Opioids Tied to Increased Frequency, Costs for Drug Testing

By Greg Jones, Western Bureau ChiefMedicare payment information from 2012 shows clinical laboratories were the biggest winners under the federal health care program, while ongoing research in California has found drug testing is one of the top cost drivers in the state’s workers’ compensation system.“Drug testing pushed laboratory and pathology services way up in the pecking order of cost drivers in California’s workers’ compensation system,” said Alex Swedlow, president of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute.CWCI is finalizing a report on o...