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Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   ☐

2020.

February 22, 2021: 116,939,763.

•The risk of liability in conducting clinical trials and the sufficiency of our insurance to cover such claims;

•The expected reimbursement levels from governmental payers and private insurers and proposed changes to those levels;

•Our expectations regarding the conversion of our outstanding 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due May 2025 (the “2025 Convertible Notes”) or our outstanding 0.25% Convertible Senior Notes due January 2028 (the “2028 Convertible Notes”) in the aggregate principal amount of $201.3 million and $345 million, respectively, and our ability to make debt service payments under the 2025 Convertible Notes or 2028 Convertible Notes that may be issued in the convertible notes offering if such notes are not converted;

These

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Operating Segments

clinical trials.

Report for further financial information about these segments.

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development. Each trial we support comes with rapid turnaround time, dedicated project management and quality assurance oversight. We have experience in supporting submissions to the Federal Drug Administration (“FDA”) for companion diagnostics. Our Pharma Services strategy is focused on helping bring more effective oncology treatments to market through providing world classworld-class laboratory services in oncology to key pharmaceutical companies in the industry.

Markets

The medical testing laboratory market can be broken down into three primary markets:

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this age range, the incidence rates of cancer are rising; (iii) increasingly, new drugs are being targeted to certain cancer subtypes and pathways which require companion diagnostic testing; (iv) patient and payer awareness of the value of genetic and molecular testing; (v) decreases in the cost of performing genetic and molecular testing; (vi) increased coverage from third party payers and Medicare for such testing; and (vii) the health insurance coverage to uninsured Americans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, each enacted in March 2010. These factors have driven significant growth in the market for this type of testing. We estimate a $12-14 billion totalAdditionally, there is an increased focus on developing tests for monitoring purposes, including minimal residual disease (“MRD”) and recurrence detection in cancer survivors, which could also broaden the use of certain tests and influence the market opportunity for cancer testing in the United States, and we estimate that about $5-7 billion of this market is made up of genetic and molecular testing with the remaining portion derived from more traditional anatomic pathology testing services that are complementary to and often ordered with the genetic and molecular testing services we offer.

2018testing.

Our focus is on expanding our purpose to extend beyond the organization to include all stakeholders. This includes the communities we serve and our society as a

Our consistent timeliness of results by our Clinical Services segment is a competitive strength and a driver of additional testing requests by our referring physicians. Rapid turnaround times allow for the performance of other adjunctive tests within an acceptable diagnosis window in order to augment or confirm results and more fully inform treatment options. We believe that fast turnaround times are a key differentiator versus other national laboratories, and our clients often cite them as a key factor in their relationship with us.  

Fast response time is also critical to customer satisfaction in our Pharma Services segment.  We work with the sponsors to set up the studies quickly and to provide rapid turnaround on the testing results once the samples from the study enrollees arrive at the laboratory.  Final transmissions of data are also critical to sponsors who are often working on their own submissions to the FDA for approval of drug compounds.  WeAdditionally, we believe that our rapid turnaround time on testing and our project milestones are a key differentiator in theour Pharma Services segment.

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World-class Medical and Scientific Team

Our team of medical professionals and Ph.Ds. are specialists in the field of genetics, oncology and pathology.  As of December 31, 2017, we employed, or contracted with approximately 30 full-time M.D.s and Ph.Ds.  We have many nationally world renowned pathologists on staff, which is a key differentiator from many smaller laboratories.  Our clinical customers look to our staff and their expertise and they often call our medical team on challenging cases.  For our Pharma Services segment, many sponsors work with our medical team on their study design and on the interpretation of results from the studies.  Again, our medical team is a key differentiator as we have a depth of medical expertise that many other laboratories cannot offer to Pharmaceutical companies.

Extensive Tech-Only

Our tech-only services are designed to give pathologists the option to choose, on a case by case basis, whether they want to order just the technical information and images relating to a specific test so they can perform the professional interpretation, or order global“global” services and receive a comprehensive test report which includes a NeoGenomics pathologist’s interpretation of the test results. Our clients appreciate the flexibility to access NeoGenomics’ medical staff for difficult or complex cases or when they are otherwise unavailable to perform professional interpretations.  We believe this innovative approach to serving the needs of pathology clients’ results in longer term, more committed client relationships that are, in effect, strategic partnerships. Our extensive tech-only service offerings have differentiated us and allowed us to compete more effectively.  

Global Service Offerings

Client Education Programs

whole genome sequencing. Our educational programs include an extensive library of on-demand training modules, online courses, and custom tailored on-site training programs that are designed to prepare clients to utilize our tech-only services. We offer

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training and information on new cancer tests and the latest developments in the field of molecular genetic testing. Each year, we also regularly sponsor seminars and webinars on emerging topics of interest in our field. Our medical staff is involved in many aspects of our training programs.

Superior Testing Technologies and Instrumentation

We use some of the most advanced testing technologies and instrumentation in the laboratory industry. The use of next generation sequencing in our molecular testing allowsmenu enables us to detect multiple mutations and our proprietary techniques allow us to achieve high sensitivity in our next generation sequencing testing.  In addition, we use high sensitivity Sanger sequencing, RNA and DNA quantification, SNP/Cytogenetic arrays, Fragment Length analysis, and other molecular testing technologies.  Our automated FISH and Cytogenetics tools allow us to deliver the highest quality testing tobe a true “one-stop shop” for our clients and our flow cytometry laboratory uses 10-color flow cytometry analysis technology on a technical-only basis. NeoGenomics is continuallyas we can meet all of their oncology testing new laboratory equipment in order to remain at the forefront of new developments in the testing field.

Laboratory Information System

We believe we have a state-of-the-art LIS that interconnects our locations and provides flexible reporting solutions to clients.  This system allows us to standardize testing and deliver uniform test results and images throughout our network, regardless of the location that any specific portion of a test is performed within our network.  This allows us to move specimens and image analysis work between locations to better balance our workload.  Our LIS also allows us to offer highly specialized and customizable reporting solutions to our tech-only clients.  For instance, our tech-only FISH and flow cytometry applications allow our community-based pathologist clients to tailor individual reports to their specifications and incorporate only the images they select and then issue and sign-out such reports using our system.  Our customized reporting solution also allows our clients to incorporate test results performed on ancillary tests not performed at NeoGenomics into summary report templates.  This FlexREPORT feature has been well-received by clients.

needs.

