Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest) and Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), the nation’s two largest laboratories, are at present involved in a multi-billion dollar Medicare scam, according to a critical report published in one of the medical laboratory industry’s leading trade publications.The Dark Report exposed recently that the two labs have billed the federal government $14 billion in questionable Medicare fees over a 10-year period and that the practice continues today.

This long-running Medicare and Medicaid scam has generated billions in profits for the companies, turning them into market leaders at taxpayers’ expense, said Karen Hinton, a representative for NPT Associates and Fair Laboratory Practices Associates, plaintiffs in federal lawsuits against Quest and LabCorp.

The Dark Report and the legal complaints against the two companies portray the deeply-discounted and below-cost lab fees to private insurance companies as “kickbacks.” In return, the insurance companies force doctors in their networks to send all of their patients’ lab work, including Medicare Plan and Medicaid patients, to either Quest or LabCorp. The labs fund the kickbacks by charging too much from Medicare and Medicaid patients, according to the complaints and The Dark Report. For instance, Quest charged the State of California $8.59 for a complete blood test, but billed private insurers only $1.43.

The Dark Report found that Quest and LabCorp have billed Medicare Plan $8.7 billion and $5.4 billion in that order during the past ten years, while offering low-prices for lab tests to private insurance companies.

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