Charges against this life science company executive include healthcare fraud as well as the first COVID-19 related securities fraud
In the first securities fraud prosecution involving clinical laboratory COVID-19 testing, the US federal Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the president of a Sunnyvale, Calif., life sciences biotechnology company with participating in a scheme to mislead investors and also to commit healthcare fraud, stated a DOJ press release.
The DOJ charged Mark Schena, PhD, president of Arrayit Corporation, with one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud related to submissions of more than $69 million in claims for allegedly unnecessary medical laboratory allergy and COVID-19 tests, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“The defendant allegedly defrauded Medicare through illegal kickbacks and bribes, and then turned to exploiting the pandemic by fraudulently promoting an unproven COVID-19 test to the market,” said Brian Benczkowski, DOJ Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, in the DOJ press release.
According to the Washington Post, Arrayit allegedly bundled its finger-stick allergy test with the COVID-19 test kit.
Authorities Question Bundling of Tests, Claims
An affidavit in support of the criminal complaint stated that Arrayit was promoting “‘microarray technology’ for allergy and COVID-19 testing that allows for laboratory testing on a finger prick drop of blood that is placed on a paper card and sent by mail to Arrayit’s laboratory.”
The government’s investigation actually goes back two years to a time when Arrayit allegedly submitted or caused submission of $5.9 million in Medicare lab test claims and $63 million in lab test claims to private insurers through bribes and kickbacks, MedTech Dive reported.
The company’s clinical laboratory test for COVID-19 failed to receive US Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), because it did not have the level of specificity and sensitivity required, MedTech Dive noted.
“Schena offered an Arrayit COVID-19 test in order to obtain Medicare beneficiary information that then was used to submit false and fraudulent claims for an unrelated and far more expensive allergy test for 120 allergens,” the DOJ complaint stated, adding, “Schena and others transmitted false and fraudulent e-mail communications and marketing materials about the Arrayit COVID-19 test and purported need to bundle the COVID-19 test with Arrayit’s allergy test, while never disclosing there were substantial questions about the accuracy of Arrayit’s COVID-19 test.”
Highlights of DOJ Charges
According to the DOJ press release:
Schena and others from 2018 through February allegedly “paid kickbacks and bribes” to recruiters and doctors to run a medical laboratory test for allergy screening (with 120 allergens) on patients “regardless of medical necessity and then make numerous misrepresentations to potential investors.”
News releases and social media promoted partnerships with companies and government agencies that either “did not exist” or were minor.
As the pandemic heated up, Arrayit representatives “made false claims concerning Arrayit’s ability to provide accurate, fast, reliable and cheap COVID-19 tests in compliance with state and federal regulations,” prosecutors said.
According to the DOJ’s complaint, Schena told investigators developing a test for COVID-19 was “like a pastry chef” who switches from selling “strawberry pies” to selling “rhubarb and strawberry pies.”
“The allure of cheap reliable alternatives to today’s standard blood tests panels has captured the imagination of the healthcare industry, making such alternatives a prime subject for fraudsters,” said David Anderson (above), US Attorney for the Northern District of California, in the DOJ press release, adding, “The scheme described in the complaint, in which the defendant allegedly leveraged this allure by appending the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, amounts to a cynical multi-million-dollar hoax.” (Photo copyright: San Francisco Examiner.)
DOJ Prioritizing Coronavirus Fraud
US Attorney General William Barr earlier this year called for prioritization of investigation and prosecution of coronavirus fraud schemes, noted a DOJ statement, which pointed out that these types of fraud schemes leverage COVID-19 testing information generated by healthcare providers to fraudulently bill Medicare for other tests and procedures.
In April, Dark Daily’s sister publication, The Dark Report (TDR), covered one such kickback scheme in Georgia the DOJ was investigating. In that case, a Georgia man allegedly participated in a fraudulent kickback scheme in which clinical laboratory companies paid him on a per-test basis for referring cancer genetic, coronavirus, and respiratory pathogen panel tests to labs, TDR noted.
Clearly, the DOJ is stepping up its investigation into COVID-19 test fraud. Thus, medical laboratory leaders and pathologists should remain vigilant, as they are likely to observe more enforcement activity as the pandemic persists.