We continue to produce higher testing volumes Our sales force educates clients on new test offerings and revenue due totheir proper utilization and our ongoing investment in sales and marketing.  We have expanded the size ofrepresentatives are often seen as trusted advisors by our sales team and are investing more in trade shows and in our overall marketing budget.  We plan to continue to develop and execute strategic marketing plans throughout 2018.

Geographic Locations

Many high complexity laboratories within the cancer testing industry have operated a core facility on either the West Coast or the East Coast of the United States to service the needs of their customers around the country. We believe our clients and prospects desire to do business with a laboratory with national breadth and a local presence, and have developed our laboratory facility strategy accordingly.  We have seven facilities, including three large laboratory locations in Fort Myers, Florida, Aliso Viejo, California, and Houston Texas.  We also have four smaller laboratory locations in Fresno, California, Nashville, Tennessee, Tampa, Florida and Rolle, Switzerland. Our objective is to “operate one lab with multiple locations” in order to deliver standardized, high quality, test results. In November 2017, we opened a laboratory in Rolle, Switzerland where we are offering Pharma Services to international clients.  In addition, due to growth in the Pharma Services segment, we are constructing a new, expanded laboratory in

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Houston, Texas, which is a Pharma-first facility. In 2018, we are also opening a small laboratory facility in Atlanta, Georgia to offer rapid turnaround time testing to clients in that market.  We intend to continue our growth and open new laboratories and/or expand our current facilities as market situations dictate and business opportunities arise.

In the third quarter of 2017, our Houston, Texas laboratory was impacted by Hurricane Harvey and the resulting wide spread flooding in the area.  While our facility was not damaged, many of our customers were unable to open for several days which impacted our business.  A few weeks later our Fort Myers, Florida laboratory was impacted by Hurricane Irma.  Our laboratory was not damaged and while power did go out in the area our generator kept power to our lab.  Extensive power outages in the southern half of Florida did impact many of our customers who were unable to open for days after the storm had passed.  The storms had a significant impact on our third quarter revenue.  

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business, it could result in short-term impact on our turnaround time or gross margin depending on the nature of or extent of the disruption.

Trademarks

The “NeoGenomics” and “Clarient” names and logos have been trademarked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We have also trademarked or have applications pending for the brand names NeoFISH, NeoFLOW, NeoSITE, NeoArray, NeoTYPE, NeoSCORE, NeoLAB and NeoLINK. We have also trademarked the marketing slogans, “When time matters and results count” and “Time matters, results count.”

pharmaceutical sponsor.

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expression participate in, contribute to, and benefit equally. We maintain a retention rate of 85% or higher year over year. As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s retention rate was greater than 90%.

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The federal and state certification and licensure programs establish standards for the operation of clinical laboratories, including, but not limited to, qualifications of personnel and quality control. Compliance with such standards is verified by periodic inspections by inspectors employed by federal and state regulatory agencies and accrediting organizations.

Quality of Care

Our mission is to improve patient care through quality cancer genetic diagnostic services. By delivering exceptional serviceaccreditation requirements and innovative solutions, we aspire to become the world’s leading cancer and information company.industry standards. The quality of care provided to clients and their patients is of paramount importance to us. We maintain quality control processes, including standard operating procedures, controls, performance measurement and reporting mechanisms. Our employees are committed to providing accurate, reliable and consistent services at all times. Any concerns regarding the quality of testing or services provided by the Company are immediately communicated to our Medical Team, Company management and, if necessary, the Director for Quality Systems, the Compliance Department or Human Resources Department.management. We also continually revise and improve our tests and work with laboratory equipment vendors to ensure that our laboratory has the highest possible quality.

Hotline

As part of its Compliance Program, the Company provides a hotline for employees who wish to anonymously or confidentially report suspected violations of our codes of conduct, policies/procedures, or laws and regulations. Employees are strongly encouraged to report any suspected violation if they do not feel the problem can be appropriately addressed through the normal chain of command. The hotline does not replace other resources available to our employees, including supervisors, managers and human resources staff, but is an alternative channel available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The hotline forwards all reports to the Chief Compliance Officer who is responsible for investigating, reporting to the Compliance Committee, and documenting the disposition of each report. The hotline forwards any calls pertaining to the financial statements or financial issues to the Chairman of the Audit Committee. The Company does not allow any retaliation against an employee who reports a compliance related issue in good faith.

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complexity CLIA-certified laboratories, and has not subjected these tests to FDA rules and regulations governing medical devices. However, the FDA has stated that it has been considering changes in the way it believes that laboratories ought to be allowed to offer these LDTs, and since 2010 publicly announced that it would be exercising regulatory authority over LDTs, using a risk-based approach that will direct more resources to tests with the highest risk of injury. On July 31, 2014 the FDA issued a notification to Congress of the “Anticipated Details of the Draft Guidance for Industry, Food and Drug Administration Staff, and Clinical Laboratories: Framework for Regulatory Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests,” or the Draft LDT Guidance. As described in this notification, the FDA planned to provide draft guidance to clinical laboratories that develop their own LDTs regarding how the FDA intends to regulate such laboratories under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. In October 2014, the FDA published a draft guidanceDraft LDT Guidance setting forth its proposed framework and timetable for regulating LTDs.LDTs. The FDA received numerous comments both in support of and opposed to the draft guidance. In November 2016,The FDA provided an opportunity for public comment through February 2015 and received numerous public comments in response to the Draft LDT Guidance. The FDA then announced that it would not be finalizing the draft guidance. On January 13, 2017, FDA published a non-binding Discussion Paper to “advance the public discussion by providing a possible approach to spur further dialogue.” The Discussion Paper sets forth a possible LDT regulatory approach where LDTs currently on the market would be

The For additional information regarding the federal AKS and similar state anti-kickback laws, see Item 1A. Risk Factors, Risks Relating to Regulation, “The failure to comply with Anti-Kickback laws may subject us to liability, penalties or limitation of operations.”

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addition to services reimbursed by Medicaid or government payers, often these state laws and regulations can encompass services reimbursed by private payers and paid by self-pay patients as well. Penalties for violating state self-referral laws and regulations vary based on the state, but often include civil and criminal penalties, exclusion from Medicaid, and loss of licenses. Our financial arrangements with physicians are governed by the federal Stark Law and similar state self-referral laws, and we rely on certain exceptions to the Stark Law with respect to such relationships. While we believe that our financial relationships with physicians and referral practices are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that government authorities would agree. If we are found by the government to be in violation of the Stark Law or a similar state self-referral law, we could be subject to significant penalties, including fines as specified above, exclusion from participation in government and private payer programs and requirements to refund amounts previously received from government.

