I thought that United Health Care wore a white hat, but I guess I was wrong and that they only canceled the contract with LabCorp in the South Florida region. Unfortunately it does not look like they canceled their contracts in other parts of the USA. United Health Care will learn, but only after they continue to lose patients and HMO members. Here’s an email I received from another “former” Labcorp patient.

Hi,

I see that you have United Healhcare on your “good guys” list.   I’m not sure if you are aware, but as far as Verizon Business for United Healthcare (40,000+ employees) is concerned, Lab Corp is the only lab we are allowed to go to that is covered.  I am not sure if other companies that use United are allowed to use other labs, but we got a letter in March of ‘08 that they were dropping Quest in favor of LabCorp.

Here is a letter I sent to HR this morning:

I would like to go on record to state my displeasure with Verizon/United Healthcare using LabCorp as the new lab of choice for blood work.   LabCorp is a cheap, cut rate operation staffed by nothing but a mean, discourteous and unprofessional staff.   I have had to use LabCorp three times this year and each time has been an unpleasant experience.  LabCorp establishments are understaffed and both of the doctors that send me there complain that the results take over a week to get, as opposed to 24 hours with Quest Diagnostics.  They state that they often need to call LabCorp to request the results, while patients who use Quest will have a fax with the results delivered the next business day.

Any money that Verizon Business/United Healthcare is saving by switching from Quest to LabCorp is certainly not worth the anguish that it is putting employees and customers through by forcing them to go there instead of Quest.

Thanks for your site.  I Googled “labcorp sucks” and was pleased to find your site!

NAME WITHHELD

Here’s something really interesting. A few weeks ago LabCorp employees started posting comments on this site in support and defense of the company and employees. Shortly thereafter, www.labcorpsucks.com almost dissappeared from the Google search results. There does not appear to be a reasonable explanation for this to happen, as this site has lots of visits from dissatisfied LabCorp patients and is still highly ranked in Yahoo and MSN. I just saw an article in the Medical Quack Blog that may provide some answers (or at least raise some suspicion). It is about the business relationship between Google and LabCorp. I would not put it past LabCorp executives to ask Google to punish this website, but it is hard for me to believe that Google would actually play along with LabCorp and lower the search value of a website based on their own economic interests.

Last month several Genomics companies received warning letters from the State of California and were told they needed to be licensed.  23andMe, which is an offshoot of Google may have a potential solution on the dilemma of the licensing issue with working with LabCorp,  one of the largest labs in the US. 

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - Although 23andMe is keeping mum on which contract laboratory it is using to conduct its DTC genomic testing services, GenomeWeb Daily News has learned that Laboratory Corporation of America is providing the necessary genotyping services for the personal genomics company. “I can confirm that we are doing lab work for 23andMe,” Eric Lindblom, LabCorp’s senior vice president for investor and media relations, told GWDN.

…You can also read more about the National Genetics Institute, a subsidiary of LabCorp. LabCorp already has a pretty large stake invested in the genomics business.

Lindblom also noted that LabCorp is CLIA licensed in California and New York, the two states that recently warned 23andMe, along with several other personal genomics firms, to stop marketing genetic tests directly to consumers. One of the reasons cited by regulators was that the consumer genomics firms were not licensed in these states to provide laboratory services.

I had a talk with one of the managers at a service center about the jobs that people perform at the company. Here are some interesting things that she had to say.

1) Job turnover in the Miami region is very high. The revolving door is a result of the way that they operate the company. Labcorp jobs are always availabe because so many leave the company.

2) Managers are not too familiar with who their boss is. They know the name but have never really met them or interacted with them.

3) About Bob Blanco - “Oh, he’s the guy who signs my checks. He’s the big boss. I never met him but he gives the orders to pay me.”

Q: have you ever met him?      A: No but I know him by name.

How can a service center manager not have met the district manager? I guess when you are a district manager that sits around the office, you never really know what is going on outside your little cave. Maybe they need lessons on how to be a successful executive. That “isolation from reality” seems to be a common problem in most districts.

That’s something that I admire about Bank of America. Part of the job requirement to be a banking center manager is that you have to walk around the floor during busy hours and interact with the customers and employees. Now that’s customer service. If you have a question or problem, ask the boss. Forget that executive attitude. The manager is just another person trying to provide a favorable banking experience.

Just received a statement from LabCorp for the blood tests performed on July 1st. My insurance company paid them but they claim that there is still a deductible that I have to pay. The bill came with a return envelope that required a stamp, and a notice that if I wanted to pay online I can go to labcorp.com billing. I fully reviewed the billing statement to see what they billed for. All the tests that they performed and reported results were billed for, and the one that they claimed that “there was not enough blood for” was not billed. My insurance company paid them a fraction of what they billed, which I guess was the contract rate. The only thing that is puzzling is that the amount that LabCorp claims that I am responsible for is about 30% of what my insurance company paid them. If you take the amount that they actually billed, then the patient responsibility amount is fair, as it is only about 3% of the total amount of the billing. 30% seems kind of high so I will look into the matter further. 

LabCorp’s stock hit a new 52-week low today after posting less than expected sales and profits. Even LabCorp supporting analysts downgraded the stock. Here’s one headline from MarketWatch “S&P DOWNGRADES OPINION ON SHARES OF LABCORP OF AMERICA…” Here’s another one “Laboratory Corp. Of America Holdings’ second-quarter net income fell 19% on restructuring costs as the lab-services provider lowered its 2008 outlook.”

At one point during the day LH stock was down almost $7, losing over 10% of the company’s market value. Laboratory Corporation of America’s stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LH.

I’ve received dozens of emails related to problems and complaints against LabCorp. From those who have filed lawsuits against them to physicians that are fed up with service related issues. I will respond to them all this week. Since this is something that I do on the side because of the poor attitude of LabCorp company manager and executives, I can only do it during down time. Sorry about that.

The retail business has many dynamics. It’s a business that I know well. Relating these principles to LabCorp’s operation, it is hard to believe that there are so many patients that will never set foot in a LabCorp center again. Yet the company and its executives do not seem to be doing anything about it. It’s a real shame how a company can believe that they are so omnipotent that they can do whatever they want. Our country’s laws and regulations are established for these particular instances. They will eventually catch up to LabCorp. The government agencies will move in and that’s when you will see them change.

I also believe that the tough economy will severely affect LabCorp and their view of the customer. In my opinion, they see the customer as the HMO, insurance company or 3rd party payer. The patient is seen as a secondary factor when in fact it is all about the patient. Poor results or worst yet, no results, will not only anger the patients but also the payer as the patient will start complaining. Why do these managers and executives not see this? Oh well, they will when the 3rd party payers start cancelling contracts because of malpractice lawsuits. And the doctors that send them the specimens for results? They will eventually get tired of poor results that affect the lives of their patients. I believe that doctors generally care more about their patients than the lower prices offered by LabCorp. That will also work against LabCorp. When will this company wake up to reality?

This section is for everything else about LabCorp that is not covered in the other categories. Tell your story.

I’ve had it with LabCorp. This is our way of showing the frustration that we experience every time that a health care practitioner, insurance company, HMO or employer sends us for clinical lab tests at a Labcorp facility. Tell us your story and file your complaints.