SALINA — Laboratory Alliance of Central New York, LLC is concerned about what it calls an “alarming national shortage” in the medical technology or laboratory workforce.

“I call it a silent crisis because nobody really knows what medical technology is,” says Barbara Guiffrida, VP of human resources at Laboratory Alliance.

A medical technologist or a medical technician handles a patient’s blood work, she notes.

“So when you want to see if you’re a diabetic or you have high cholesterol … that’s how they’re diagnosed … through lab results,” says Guiffrida.

Laboratory Alliance, which says it is the region’s largest clinical laboratory, contends the open jobs have outpaced the number of medical technologists and technician graduates for years.

A medical technologist is also known as a clinical laboratory scientist, Laboratory Alliance says.

The clinical-laboratory worker is an “important player” in the health-care industry, but it’s not a “top-of-mind” career choice because they’re workers who do their jobs behind the scenes and not directly with the patients, Laboratory Alliance contends.

“They’re hidden. They’re behind the scenes. They’re not up front like the nurses or the doctors,” says Guiffrida.

The company argues that a career in laboratory medicine is a “smart choice” for students who enjoy science and want a “strong job market” when they graduate.

Laboratory Alliance is telling anyone contemplating a two- or four-year degree in science to choose medical technology and “there will be a career waiting upon graduation.”

A medical technologist is a person who has a four-year degree in medical technology. A student needs only a two-year degree to become a medical technician. The positions require licensing from New York State, which started about a decade ago, according to Guiffrida. 

A graduate with an associate degree can begin with a starting salary about $37,500, a figure that rises to about $42,000 with a four-year degree, says Guiffrida.

“When you go and get your degree, you come out with a career, as opposed to just a degree. That’s why I was so excited about this P-TECH grant for the Syracuse City School District,” she adds.

P-TECH grant
The New York State Education Department awarded the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) a $3 million New York State Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) award. The SCSD announced the grant award in early November.

The district used the award to create the P-TECH Health Careers Academy (HCA) at Henninger High School.

The high school will enroll 56 incoming ninth graders to attend the P-TECH Health Careers Academy beginning in the 2016-17 school year, SCSD said. 

They will graduate in five to six years with a high-school diploma, an associate degree, industry recognized credentials, and preference for local jobs, according to Laboratory Alliance.

The SCSD will collaborate with SUNY Broome Community College, Onondaga Community College, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, and Laboratory Alliance of Central New York on this project. 

USBLS study
In its news release, Laboratory Alliance cited a 2012 study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS) that indicated 7,100 new jobs in medical and clinical laboratory technology will be created annually by 2022.

In addition, the current workforce is expected to have a replacement rate of 26 percent, totaling an additional 8,500 jobs needed annually for the 10-year period.

Employment of medical laboratory technologists and technicians is projected to grow 22 percent from 2012 to 2022, “much faster than the average for all occupations,” Laboratory Alliance said.

The company also contends that an increase in the aging population will lead to a “greater need” to diagnose medical conditions through laboratory procedures.

And an aging population also means something else.

“We have an aging workforce,” says Guiffrida. “I’ve got more people retiring than people coming in to take their position.”

People who have consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) appear to pay more attention to their health costs and behavior.

That’s according to new research that the Washington, D.C.–based Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) released last month. EBRI works to contribute to, encourage, and enhance the development of sound employee-benefit programs and sound public policy through objective research and education, according to its website.

Adults who have a consumer-driven health plan and a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) were more likely than those in a traditional plan to “exhibit a number of cost-conscious behaviors.”

The finding is part of the 2015 EBRI/Greenwald & Associates Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey (CEHCS).

The CEHCS examined differences and similarities among individuals enrolled in traditional health plans, CDHPs, and HDHPs. 

The report also looked at consumer engagement more generally and health-care decision-making, cost and quality information, participation in wellness programs, opinions about provider engagement, cost-sharing incentives related to plan type, and telemedicine. Findings from this survey are compared [with] previous EBRI surveys on the subject.

Other findings
The study also found evidence that adults in a CDHP were more likely than those in a traditional plan to be “engaged” in their choice of health plan, according to EBRI.

It found that CDHP enrollees were more likely than traditional-plan enrollees to “take advantage” of various wellness programs, such as health-risk assessments, health-promotion programs, and biometric screenings.

“Employers have been interested in bringing aspects of consumer engagement into health plans for many years, not just through greater cost-sharing but also through wellness programs,” Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI’s health research and education program and the report’s author, said in a news release. “Consumer-driven health plans appear to be having that effect.”

Specifically, the EBRI survey found that those in a CDHP or HDHP were more likely than those with traditional coverage to say that they had checked whether the plan would cover care. 

They also asked for a generic drug instead of a brand name, talked to their doctors about prescription options and costs, asked a doctor to recommend a less costly drug, talked to their doctors about other treatment options and costs, developed a budget to manage health-care expenses, and used an online cost-tracking tool that the health plan provided, according to the EBRI report.

In addition, those in a CDHP were more likely than those with traditional coverage to say that they had talked to friends, family, or colleagues about the plans; attended a meeting that included explanations on health-plan choices; and consulted with their employer’s human-resources staff about health-plan choices. 

Those in an HDHP were more likely than those with traditional coverage to say that they had visited the health plan’s website to learn about their plan; talked to friends, family, or colleagues about the plan; used other websites to learn about their choices; and that they consulted with an insurance broker to understand the plan, EBRI said.

About the plans
Consumer-driven health plans are a combination of health coverage with high deductibles (at least $1,300 for individual coverage in 2015) and tax-preferred savings or spending accounts that workers and their families can use to pay their out-of-pocket, health-care expenses. 

A handful of employers first started offering CDHPs in 2001 with health-reimbursement accounts (HRAs) and in 2004 employers were able to start offering health plans with health-savings accounts (HSAs).

The 2015 survey found 13 percent of the population was enrolled in a CDHP, 11 percent enrolled in an HDHP, and 76 percent enrolled in traditional coverage. 

The 13 percent of the population with a CDHP represented about 26 million individuals with private insurance, while the 11 percent with an HDHP represented about 22 million individuals. 

Methodology
Researchers conducted the 2015 CEHCS within the U.S. between Aug. 4 and Aug. 21, 2015, through a 12-minute Internet survey. 

The national or base sample was drawn from Ipsos’ online panel of Internet users who have agreed to participate in research surveys. 

More than 2,000 adults ages 21 to 64, who had health insurance through an employer, purchased directly from an insurer, or purchased through a government exchange, were drawn randomly from the Ipsos sample for this base sample. 

Researchers stratified the sample by gender, age, region, income, and race. The response rate was 34.4 percent. 

As a non-probability sample, traditional survey margin-of-error estimates do not apply, EBRI said. However, had the survey used a probability sample, the margin of error for the national sample would have been plus or minus 2.2 percent.