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utilizes standard transaction data sets, and has obtained and implemented national provider identifiers, or NPIs, as the standard unique health identifier in filing and processing health care claims and other transactions.

The market for our services is highly competitive, which

We frequently develop testing proceduresability to provide diagnostic resultsafter-test support to clients that cannot currently be provided using test kits approved or cleared by the FDA. The FDA has been considering changes to the way that it regulates these LDTs. Currently all LDTs are conducted and offered in accordance with the CLIA, and individual state licensing procedures. The FDA has published a draft guidance document that would require FDA clearance or approval of a subset of LDTs, as well as a modified approach for some lower risk LDTs that may require FDA oversight short of the full premarket approval or clearance process. Congress may enact legislation to provide a regulatory framework for the FDA’s role with regard to LDTs.  As a result, there is a risk that the FDA’s proposed regulatory process could delay the offering of certain tests and result in additional validation costs and fees. There is also an associated risk for us that some tests currently offered might become subject to FDA premarket approval or clearance. This FDA approval or clearance process may be time-consuming and costly, with no guarantee of ultimate approval or clearance.

On July 31, 2014 the FDA issued a notification to Congress of the “Anticipated Details of the Draft Guidance for Industry, Food and Drug Administration Staff, and Clinical Laboratories: Framework for Regulatory Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests,” or the Draft LDT Guidance. As described in this notification, the FDA planned to provide draft guidance to clinical laboratories that develop their own LDTs regarding how the FDA intends to regulate such laboratories under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. On October 3, 2014 the FDA issued the draft guidance to clinical laboratories. The regulatory framework will use a risk-based approach to enforce the FDA’s premarket review requirements, and for high-risk tests, the framework may require laboratories to use FDA-

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approved tests, if available, rather than LDTs. If implemented, the framework outlinedthose physicians requesting consultation. Any unforeseen increase in the Draft LDT Guidance may also require us to obtain premarket clearance or approval for certainvolume of clients could strain the capacity of our LDTs. Implementation of this framework would include a lengthy phase-in period ranging from twopersonnel and systems, leading to nine years depending onunacceptable turn-around times, or customer service failures. In addition, as the risk assessment rating of each particular test. The FDA provided an opportunity for public comment through February 2015 and received numerous public comments in response to the Draft LDT Guidance.  In January 2017 the FDA announced that it would not issue a final guidance on the oversight of LDTs at the request of various stakeholders to allow for further public discussion on an appropriate oversight approach, and to give congressional authorizing committees the opportunity to develop a legislative solution.  At the same time, Congress, the FDA, and various industry stakeholders have worked to provide recommendations for comprehensive reform of LDAs.  Recently, Congress has submitted a legislative discussion draft, the Diagnostic Accuracy and Innovation Act (“DAIA”) to the FDA and requested technical assistance on the draft.  However, it remains unknown whether the regulatory framework ultimately implemented by the FDA will differ substantially from the framework described in the Draft LDT Guidance or in the DAIA. This FDA regulation may result in increased regulatory burdens for us to register and continue to offer our tests or to develop and introduce new tests and may increase our costs.    We do not yet know whichnumber of our tests would be classified as high-riskclients and would require a full FDA approval.  If such approval was required, we cannot be certain thatspecimens increases, our tests would obtain FDA approval or clearance.  

In the event that, in the future, the FDA and/or congressional authorizing committees begin to regulate our tests, it could require a significant volume of applications with the FDA and/or document responses to congressional authorizing committees which would be burdensomeproducts, services, and the FDA and/or congressional authorizing committees could take a long time to review such applications and/or document responses if every lab in the country files a large volume of applications and/or document responses for each of their LDTs.

In November of 2017, CMS initiated a national coverage analysis for the use of Next Generation Sequencing “NGS” diagnostic tests for patients with advanced cancer.  The proposed decision memo was released and open to a public comment period.  Through this national coverage analysis, CMS is considering making changes to reimbursement for NGS testing which once finalized could directly affect our revenue for this test type.   

Healthcare reform programs may impact our business and the pricing we receive for our services.

In March of 2010, health care reform legislation known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” also known as the ACA, was passed into law. The ACA also makes changes that are expected to significantly impact the pharmaceutical and medical device industries and clinical laboratories. For example, effective December 31, 2017, each medical device manufacturer must pay sales tax in an amount equal to 2.3% of the price for which such manufacturer sells its medical devices that are listed with the FDA. Although the FDA issued Draft LDT Guidance that, if finalized, would regulate certain clinical laboratory tests that are developed and validated by a laboratory for its own use, or LDTs, as medical devices, none of our LDTs such as our prostate cancer test are currently listed with the FDA. We cannot assure you that the tax will not apply to services such as ours in the future.

The ACA contains several provisions that seek to limit Medicare spending in the future. One key provision in the ACA is the establishment of “Accountable Care Organizations,” or ACOs, under which hospitals and physicians are able to share savings that result from cost control efforts. We cannot predict how the continued establishment and implementation of these new business models will impact our business. There is the possibility that these organizations will seek to lower reimbursement for the services we provide and some may potentially restrict access to our services. Weinfrastructure may not be able to gain access into certain ACOs. These changes could have an adverse and material impact on our operations. In furtherance of health care reform and the reduction in health care expenditures, the ACA contains numerous provisions to be implemented through 2018. There can be no assurance at this time that the implementation of these provisions will not have a material adverse effect on our business.

The ACA provided for states to create health insurance “Marketplaces” where individuals can compare and enroll in Qualified Health Plans, or QHPs. Individuals with an income less than 400% of the federal poverty level that purchase insurance on a Marketplacescale accordingly. We may be eligible for federal subsidies to cover a portion of their health insurance premium costs and cost sharing of co‑insurance or co‑pay obligations. Our patients may be enrolled in QHPs, and we may begin to submit bills to QHPs for services we provide. The presence of federal funds in QHPs in

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the form of subsidies and cost-sharing may subject providers to heightened government attention and enforcement, which could significantly increase the cost of compliance and could materially impact our operations. For example, it is not clear whether the availability of these federal subsidies classifies a QHP as a federal healthcare program, particularly for purposes of federal fraud and abuse laws. In letters published on October 30, 2013 and February 6, 2014, the former Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, or DHHS, Kathleen Sebelius, indicated that DHHS does not consider QHPs to be federal healthcare programs. However, a judge may not agree with this statement by Secretary Sebelius, and other government regulators, including, but not limited to the current of future Secretary of the DHHS, may take a different position. For example, subsequent letters from U.S. Senator Charles Grassley to Secretary Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder on November 7, 2013 and February 12, 2014 indicate that this issue remains an outstanding question. If QHPs are classified as federal healthcare programs, it could significantly increase our costs of compliance.

