winston-Salem Health Care. Instead, they went to Leigh Ambruso’s home insurance office.

“I don’t know how to read test results,” she said. “I know enough to know I wasn’t supposed to have this information.”

For six days LabCorp sent information from about 12 patients to Ambruso’s fax machine. Originally, she said, she didn’t think anything of it. “I just want people to know this is happening,” she said.

But the faxes kept coming. Ambruso said she explained the error to someone at Winston-Salem Health Care who was supposed to get the information. “She said, ‘Do me a favor and fax them to me,’” Ambruso said.

She said she finally had enough and realized the fax was violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). “I said, ‘If you send me one more fax, I’m going to call the patient and tell them I have their personal information,’” Ambruso said.

One of the patients….William Dull said he was anxiously waiting on results to determine if his cancer remained in remission. “It’s very upsetting,” Dull said. “It’s not being handled like it should be.”

No one at LabCorp would talk on camera. The company eventually responded.

“The fax number has been corrected in our computing systems to prevent similar incidents in the future,” the company said in a statement.

A Winston-Salem Health Care representative said that the company takes the security and confidentiality of patient information very seriously. “We appreciate the caller’s efforts to bring this situation to LabCorp’s attention so that it could be addressed,” a company representative said. Winston-Salem Health Care said it is still investigating the mix-up.

I have received 3 similar emails from 3 different patients, and that’s just in the past 3 days. What does it mean? That Labcorp has a serious billing problem. I experienced a similar situation a few of months ago with LabCorp. It was a bill for services that were provided a few months before that. I am fortunate enough to have a great insurance policy. If I go to the preferred providers, and LabCorp is one of them, I only have to pay a small co-payment. I received a past due notice from LabCorp in what appeared to be a notice from a collection agency. After closer observation it was clear that it was not a collection agency but rather LCA collections, Laboratory Corporation of America Collections. The amount was small but still more than the required co-payment. I wondered why I would receive a past due notice without first getting the original bill? It’s LabCorp, that’s why.

Called their 1-800 billing department number to inquire on how they arrived at the amount they want me to pay. A very nice lady answered and confirmed the amount. I explained that based on my insurance, the amount is incorrect. She continued to explain that what I owe is the amount that the insurance company did not pay. It seemed that she was reading a script as she was unable to answer questions I had regarding the discrepancy between their charges and what the insurance company allows them to charge as a preferred provider. When the script could not be followed, she politely responded with “You need to call your insurance company about that.” I was not getting anywhere with her in regards to resolving this matter so I just stopped and asked “Can you please just tell me how you arrived at the $39? That seemed to stop her for a few seconds of silence. In the same kind voice as before she responded, “That’s what your insurance company told us to bill you.” It was clear she had no clue as to why it was $39 and not $10, and she was making up whatever was not in her script. With that I thanked her and hung up the phone.

Well…back to the email I received from RJ. Read it below.

I just got off the phone from my THIRD call to Lab Corp billing for incorrect billing to my insurance carriers, thereby them sending me the outstanding bill to pay.

EACH TIME I go get blood drawn, the attendant REQUIRES copies of the insurance cards. So I know that they always have the correct cards. EACH time, I receive an incorrect bill. I have even written to them in October with my last check I sent them, and asked to correct the error and issue me a refund. The note was ignored, and no check was returned to me. I have waited to talk to a billing person 20 minutes before I can talk to someone. Then they ” apologize “for human error. I asked how this can be corrected in the future. All I get is an apology.

Today when I called, the lady would not let me talk to a supervisor or give me a name to write to LabCorp. She basically said since she is taking care of my problems that I do not need to talk to anyone at a higher level. All she kept repeating is that it is human error. The waits for lab drawers are getting longer, and I expect an incorrect bill each time I go to get lab drawn. Can I assume therefore, that the lab results are not right either if there is this much inaccuracy every other place in Lab Corp? I am going to fax a copy of this letter to LabCorp, also to an “unknown” named supervisor to see if I can get someone at a higher level to correct these decifiencies.

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of emails about abused patients. I’ll be posting some of the more interesting ones. This one sums up the treatment that one can expect from a LabCorp service center. My recommendation, go somewhere else. Boycott LabCorp and let your doctor know that your health is too important to be left to the lowest bidder.

Hello, 

    I am a 54 year old woman who had to get my cholesterol blood screening done today at LabCorp (which by the way is the only lab that my insurance covers).

