Increased funding for laboratory testing
TORONTO, April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - MDS Diagnostic Services, a
leading provider of laboratory testing and management services in Canada,
today announced that the Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories (OAML)
has reached a new three- year funding agreement with the Ontario Ministry of
Health and Long Term Care (MOH) for the provision of community laboratory
services, which are used by physicians and other health care providers to help
in the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and prevention of disease in patients.
The new agreement includes a 2% base increase in the provincial funding
cap for each of the years ending in March 31, 2006, March 31, 2007, and
March 31, 2008, for community laboratory services performed under the Ontario
Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). MDS, which provides approximately 31.6% of
community laboratory services in Ontario, would receive its proportional share
of these increases.
The agreement also provides for adjustment funding should certain
industry volume thresholds be reached as a result of accommodating the needs
of long-term care patients and new physicians among other criteria. Under this
arrangement, funding adjustments could be made to a maximum of 0.8%, 2.9% and
4.9% over the March 31, 2005 provincial funding cap, for each of the years
ending March 31, 2006, March 31, 2007, and March 31, 2008, respectively. If
earned, these funding adjustments would be paid annually to OAML members
according to their respective proportional shares of the provincial funding
cap, as part of the MOH year-end reconciliation process.
The agreement is retroactive to April 1, 2005, which is when the previous
agreement expired. Accordingly, in the second quarter ending April 30, 2006
MDS will recognize approximately $3.7 million of previously unrecognized
revenue for the period from April 1, 2005 to April 30, 2006.
MDS Diagnostic Services, a business unit of MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS, NYSE:
MDZ), is a leading provider of laboratory testing and management services. MDS
Inc. is a global life sciences company that provides market-leading products
and services that our customers need for the development of drugs and
diagnosis and treatment of disease. We are a leading global provider of
pharmaceutical contract research, medical isotopes for molecular imaging,
radiotherapeutics, and analytical instruments. MDS has more than 8,800 highly
skilled people in 28 countries. Find out more at www.mdsinc.com or by calling
1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.
SOURCE MDS Inc.
-0- 04/07/2006
/CONTACT: Sharon Mathers, Vice-President, Investor Relations,
(416) 675-6777 ext. 2695, smathers@mdsinc.com/
(MDS. MDZ)
CO: MDS Inc.; MDS Diagnostic Services
ST: Ontario
IN: HEA
SU:
-30-
NC
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6430 04/07/2006 08:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