In January 2017, Congress voted to adopt a budget resolution for fiscal year 2017, or the Budget Resolution, that authorizes the implementation of legislation that would repeal portions of the ACA. Further, in January 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the ACA to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision of the ACA that would impose a fiscal or regulatory burden on states, individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices. In December of 2017, President Trump signed into law Public Law No. 115-97, which made changes to the tax code and included, among other things, a repeal of the ACA’s penalties for the individual mandate, a provision that required individuals to buy health insurance or pay a fine.  Congress also could consider subsequent legislation to replace elements of the ACA that are repealed.  Additionally, the ACA continues to be challenged in a variety of lawsuits. Because of the continued uncertainty about the implementation of the ACA, there can be no assurance at this time that the implementation (or repeal) of these provisions will not have a material adverse effect on our business.

Steps taken by government payers, such as Medicare and Medicaid to control the utilization and reimbursement of healthcare services, including esoteric testing may diminish our net revenue.

We face efforts by government payers to reduce utilization as well as reimbursement for laboratory testing services. Changes in governmental reimbursement may result from statutory and regulatory changes, prospective and/or retroactive rate adjustments, administrative rulings and other policy changes.

From time to time, legislative freezes and updates affect some of our tests that are reimbursed by the Medicare program under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, or MPFS, or Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, or CLFS. The MPFS is updated on an annual basis. In the past, the MPFS was updated using a prescribed statutory formula; when application of the statutory formula resulted in lower payments, Congress has passed interim legislation to prevent the reductions. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, or MACRA, repealed the previous statutory update formula and specified the update adjustment factors for calendar years 2015 and beyond. If the updated conversion factor results in negative reimbursement in future years, the resulting decrease in payment may adversely affect our revenue, business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

In addition, recent laws have made changes to Medicare reimbursement for our tests that are reimbursed under the CLFS, many of which have already gone into effect. In June 2016, CMS published the Clinical Laboratory Fee CLFS final rule entitled “Medicare Program: Medicare Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests Payment System” (CMS-1621-F). The final rule provides regulations to implement the provisions of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, or PAMA, which was signed to law in April 2014. Under the final rule, laboratories, including physician office laboratories, are required to report private payer rate and volume data if they:

•Have more than $12,500 in Medicare revenues from laboratory services on the CLFS and

•They receive more than 50 percent of their Medicare revenues from laboratory and physician services during a data collection period.

Tests that meet the criteria for being considered new advanced tests will be paid at actual list charge during an initial period of three calendar quarters. Once the initial period is over, payment for new, advanced tests would be based on

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the weighted median private payer rate reported by the single laboratory that performs the new ADLT. Advanced tests are tests furnished by only one laboratory that include a unique algorithm and, at a minimum, are an analysis of RNA, DNA or proteins or are cleared or approved by the FDA.  

Applicable laboratories must report data that includes the payment rate (reflecting all discounts, rebates, coupons and other price concessions) and the volume of each test that was paid by each private payer (including health insurance issuers, group health plans, Medicare Advantage plans and Medicaid managed care organizations). The definition of “applicable” lab may exclude certain types of laboratories that generally received more favorable pricing than other laboratories, and thus the make-up of laboratories reporting pricing data to CMS under the proposed rule may result in lower overall pricing data. Beginning in 2017, the Medicare payment rate for each clinical diagnostic lab test is equal to the weighted median amount for the test from the most recent data collection period. For example, laboratories were required to collect private payer data from January 1, 2016 through June 30, 2016 and report it to CMS by March 31, 2017. The new Medicare CLFS rates (based on weighted median private payer rates) was released in November 2017 and were effective on January 1, 2018.  Also for the years 2017 through 2019, the amount of reduction in the Medicare rate (if any) shall not exceed 10 percent from the prior year’s rate and for the years 2020 through 2022, any reduction shall not exceed 15 percent from the prior year’s rate. It is too early to predict the impact on reimbursement for our tests reimbursed under the CLFS, though we believe the government’s goal is to reduce Medicare program payments for CLFS tests. Specifically, CMS states that it anticipates the effect of the proposed rule on the Medicare program to save $360 million in program payments for CLFS tests furnished in FY 2017, and to save $5.14 billion over 10 years. CMS has also proposed that a laboratory’s failure to comply with reporting obligations, or a laboratory that makes a misrepresentation or omission in reporting required information, would be a violation of the Civil Monetary Penalties Law.

Also under PAMA, CMS is required to adopt temporary billing codes to identify new tests and new advanced diagnostic laboratory tests that have been cleared or approved by the FDA. For an existing test that is cleared or approved by the FDA and for which Medicare payment is made, CMS is required to assign a unique billing code if one has not already been assigned by the agency. Further, PAMA provides special payment status to “advanced diagnostic laboratory tests,” or ADLTs, to allow such ADLTs to be paid using their actual list charge amount during a certain time frame. We cannot determine at this time the full impact of the new law on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

CMS also adopts regulations and policies, from time to time, revising, limiting or excluding coverage or reimbursement for certain of the tests that we perform. Likewise, many state governments are under budget pressures and are also considering reductions to their Medicaid fees. Further, Medicare, Medicaid and other third party payers audit for overutilization of billed services. Even though all tests performed by us are ordered by our clients, who are responsible for establishing the medical necessity for the tests ordered, we may be subject to recoupment of payments, as the recipient of the payments for such tests, in the event that a third party payer such as CMS determines that the tests failed to meet all applicable criteria for payment. When third party payers like CMS revise their coverage regulations or policies, our costs generally increase due to the complexity of complying with additional administrative requirements. Furthermore, Medicaid reimbursement and regulations vary by state. Accordingly, we are subject to varying administrative and billing regulations, which also increase the complexity of servicing such programs and our administrative costs. Finally, state budget pressures have encouraged states to consider several courses that may impact our business, such as delaying payments, restricting coverage eligibility, service coverage restrictions and imposing taxes on our services.