Independent clinical laboratories may continue to see their customer numbers drop as more consumers choose healthcare delivered in non-traditional locations
More clinical laboratory companies are offering testing in non-traditional locations with non-traditional delivery systems to serve busy healthcare consumers and ambulatory patients. One such company is eTrueNorth, a pharmacy‐based clinical laboratory services network.
This is yet another example of a company responding to the
public’s demand for convenient healthcare delivery, including clinical
laboratory testing.
Pharmacists as Care Givers
eTrueNorth has quietly built a 5,500-location network of independent CLIA-waived laboratories in retail pharmacies. By bringing point-of-care testing to community pharmacies, the company says it can close gaps in healthcare.
“By empowering local pharmacists to administer preventative
healthcare screenings and close gaps in care, eTrueNorth is working in
partnership with retail pharmacies, self-funded employers, third-party payors
and pharmaceutical manufacturers to identify undiagnosed conditions and better
manage chronic diseases,” the company’s website states. “By leveraging the
accessibility of retail pharmacies, eTrueNorth expands the scope of services
provided to consumers to be more effective, of higher quality and, at the same
time, enhance the pharmacy’s value as a key participant in a multidisciplinary
healthcare delivery model.”
The website states that eTrueNorth’s ePOCT software suite “simplifies administrative processes for CLIA-waived labs that conduct point-of-care testing.” It provides the infrastructure for CLIA-waived laboratories to meet all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. In addition, the company provides documentation to medical professionals as they track compliance with quality-control efforts for diagnostic devices.
In an exclusive interview with Dark Daily, Coral May, eTrueNorth’s CEO, President, and co-founder, said the company’s growth will continue to accelerate.
“In the next few months, we will be adding quite a few more [eLabNetwork
locations] because we will be bringing on a couple of other major brands,” May
said in a telephone interview.
May explained that all eLabNetwork pharmacies have standing orders for their limited test menu. This means consumers do not need a physician’s order to receive clinical laboratory services. As a result, however, consumers currently cannot submit a claim for the eLabNetwork service to their insurer. This is about to change.
Coral May (above) is CEO and President of eTrueNorth, a pharmacy-based clinical laboratory services network spanning more than 5,500 locations. “With the assistance of local pharmacists, eTrueNorth is making obtaining laboratory testing easier for individuals,” she said in a news release. “By leveraging the convenience of retail pharmacies, consumers are able to fit healthcare into everyday life.” (Photo copyright: LinkedIn.)
Health Plans May Soon Partner with eLabNetwork Pharmacies
May announced that in the second quarter of 2020 eTrueNorth will
launch “within several different health plans” the ability “to provide and
submit claims for tests that will close quality measures, gaps in care.”
Though May could not yet announce which health plans will be
partnering with eTrueNorth, she stated that participating insurers would be
communicating with their members directly to steer them to eLabNetwork pharmacies
where they can receive CLIA-waived testing.
May previously pointed out that health plans benefit from eTrueNorth engaging plan members at the pharmacy counter and addressing gaps in care ranging from diabetes testing to hypertension control and medication adherence. She cited as example an insurance plan member with diabetes who has not yet had an A1C test for diabetes or needs an microalbumin [urine] test.
“Our goal is to make it easier for individuals to have
affordable and increased access to additional healthcare from the convenience
of their local pharmacy,” she stated in a news
release.
Another of eTrueNorth’s stated objectives is to increase the
number of participants in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Diabetes
Prevention Program (National DPP), which was created in 2010 to increase
evidence-based, cost-effective interventions that help prevent Type 2 diabetes.
In order for Medicare Advantage-eligible patients to participate in the program, they must have a fasting blood glucose test. eTrueNorth believes increasing access to point-of-care blood testing could boost participation in the DPP.
“The eTrueNorth Voucher Solution is designed to maximize participation in wellness-screening events by providing convenient access to screenings,” May said in a news release. “Local pharmacists are trusted medical providers to the community. The eTrueNorth Voucher Solution allows individuals to obtain the same high-quality, accurate testing at retail pharmacies as they would from their primary-care office.”
How the Voucher Solution Works
The company’s voucher program enables employees who miss onsite wellness screenings, or who work remotely, to visit a local pharmacy to obtain point-of-care testing and on-the-spot counseling.
