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Clinical Lab 2.0: A Value-Based Care Diagnostic Business Model with Alternative Payment Frameworks for Population Health
March 25, 2026
Filed in: VBC Diagnostics Journal
Clinical laboratories are facing significant economic pressure as the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) driven reimbursement cuts erode margins and fee-for-service models become unsustainable. At the same time, nearly half of U.S. healthcare payments now flow through value-based arrangements, creating a pivotal opportunity for laboratories to realign with this new paradigm. This paper outlines a roadmap for how laboratories can transform from transactional test providers into strategic partners in population health, which also catalyzes their transformation from cost centers to revenue generators. Drawing from Project Santa Fe Foundation’s Clinical Lab 2.0 framework, it demonstrates how laboratory insights can drive measurable financial and clinical impacts, such as identifying undiagnosed chronic conditions that unlock risk-adjustment revenue and improve quality ratings tied to Medicare Advantage (MA) bonuses. A Business Model Canvas defines the key pillars of this novel business model, and a four-step implementation toolkit equip laboratory leaders and pathologists to align operations, informatics, and partnerships with value-based care principles. The result is a framework for a sustainable, data-driven model positioning laboratories as essential catalysts of health-system performance.
Authors: Authors: Lena Chaihorsky; Rick VanNess, MS; Julie Cooper, MA, FACHE; Khosrow R. Shotorbani, MBA, MLS(ASCP)
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