In certain jurisdictions including Arkansas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming, Medicare administrative contractors CGS Administrators, Noridian Healthcare Solutions and Palmetto GBA, administer the Molecular Diagnostic Services Program, or MolDX, and establish coverage and reimbursement for certain molecular diagnostic tests, including many of our tests. To obtain Medicare coverage for a molecular diagnostic test (FDA approved or LDT), laboratories must apply for and obtain a unique test identifier or what is known as a “Z” code. For newly developed tests or for established tests that have not been validated for clinical and analytical validity and clinical utility, laboratories must submit a detailed dossier of clinical data to substantiate that the test meets Medicare’s requirements for coverage. We have received favorable coverage for many of our molecular tests, however we have

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also received non-coverage determinations for many newer tests. The field of molecular diagnostics is evolving very rapidly, and clinical studies on many new tests are still underway. We cannot be assured that some of our molecular tests will ever be covered services by Medicare, nor can we determine when the medical literature will meet the standard for coverage that Medicare administrative contractors have set.

In recent years, Medicare has encouraged beneficiaries to participate in managed care programs, known as “Medicare Advantage” programs, and has encouraged beneficiaries from the traditional fee-for- service Medicare program to switch to Medicare Advantage programs. This has resulted in rapid growth of health insurance and managed care plans offering Medicare Advantage programs and growth in Medicare beneficiary enrollment in these programs. Also in recent years, many states have increasingly mandated that Medicaid beneficiaries enroll in managed care arrangements. If these efforts continue to be successful, we may experience a further shift of traditional Medicare and Medicaid fee-for-service beneficiaries to managed care programs. As a result, we would be required to contract with those private managed care programs in order to be reimbursed for services provided to their Medicare and Medicaid members. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in entering into agreements with these managed care programs at rates of payment similar to those we realize from our non-managed care lines of business.

On January 1, 2018 CMS made changes to what is known as the “14-day rule” regarding Molecular testing.  Prior to 2018, CMS’ 14-day rule prevented reference and independent laboratories such as ours from billing Medicare directly for molecular pathology tests ordered less than 14days following an outpatients discharge from the hospital.  Instead, we would seek reimbursement from the hospital and the hospital would bill Medicare.  Certain Molecular tests that previously were not allowed to be billed to Medicare, are now once again allowed to be billed by laboratories directly to the Medicare program.  In 2017, these tests related to patients that had testing within 14 days of a hospital stay were charged directly to the referring hospital.  Since our client-bill pricing is typically higher for Molecular testing than the Medicare fee schedule, we anticipate a reduction in revenue from this policy change.  Under the MolDX program there are many policies that limit reimbursement on certain tests based on diagnosis codes, and for certain tests there is no reimbursement regardless of the patient’s condition.    

We expect the initiatives described above to continue and, if they do, to reduce reimbursements for clinical laboratory services, to impose more stringent cost controls on clinical laboratory services and to reduce utilization of clinical laboratory services. These efforts, including changes in law or regulations that may occur in the future, may each individually or collectively have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Changes in regulations, payer policies or contracting arrangements with payers or changes in other laws, regulations or policies may adversely affect coverage or reimbursement for our specialized diagnostic services, which may decrease our revenues and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Governmental payers, as well as private insurers and private payers, have implemented and will continue to implement measures to control the cost, utilization and delivery of healthcare services, including clinical laboratory and pathology services. Congress and federal agencies, such as CMS, have, from time to time, implemented changes to laws and regulations governing healthcare service providers, including specialized diagnostic service providers. These changes have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect coverage for our services. We also believe that healthcare professionals may not use our services if third-party payers do not provide adequate coverage and reimbursement for them. These changes in federal, state, local and third-party payer regulations or policies may decrease our revenues and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. We will continue to be a non-contracting provider until such time as we enter into contracts with third-party payers with whom we are not currently contracted. Because a portion of our revenues is from third-party payers with whom we are not currently contracted, it is likely that we will be required to make positive or negative adjustments to accounting estimates with respect to contractual allowances in the future, which may adversely affect our results of operations, our credibility with financial analysts and investors, and our stock price.

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Clinical trials and research services create a risk of liability.

Errors or omissions could occur during a clinical trial that may result in harm to study volunteers, or if unnoticed and regulatory approval received, to consumers of the drug, or that undermine the usefulness of the clinical trial or data from the clinical trial and may delay the entry of a drug to the market.

Our contracts include provisions entitling us to be indemnified or entitling us to a limitation of liability. These provisions do not uniformly protect us against liability arising from certain of our own actions, such as gross negligence or misconduct. We could be materially and adversely affected if we were required to pay damages or bear the costs of defending any claim which is not covered by a contractual indemnification provision or in the event that a party who must indemnify us does not fulfill its indemnification obligations or which is beyond the level of our insurance coverage. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain such insurance coverage on terms acceptable to us.

We may not be able to implement our business strategy, which could impair our abilityhire additional licensed medical technologists that we need to continue operations.

Implementationhandle increased volumes. Any failure to handle higher volume of our business strategies will depend in large part on our ability to (i) attract and maintain a significant number of clients; (ii) effectively provide acceptable products and services to our clients; (iii) develop and license new products and technologies; (iv) obtain adequate financing on favorable terms to fund our business strategies; (v) maintain appropriate internal procedures, policies, and systems; (vi) hire, train, and retain skilled employees and management; (vii) continue to operate despite increasing competition in the medical laboratory industry; (viii) be paid reasonable fees by government payer’s that will adequately cover our costs; (ix) establish, develop and maintain our name recognition; and (x) establish and maintain beneficial relationships with third-party insurance providers and other third-party payers. Our inability to obtain or maintain any or all these factors could impair our ability to implement our business strategies successfully, which could have material adverse effects on our results of operations and financial condition.

We may be unsuccessful in managing our growth which could prevent us from operating profitably.

Our growth has placed, and is expected to continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, operational and financial resources.  To manage our expanded business and our potential growth, we must continue to implement and improve our operational, financial and billing systems and to expand, train and manage our employee base. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations and our systems, procedures or controls may not be adequate to support our operations. Our management may not be able to achieve the rapid execution necessary to fully exploit the market opportunityrequests for our products and services. Any inabilityservices could lead to manage growth couldthe loss of established clients and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations potential profitability and financial condition.

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness.  This level of indebtedness could adversely affect our flexibility in operating our business and our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry.