Through eLabNetwork’s website, an employee can confirm
eligibility, choose a pharmacy based on zip code, schedule an appointment and
create a voucher. In addition, the eLabNetwork transmits results to the
wellness plan and/or patient’s physician, invoices wellness plan vendors, and
sends payments to participating pharmacies for:
Full lipid panel;
Glucose;
Hemoglobin A1C testing (for individuals already
diagnosed with diabetes); and
“With 95% of the US population living within five miles of a
retail pharmacy, eTrueNorth envisions a future where consumers can access healthcare,”
May said in a company
statement. “This expanding list of retail pharmacies has the potential to
make a significant impact on how healthcare is delivered.”
Will independent clinical laboratories be affected by these
events? Almost certainly. Dark
Daily has reported often on the public’s increasing demand to receive
healthcare in convenient, nearby locations, such as shopping malls and retail
pharmacies. This is just another example of that expanding trend.
Lab leaders will want to keep a close eye on it and plan
accordingly. It’s a trend that could potentially threaten clinical
laboratories’ bottom lines.
Lack of regulations and quality management jeopardizes the quality and safety of LDTs, claim experts in clinical laboratory medicine in a commentary to Canadian policymakers
The IHPME members published their comments in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), a peer-reviewed journal owned by Joule Inc., a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Association. In it, they claim “recent expansion of the molecular diagnostics industry has revealed weaknesses in Canada’s regulatory system for laboratory-developed tests, which are not subject to statutory regulations on medical devices.”
For pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals in both Canada and the United States, these recent actions show the concerns many experts have as they watch the explosive growth in the use of laboratory-developed tests in both countries. In many ways, the swift advances in molecular and genetic diagnostics is outrunning the ability of government regulators to keep pace with use of LDTs in clinical care settings.
In their commentary in CMAJ, the IHPME members also
claim the review and evaluation of LDTs in Canada is inconsistent. Some LDTs they
say, may endure stringent assessments and have endorsements by clinical
guidelines or findings that are published in scientific journals. Other LDTs,
however, may have no analysis at all.
In addition, the IHPME members point out that there is no
national registry kept of LDTs. They theorize that a lack of proper regulation,
controls, and quality management “has potentially jeopardized the delivery of
quality, safe, timely, and appropriate care.”
The researchers calling on Health Canada to address these
issues include:
Fiona A. Miller, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and IHPME Chair in Health Management Strategies;
François Rousseau, PhD, Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec;
Alberto Gutierrez, PhD, Partner, NDA Partners LLC, former Director, Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH);
Stuart Hogarth, PhD, Lecturer in Sociology of Science and Technology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
During an exclusive presentation offered by The Dark Report (Dark Daily’s sister publication) in 2015, Alberto Gutierrez, PhD (above), who at that time was Director, Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health at the FDA, said, “LDTs are an area that will be difficult to regulate. There is a broad set of tests. Some of the LDTs are very good. Some of them require a lot of expertise from the pathologists and some of them don’t. Regulating LDTs in a way that makes sense and that does not disrupt what’s going on [in clinical laboratories] is going to be difficult.” (Photo copyright: FDA.)
Canadian Scientists Call on Health Canada to Take the
Lead on Regulating LDTs
In the US, the FDA has been making moves to regulate LDTs since 2010, with much opposition from clinical laboratories and In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) manufacturers. The FDA describes LDTs as internally designed clinical laboratory tests that are developed, manufactured, and used within a single laboratory. They have not undergone government regulatory review, can be simple or complex, and can be utilized to detect a variety of analytes.
Health Canada is the name of a department that falls under
the purview of the Minister of
Health and is part of Canada’s Health
Portfolio. It is responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve
their health. Other agencies included in the Health Portfolio are:
According to the IHPME paper, however, Health Canada
currently does not have a way to regulate LDTs, and no government agency in
that country is responsible for the oversight of laboratory-developed tests.
Only LDTs that are marketed as test kits are evaluated and reviewed by Health
Canada.
“The current laboratory regulatory system in Canada involves a mixture of public and private entities and operates with oversight from provincial governments, nongovernmental organizations, and professional societies,” the IHPME paper states, adding, “most provinces and territories rely on voluntary standards that are unevenly applied, with little auditing and systematic testing to ensure quality.”