 

The local office opens at 7:30 AM…i was first in line outside a locked door saying that this office opened at 7:30…two employees (female) ..opened the door and myself and at least 10 others entered a “small” waiting room…i put my name down on the sign in board and gave them my card…wellllll the “girl” at the front desk proceeded calling others before me….i said “excuse me but i signed in first…, the “worker” said “Dont you argue with me…..you didn’t sign it….i said i did..she said “Quit fighting with me”….i was shocked and humiliated…they had put another sign in sheet over the original one i had signed in on…when i showed them this they told me to go “sit down” …i then got called and of course i got the lab tech (very unprofessional) who jabbed my arm….couldn’t get the blood to start flowing then jabbed in deeper and wiggled it!!! I said “stop you are hurting me!!” she told me to “lay my arm down flat”……and then she snapped the band off….i now have a sore arm and a bruise….the first i have ever had….i HATE going to this place…when i got back to work…i called the office and asked for the name of the girl who had been so rude to me….she hung up on me…i called back..and the other girl said  that i had “jumped line” i said WHHHATTT??…I DO NOT “JUMP” LINE… I AM A 54 YEAR OLD PROFESSIONAL WOMAN AND BY THE WAY I WORK FOR AN INSURANCE COMPANY…I DO NOT JUMP LINE”….she finally and reluctantly gave me the name of their supervisor…which i intend to talk to… I find it very hard to believe that this place stays open…first of all they herd you outside like your standing in line for drugs or something…then the pure rudeness of  their employees astounds me…..they are dangerous….and I will NEVER  GO BACK….there is no excuse for the substandard care and the poor and malicious attitudes of their employees…..please let me know what i can do or who i can talk to ..i want to make sure the right person hears of my experience…..i do intend telling my health care provider and my doctor about this…..

 

Thanks,

NAME WITHHELD

I received an email this weekend from another frustrated patient. What a shame that they are violating Federal disclosure laws and laughing about it.

Well, here is my lab corp story:

I am now about 7 months pregnant, but began going to Lab Corp in the beginning for routine blood tests. They were always unfriendly, but I just let it go. The first thing that really bothered me about them was when my husband had to get blood drawn to make sure he was rh negative so that I wouldn’t need a shot to protect me if my baby had a chance of having positive blood. Well when it came time for my doctor to give me the shot (at 28 weeks into my pregnancy) they still had not received the results from his blood work, which was done 3 months earlier. To top that off I had paid for his testing (around $250) because he does not have health insurance. So I ended up getting the shot anyways (in the butt, and obviously uncomfortable enough that I was willing to pay $250 to avoid it). I still think someone should be liable for the money I wasted on a test that couldn’t get the results back in time. 3 months seems sufficient time to me. I am willing to overlook the fact that I had to get an unnecessary shot because lab corp cant figure it out. After all this, I still had to go to lab corp about a week ago for a gestational diabetes test. I had to fast the night before. The morning I went to go get the test, I had an argument with my husband and being as I was 7 months pregnant, I was pretty upset about it. So I went into lab corp and signed in. I had changed my name to my husband’s last name between this visit and my last. Mind you I have been married for 2 years, but I had put off changing my name and with the baby on the way, I figured it was a good time. So when they didn’t have a record of my new name (which was now on my health insurance card), instead of asking they just had me fill out a new patient sheet. Then when I turned that in (I figured if they didn’t ask I might as well just fill it out) I went and sat back down in the crowded waiting room and prepared to be there for an hour while the drink they gave me hit my blood. When I sat down I overheard them talking about how they finally figured out I had been there before, but my name was different. A male staff member said “Oh, she has been here. Her name is different. She must have gotten married.” and then the female staff member said “oh, well she is pregnant so you know how that goes.” and then they started laughing. At my expense. I wanted to go up there and inform them that I had been married for 2 years, was 25 years old, graduated college, and that my personal life was none of their business, but I was so emotional from the whole day I knew I would just start crying. So I sat there. For a whole hour. And they continued to have personal conversations right there where everyone could hear. I just cant believe that people can be that rude. I don’t know if they think being behind the check in window shields them from the patients, but I was about 10 chairs away and could clearly hear them talking about me. Even if I had gotten married because I got pregnant, it is not their business to be talking about at a place of business. I would love to do something about this, as it is still bothering me. Do you have an address where I can send a letter?

Here’s the address to send in your complaint. Don Hardison is the company’s Chief Operating Officer and he seems to be the only one that cares about straightening out the company. Not that he will do anything, but at least he will make you feel like he will. 

Laboratory Corporation of America
Don Hardison, COO
430 South Spring Street
Burlington, NC 27215