In December 2016, we entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility, providing for up to $150 million of borrowings, comprised of a $75 million senior secured term loan facility and a $75 million revolving loan.  At December 31, 2017, we had $96.7 million of indebtedness outstanding, and approximately $16.7 million of available borrowing capacity under our senior secured revolving credit facility.  The revolving credit facility allows for additional borrowings as long as the debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio remains below 3.75 for 2017, 3.50 for 2018, and as specified in the respective agreements for future years.  The full amount of borrowings under the term loan facility and $22.9 million of borrowings under the revolving credit facility were used to retire the then existing term loan and redeem $55 million in shares of our convertible and redeemable (“Series A Preferred Stock”) received by an affiliate of General Electric (GE Medical) in connection with our acquisition of Clarient (“the Acquisition”).  Our substantial indebtedness could have significant consequences for our business and financial condition. For example:

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We cannot assure you that cash flows, combined with additional borrowings under the revolving credit facility or any future credit facility, will be available in an amount sufficient to enable us to repay our indebtedness, or to fund other liquidity needs.

In addition, we may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, whichfuture. This could cause the related risks to intensify. We may need to refinance all or a portion ofseverely harm our indebtedness on or before their respective maturities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we are unable to refinance our debt, we may default under the terms of our indebtedness, which could lead to an acceleration of the debt. We do not expect that we could repay all of our outstanding indebtedness if the repayment of such indebtedness was accelerated.

In addition, for so long as any shares of our Series A Preferred Stock remain outstanding, in the event that we issue any other shares of capital stock or any unsecured debt securities for cash, we are required to apply at least 50% of the net cash proceeds to redeem shares of Series A Preferred Stock at the then-effective liquidation preference, which is $7.50 per share as of the date of this report, less any applicable redemption discounts.  As a result, our ability to repay our outstanding indebtedness will be constrained by the fact that we will only receive half of the net cash proceeds from certain capital raising activities for as long as any shares of our Series A Preferred Stock remains outstanding.

If we are unable to successfully integrate any future business, we may acquire, with our legacy business, the anticipated benefits of such transaction may not be realized.

Acquisitions, involve the combination of two companies that formerly operated as independent companies. Acquisitions require us to devote significant management attention and resources to integrating the acquired company’s business practices and operations with our own. Potential difficulties we may encounter as part of the integration process, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, includefinancial condition. In addition, based on the following:

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We cannot be assured that all of the goals and anticipated benefits of an acquisition, will be achievable, particularly as the achievement of the benefits are in many important respects subject to factors that we do not control.  These factors would include such things as the reactions of third parties with whom we enter into contracts and to business and the reactions of investors and analysts.

If we cannot integrate our business and any future business we may acquire, successfully, we may fail to realize the expected benefits of such transaction, including the anticipated cost synergies.  We could also encounter additional transaction and integration costs or be subject to other factors that affect preliminary estimates.

Other manufacturers may discontinue or recall testing products used in our business.

We rely heavily on reagents, test kits and instruments manufactured by third parties in our testing services. From time to time, manufacturers discontinue or recall the reagents, test kits or instruments used by us to perform laboratory testing. Such discontinuations or recalls could adversely affect our costs, testing volume, costs and revenues.

Failure to develop, or acquire licenses for, new or improved testing technologies could materially and adversely affect our revenues.

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Management expects that our results of operations may fluctuate significantlyoverall financial condition. Additionally, should we choose or are required to sell these securities in the future asat a resultloss, our consolidated operating results or cash flows may be affected.

costs, testing volume, costs and revenues.

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involved. Insurance companies may also try to steer business away from us towards in-network providers by sending letters to physicians and even imposing financial penalties if they continue to send us business.

The market for our services is highly competitive, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The market for genetic and molecular testing services is highly competitive and we expect competition to continue to increase. We compete with other commercial clinical laboratories in addition to the in-house laboratories of many major hospitals and physician practices. Many of our existing competitors have significantly greater financial, human, technical and marketing resources than we do. Some physician groups and hospitals have made the decision to internalize testing rather than using an outsourced laboratory such as us and therefore control the referral of their own specimens. Our competitors may develop products and services that are superior to ours or that achieve greater market acceptance than our offerings. We may not be able to compete successfully against current and future sources of competition and in such cases, this may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Increased competition, including price competition, could have a material adverse impact on our net revenues and profitability.

Our industry is characterized by intense competition. Our major competitors including Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corporation of America are large national laboratories that possess greater name recognition, larger customer bases, and significantly greater financial resources and employ substantially more personnel than we do. Many of our competitors have long established relationships with their customers and third-party payers. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully with such entities in the future.

The laboratory business is intensely competitive both in terms of price and service. Pricing of laboratory testing services is often one of the most significant factors used by health care providers and third-party payers in selecting a laboratory. As a result of the laboratory industry undergoing consolidation, larger laboratory providers are able to increase cost efficiencies afforded by large-scale automated testing. This consolidation results in greater price competition. We may be unable to increase cost efficiencies sufficiently, if at all, and as a result, our net earnings and cash flows could be negatively impacted by such price competition. Additionally, we may also face changes in fee schedules, competitive bidding for laboratory services or other actions or pressures reducing payment schedules as a result of increased or additional competition.

Additional competition, including price competition, could have a material adverse impact on our net revenues and profitability.

We face the risk of capacity constraints, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We compete in the market place primarily on three factors: i) the quality and accuracy of our test results; ii) the speed or turn-around times of our testing services; and iii) our ability to provide after-test support to those physicians requesting consultation. Any unforeseen increase in the volume of clients could strain the capacity of our personnel and systems, leading to unacceptable turn-around times, or customer service failures. In addition, as the number of our clients and specimens increases, our products, services, and infrastructure may not be able to scale accordingly. We may also not be able to hire additional licensed medical technologists that we need to handle increased volumes. Any failure to handle higher volume of requests for our products and services could lead to the loss of established clients and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we produce inaccurate test results, our clients may choose not to use us in the future. This could severely harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, based on the importance of the subject matter of our tests, inaccurate results could result in improper treatment of patients, and potential liability for us.

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The steps we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate, which could result in infringement or misappropriation by third-parties.

We regard our copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely upon trademark and copyright law, trade secret protection and confidentiality and/or license agreements with our employees, clients, partners and others to protect our proprietary rights. The steps taken by us to protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate or third parties may infringe or misappropriate our copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and similar proprietary rights. In addition, other parties may assert infringement claims against us.