The authors also note that the current lab regulations in
Canada apply only to the operations of the medical laboratories themselves,
encompassing such things as lab environments, personnel, accreditation, and
quality control. They believe the loophole regarding LDTs needs to be addressed,
and they urged Health Canada to “demonstrate leadership” by subjecting these
tests to regulations that are currently applied to medical devices and
pharmaceuticals.
Other Countries Regulate LDTs, though Not Without
Controversy
In support of their call to action, IHPME researchers noted
that Australia, the EU, and the US all have taken steps to regulate LDTs.
The Australian government began oversight of LDTs in 2010 by
subjecting high-risk LDTs to external evaluation and then tracking them in a
public registry.
An EU regulation, which was passed in 2017, will administer
regulatory review of LDTs manufactured on an industrial scale, which targets
commercial laboratories. The law exempts LDTs utilized within individual
hospital laboratories and should be fully implemented by 2022.
Though on its radar since the 1990s, in 2010, the FDA officially
announced its intent to regulate LDTs in the US. The agency released an initial
draft approach for doing so starting in 2014, held a public workshop on the
topic in 2015, and released a
discussion paper in 2017. At this time, however, the FDA is not regulating
LDTs, though the agency remains open to the possibility.
Dark Daily
has reported extensively over the years on the development of LDTs and the
controversy surrounding the FDA’s moves to regulate them.
According to the FDA
website, problems with several high-risk LDTs have been identified,
including:
Claims that are not adequately supported with
evidence;
Lack of appropriate controls which may yield
erroneous results; and
The FDA’s report, titled, “The
Public Health Evidence for FDA Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests,” reviewed
20 case studies of LDTs for Lyme disease, ovarian cancer, whooping cough,
fibromyalgia, prostate cancer, autism, breast cancer, melanoma, Vitamin D, and
other conditions. The agency concluded that in many instances “patients have
been demonstrably harmed or may have been harmed by tests that did not meet FDA
requirements.”
Klein noted, however, that “The 20 tests described by FDA are mostly a hodgepodge of outlier assays including tests that were never offered, tests for which comparable FDA assays perform poorly, tests for poorly defined disorders with psychologic components, and use of an FDA-approved test off-label.” He continued, “That FDA could find only these dubious examples out of the many thousands of laboratory-developed procedures (LDPs) that benefit patients each day, calls into question the agency’s rationale for expanding its regulatory scope to include LDPs.”
Perhaps this is why the FDA has yet to implement regulations
for LDTs. The controversy continues.
Whether Health Canada will accept the advice of the IHPME
scientists and take steps to regulate laboratory-developed tests in Canada remains
to be seen. As more LDTs are created and manufactured, however, it is probable
that governments will continue to evaluate the administration and oversight of laboratory-developed
tests.
In both Canada and the United States, pathologists, clinical
laboratory managers, and executives at in vitro diagnostic manufacturers
can expect an ongoing tug-of-war between government regulators and the lab
industry over the most appropriate ways to regulate LDTs.
Clinical laboratories could offer services that complement SDH programs and help physicians find chronic disease patients who are undiagnosed
Insurance companies and healthcare providers increasingly consider social determinants of health (SDH) when devising strategies to improve the health of their customers and affect positive outcomes to medical encounters. Housing, transportation, access to food, and social support are quickly becoming part of the SDH approach to value-based care and population health.
For clinical laboratory managers and pathologists this rapidly-developing trend is worth watching. They can expect to see more providers and insurers in their communities begin to offer these types of services to individuals and patients who might stay healthier and out of the hospital as a result of SDH programs. Clinical laboratories should consider strategies that help them provide medical lab testing services that complement SDH programs.
Medical laboratories, for example, could participate by offering
free transportation to patient
service centers for homebound chronic disease patients who need regular
blood tests. Such community outreach also could help physicians identify people
with chronic diseases who might otherwise go undiagnosed.
Anthem Offers Social
Determinants of Health Package
In fact, health benefits giant Anthem, Inc. (NYSE:ANTM) partly attributes its 2019 first quarter 14% increase of Medicare Advantage members to a new “social determinants of health benefits package” comprised of healthy meals, transportation, adult day care, and homecare, according to Forbes.
“Our focus on caring for the whole person is designed to deliver
better care and outcomes, reduce costs, and ultimately accelerate growth,” Gail Boudreaux,
Anthem President and CEO, stated in a call to analysts, Forbes reports.
An Anthem news release states that SDH priorities for payers, providers, and other stakeholders should focus on enhancing individuals’ access to food, transportation, and social support.
In the Anthem news release, which announced the publication of a white paper that “outlines key differences in how individuals and the public perceive social determinants of health,” Jennifer Kowalski (above), Vice President of the Anthem Public Policy Institute stated, “By better understanding how individuals view and talk about social determinants, payers and providers alike can identify new and improved ways to engage with them to more effectively improve their health and wellbeing and the delivery of healthcare.” (Photo copyright: LinkedIn.)
CMS Expands Medicare
Advantage Plans to Include Social Determinants of Health
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that, effective in 2019, Medicare Advantage plans can offer members benefits that address social determinants of health. Medicare Advantage members may be covered for services such as adult day care, meal delivery, transportation, and home environmental services that relate to chronic illnesses.
Humana’s ‘Bold Goal’
Humana, Inc. (NYSE:HUM) calls its SDH focus the BoldGoal. The program aims to improve health in communities it serves by 20% by 2020.
“The social barriers and health challenges that our Medicare Advantage members and others face are deeply personal. This requires us to become their trusted advocate that can partner with them to understand, navigate, and address these barriers and challenges,” said William Shrank, MD, Humana’s Chief Medical Officer, in a news release.
UnitedHealthcare
Investing More than $400 Million in Housing
Meanwhile, since 2011, UnitedHealthcare (NYSE:UNH) also has invested in affordable housing and social determinants of health, Health Payer Intelligence reported.
In a news release, UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, described how it is investing more than $400 million in 80 affordable US housing communities, including:
$12 million, PATH Metro Villas, Los Angeles;
$11.7 million, Capital Studios, Austin;
$14.5 million allocated to Minneapolis military
veterans housing;
$7.9 million, New Parkridge (in Ypsilanti, Mich.)
affordable housing complex;
$21 million earmarked to Phoenix low- and moderate-income
families needing housing and supportive services;
$7.8 million, Gouverneur Place Apartments, Bronx,
New York; and
$7.7 million, The Vinings, Clarksville, Tenn.
“Access to safe and affordable housing is one of the
greatest obstacles to better health, making it a social determinant that
affects people’s well-being and quality of life. UnitedHealthcare partners with
other socially minded organizations in helping make a positive impact in our
communities,” said Steve Nelson,
UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, in the news
release.
According to the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), housing, or lack of it, impacts health. In “Housing and the Role of Hospitals,” the second guide in the organizations’ “Social Determinants of Health Series,” AHA and HRET state that 1.48 million people are homeless each year, and that unstable living conditions are associated with less preventative care, as well as the propensity to acquire diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and other healthcare conditions.
Social determinants of health programs are gaining in
popularity. And as they become more robust, proactive clinical laboratory
leaders may find opportunities to work with insurers and healthcare providers
toward SDH goals to help healthcare consumers stay healthy, as well as reducing
unnecessary hospital admissions and healthcare costs.
If direct-to-consumer testing continues to attract healthcare consumers and financial investors, medical laboratories could have a new source of revenue
Many have tried but few have found the right formula to
offer medical laboratory tests directly to consumers. Direct-to-consumer lab
testing as a robust business model has been an elusive goal. But now one
entrepreneur wants to crack this market and just attracted $50 million in
venture capital to fund her idea!
Outsiders often establish industries. This was the case when Jeff Bezos created Amazon in 1994. The online retailer transformed the way books were sold and, subsequently, established a massive new retail market.
Along the same lines, Julia Taylor Cheek, Founder and CEO of EverlyWell, a well-financed digital health company based in Austin—hopes to build a similarly disruptive business in the clinical laboratory industry.
Cheek is increasing her company’s outreach to consumers by
putting some of the company’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) medical tests on store
shelves at CVS and Target.
A former consultant and Harvard Business School graduate, Cheek raised $50 million in financing to expand EverlyWell’s digital platform. According to a news release, “Just two full years into operation, EverlyWell is reporting 300% year-over-year customer growth and a world-class consumer Net Promoter Score (NPS).”