We are dependent on key personnel and need to hire additional qualified personnel in order for our business to succeed.

Our performance is substantially dependent on the performance of our senior management and key technical personnel. In particular, our success depends substantially on the continued efforts of our senior management team, which currently is composed of a small number of individuals. The loss of the services of any of our executive officers, our medical staff, our laboratory directors or other key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and our financial condition. Our future success also depends on our continuing ability to attract and retain highly qualified managerial and technical personnel as we grow. Competition for such personnel is intense and we may not be able to retain our key managerial and technical employees or may not be able to attract and retain additional highly qualified managerial and technical personnel in the future. The inability to attract and retain the necessary managerial and technical personnel could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The failure to obtain necessary additional capital to finance growth and capital requirements, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may seek to exploit business opportunities that require more capital than we have currently available. We may not be able to raise such capital on favorable terms or at all, and may be restricted in amount and type of such capital by the agreements governing our existing indebtedness.  If we are unable to obtain such additional capital, we may be required to reduce the scope of our anticipated expansion, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As of December 31, 2017, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $12.8 million and approximately $16.7 million in available borrowing capacity under our senior secured revolving credit facility.  We may still need additional capital to fully implement our business, operating and development plans. Should the financing we require to sustain our working capital needs be unavailable or prohibitively expensive when we require it, there could be a material adverse effect on our long-term business, rate of growth, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

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Failure to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act, and the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act could result in fines and penalties and loss of licensure, and have a material adverse effect upon our business.

We are subject to licensing and regulation under federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and human health and safety, including laws and regulations relating to the handling, transportation and disposal of medical specimens, infectious and hazardous waste and radioactive materials, as well as regulations relating to the safety and health of laboratory employees. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established extensive requirements relating to workplace safety for health care employers, including clinical laboratories, whose workers may be exposed to blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and the hepatitis B virus. These requirements, among other things, require work practice controls, protective clothing and equipment, training, medical follow-up, vaccinations and other measures designed to minimize exposure to, and transmission of, blood-borne pathogens. In addition, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act requires, among other things, that we include in our safety programs the evaluation and use of engineering controls such as safety needles, if found to be effective at reducing the risk of needlestick injuries in the workplace.

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Failure to comply with such federal, state and local laws and regulations could subject us to denial of the right to conduct business, fines, criminal penalties and/or other enforcement actions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, compliance with future legislation could impose additional requirements for us, which may be costly.

Our net revenue will be diminished if payers do not adequately cover or reimburse our services.

There has been and will continue to be significant efforts by both federal and state agencies to reduce costs in government healthcare programs and otherwise implement government control of healthcare costs. In addition, increasing emphasis on managed care in the United States may continue to put pressure on the pricing of healthcare services. Uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of new applications or services. Third party payers, including governmental payers such as Medicare and private payers, are scrutinizing new medical products and services and may not cover or may limit coverage and the level of reimbursement for our services. Third party insurance coverage may not be available to patients for any of our existing tests or for tests we discover and develop. In addition, a substantial portion of the testing for which we bill our hospital and laboratory clients is ultimately paid by third party payers. Any pricing pressure exerted by these third party payers on our clients may, in turn, be exerted by our clients on us. If government and other third party payers do not provide adequate coverage and reimbursement for our tests, it could adversely affect our operating results, cash flows or and/or financial condition.

Third party billing is extremely complicated and results in significant additional costs to us.

Billing for laboratory services is extremely complicated. The customer refers the tests; the payer pays for the tests, and the two may not be the same. Depending on the billing arrangement and applicable laws, we must bill various payers, such as patients, insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, doctors and employer groups, hospitals and other laboratories, all of which have different billing requirements. Additionally, we undertake internal audits to evaluate compliance with applicable laws and regulations as well as internal compliance policies and procedures. Insurance companies and government payers such as Medicare and Medicaid also impose routine external audits to evaluate payments, which adds further complexity to the billing process.

Among others, the primary factors which complicate our billing practices are:

We incur significant additional costs as a result of our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as billing and reimbursement for clinical laboratory services are subject to considerable and complex federal and state regulations. The additional costs we expect to incur include those related to: (i) complexity added to our billing processes and systems; (ii) training and education of our employees and clients; (iii) implementing compliance procedures and oversight; (iv) collections and legal costs; and (v) costs associated with, among other factors, challenging coverage and payment denials and providing patients with information regarding claims processing and services, such as advance beneficiary notices.

Our operations are subject to strict laws prohibiting fraudulent billing and other abuse, and our failure to comply with such laws could result in substantial penalties.

Of particular importance to our operations are federal and state laws prohibiting fraudulent billing and providing for the recovery of overpayments. In particular, if we fail to comply with federal and state documentation, coding and billing rules, we could be subject to liability under the federal False Claims Act, including criminal and/or civil penalties, loss of licenses and exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The False Claims Act prohibits

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individuals and companies from knowingly submitting false claims for payments to, or improperly retaining overpayments from, the government.

If an entity is determined to have violated the federal False Claims Act, it may be required to pay up to three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus civil penalties of between $5,500 and $11,000 for each separate false claim. Further, False Claims Act liability may lead to exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs. There are a number of potential bases for liability under the federal False Claims Act. For example, liability arises when an entity knowingly submits, or causes another to submit, a claim for reimbursement to the federal government for a service which was not provided or which did not qualify for reimbursement. Submitting a claim with reckless disregard or deliberate ignorance of its truth or falsity could also result in liability under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act’s “whistleblower” or “qui tam” provisions are being used with more frequency to challenge the reimbursement practices of providers and suppliers. Those provisions allow a private individual to bring an action on behalf of the government alleging that the defendant has submitted false claims for payment to the federal government. The government must decide whether to intervene in the lawsuit and whether to prosecute the case. If it declines to do so, the individual may pursue the case alone, although the government must be kept apprised of the progress of the lawsuit. Whether or not the federal government intervenes in the case, it will receive the majority of any recovery. The successful qui tam relator who brought the case is entitled to a portion of the proceeds and its attorneys’ fees and costs. In addition, various states have enacted laws modeled after the federal False Claims Act, which prohibit submitting false claims for payment to the state or, in some states, to other commercial payers.