“I think it’s a representation of sexism in our space. There are 15 other companies that have popped up in blood testing and you don’t hear anyone comparing Theranos to those male-founded startups,” she told Inc.
However, Dark Daily believes Cheek may be missing one
basis for the comparison with Elizabeth Holmes. Holmes intended for Theranos to
serve consumers with lab testing, and let consumers order and purchase their
own medical laboratory tests. Cheek is talking about the same primary business
strategy of letting consumers purchase their own lab tests.
Armed with this additional financing from investors, EverlyWell intends to expand services and develop new partnerships with retail pharmacy chain CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) and for-profit insurance company Humana (NYSE:HUM).
The news release notes, “The company has also expanded its
product line to offer 35 panels, including first-to-market tests in fertility,
vitamins, peri- and post-menopause, and high-risk HPV. In addition, EverlyWell
has launched an end-to-end care model for consumers, now offering an
independent physician consult and prescription, if appropriate, for select STDs
and Lyme Disease testing. All of this is included in an upfront price before
purchase.”
EverlyWell Intent on
Bringing Medical Laboratory Tests to Retail
Earlier this year, EverlyWell made nine lab tests available in more than 1,600 Target store locations, MedCity News reported. This may suggest that retailers are intrigued with direct-to-consumer lab testing.
“We didn’t create new tests or technologies. Instead, we’ve built technology that empowers people to get tests more easily. Our medical director works with the labs to create panels that are already validated and clinically relevant and understandable for consumers,” Julia Taylor Cheek (above), Founder and CEO of EverlyWell told Forbes. (Photo copyright: Arnold Wells/Austin Business Journal.)
Cheek reportedly established EverlyWell after becoming
disenchanted with medical laboratory tests that she felt were not well
explained and too costly under high-deductible health plans.
Just two years on, EverlyWell reports “hundreds of thousands of customers and tens of millions in sales.” The company plans to add additional staff on top of its existing 70 employees in anticipation of the new funding, Austin Business Journal reports.
“We are building a consumer brand, which means we have to be where people shop. We need to be in places like CVS and Target to really allow for broader distribution and name recognition,” Cheek told the Austin American-Statesman.
What Draws People to EverlyWell?
EverlyWell offers home health test kits, priced from $49 to
$400 that people can order without a doctor’s prescription and pay for online. Users
take their samples (saliva, urine, or a pinprick of blood) with provided
lancets and cotton swabs, MedCity News
reported.
EverlyWell’s top selling tests are:
Food sensitivity-$159;
Thyroid function-$159;
Metabolism-$89; and
Vitamin D deficiency-$99.
EverlyWell says it is “first” in direct-to-consumer tests
for:
EverlyWell Test kits come with registration information, instructions, collection tools;
Biological samples are sent by consumers to CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)-certified labs that partner with EverlyWell;
Results are generally completed within 10 days depending on type of test and business volume;
A physician reviews the test results;
Reports on test results are electronically accessible through smartphone apps and online web dashboards.
“Lab testing is arguably one of the most important steps in preventing and managing illness but has been largely ignored by digital health companies. EverlyWell is successfully navigating an entrenched industry to offer consumers an opportunity to take charge of their own health,” said Eric Kim, Managing Partner at Goodwater Capital (which led the financing), in the news release.
“We’re building the definitive technology-enabled healthcare platform that consumers deserve and have already come to expect in other areas of their lives,” Cheek told VentureBeat. “As high-deductible plans become the norm, consumers are becoming discerning buyers who look for seamless, digitally enabled experiences.”
Learning from
EverlyWell
Of course, pathologists and medical laboratory professionals
will watch to see if EverlyWell can sustain its rapid rise in popularity with
healthcare consumers. In particular, those consumers who prefer DTC testing
over traditional clinical laboratory visits and who may be on high-deductible
health plans.
The DTC test market represents an opportunity that most
clinical laboratories have yet to take seriously. There are many reasons why
medical lab managers and pathologists would be taking a “wait and see”
attitude. Meanwhile, EverlyWell has $50 million of investors’ money to use to
demonstrate the financial viability of its strategy to encourage consumers to purchase
their own clinical laboratory tests—and even collect their own specimens at
home!