Government investigations of clinical laboratories have been ongoing for a number of years and are expected to continue in the future. When we submit bills for our services to third‑party payers, we must follow complex documentation, coding and billing rules which are based on federal and state laws, rules and regulations, various government publications, and on industry practice. A large number of laboratories have entered into substantial settlements with the federal and state governments for alleged noncompliance under these laws and rules. Private payers have also brought civil actions against laboratories which have resulted in substantial judgments. Failure to follow these rules could result in potential civil liability under the False Claims Act, under which extensive financial penalties can be imposed. It could further result in criminal liability under various federal and state criminal statutes. For example, there are various state and federal laws and rules regulating laboratory billing practices, such as prohibiting a clinical laboratory from charging a higher price for tests ordered by a physician and provided by a third party (anti-markup rules) as well as requiring direct billing of certain laboratory services by the laboratory performing the tests instead of allowing the laboratory to bill the ordering clinician for the test (direct billing rules).

We submit thousands of claims for Medicare and other payments and we cannot guarantee that there have not been errors in our claims, While we maintain a robust compliance program that includes consistent, detailed review of our documentation, coding and billing practices, the rules are frequently vague, complex, and continually changing and we cannot assure that governmental investigators, private insurers or private whistleblowers will not challenge our practices. Such a challenge could result in a material adverse effect on our business.

The failure to comply with significant government regulation and laboratory operations may subject us to liability, penalties or limitation of operations.

We are subject to extensive state and federal regulatory oversight. Specifically, our laboratories must satisfy federal requirements under the CLIA to maintain the appropriate CLIA Certificate for all testing performed at the lab. Additionally, most states have adopted various laws and regulation setting standards for laboratories performing clinical laboratory testing and requiring laboratories to obtain and maintain a state laboratory license before the laboratory is authorized to perform testing. These state licensure laws often address permissible and prohibited practices involving digital health, including but not limited to telehealth and telepathology.  

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Upon periodic inspection or survey, our laboratory locations may be found to be non-compliant with CLIA requirements or with applicable licensure or certification laws. The sanctions for failure to comply with CLIA, state licensure requirements, or other applicable laws and regulations could include the suspension, revocation, or limitation of the right to perform clinical laboratory services or receive compensation for those services, as well as the requirement to enter into a corrective action plan to monitor compliance, and the imposition of civil or criminal penalties or administrative fines. In addition, any new legislation or regulation or the application of existing laws and regulations in ways that we have not anticipated could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Existing federal laws governing Medicare and Medicaid, as well as some other state and federal laws, also regulate certain aspects of the relationship between healthcare providers, including clinical laboratories, and their referral sources, including physicians, hospitals and other laboratories. Certain of these laws, known as the federal “anti-kickback law” and the federal physician self-referral laws (also known as the “Stark Law”) contain extremely broad proscriptions. Violation of these laws may result in criminal penalties, exclusion from participation in the Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs, and significant civil monetary penalties, as well as False Claims Act liability. We seek to structure our arrangements with physicians and other clients to be in compliance with the anti-kickback laws, Stark Law and similar state laws, and to keep up-to-date on developments concerning their application by various means, including consultation with legal counsel and review of the annual Work Plan by the Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) identifying targeted issues. We cannot guarantee, however, that government authorities will not take a contrary view and impose civil monetary penalties and exclude us based on our arrangements with physicians and other clients.

The federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law, or the federal CMP Law, imposes civil monetary penalties and exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid programs on any person who offers or transfers remuneration to any patient who is a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary, when the person knows or should know that the remuneration is likely to induce the patient to receive medical services from a particular provider. The federal CMP Law applies, among other things, to many kinds of inducements or benefits provided to patients, including complimentary items, services or transportation that are of more than a nominal value. We have structured our operations and provision of services to patients in a manner that we believe complies with the law and its interpretation by government authorities. We cannot guarantee, however, that government authorities will not take a contrary view and impose civil monetary penalties and exclude us for past or present practices.

Furthermore, HIPAA, the HITECH Act, and associated regulations and similar state laws contain provisions that require the electronic exchange of health information, such as claims submission and receipt of remittances, using standard transactions and code sets, which we refer to as Standards, and regulate the use and disclosure of patient records and other Protected Health Information, or PHI. These provisions, which address security and confidentiality of patient information as well as the administrative aspects of claims handling, have very broad applicability and they specifically apply to many healthcare providers, including physicians and clinical laboratories. Although we believe we are in material compliance with the Standards, Security and Privacy rules under HIPAA and the HITECH Act and state privacy and security laws, a failure to comply with these laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and subject us to liability. Additionally, the amendments to HIPAA in the HITECH Act provide that the state Attorneys General may bring an action against a covered entity, such as us, for a violation of HIPAA.

The failure to comply with physician self‑referral laws may subject us to liability, penalties or limitation of operations

We are subject to the federal Stark Law, as well as similar state statutes and regulations, which prohibit payments for certain health care services, which are referred to as designated health services or (“DHS”), rendered as a result of referrals by physicians to DHS entities with which the physicians (or immediate family members) have a financial relationship. A “financial relationship” includes both an ownership interest and/or a compensation arrangement with a physician, both direct and indirect, and DHS includes, but is not limited to, laboratory services. The Stark Law prohibits an entity that receives a prohibited DHS referral from seeking payment from Medicare for any DHS services performed as a result of such a referral, unless an arrangement is carefully structure to satisfy every requirement of a regulatory exception. The Stark Law is a strict liability statute, and thus any technical violation

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requires repayment of all “tainted” referrals, regardless of the intent. Penalties for violating the Stark Law may include the denial of payment to an entity for the impermissible provision of DHS, the requirement to refund any amounts collected in violation of the Stark Law, and civil monetary penalties of up to $15,000 for each violation and $100,000 for each circumvention arrangement or scheme. Other implications of a Stark Law violation may include criminal penalties, exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid programs, and potential False Claims Act liability, including via “qui tam” action.

Further, many states have promulgated self‑referral laws and regulations similar to the federal Stark Law, but these vary significantly based on the state. In addition to services reimbursed by Medicaid or government payers, often these state laws and regulations can encompass services reimbursed by private payers as well. Penalties for violating state self-referral laws and regulations vary based on the state, but often include civil and criminal penalties, exclusion from Medicaid, and loss of licenses.

Our financial arrangements with physicians are governed by the federal Stark Law, and we rely on certain exceptions to the Stark Law with respect to such relationships. While we believe that our financial relationships with physicians and referral practices are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that government authorities would agree. If we are found by the government to be in violation of the Stark Law, we could be subject to significant penalties, including fines as specified above, exclusion from participation in government and private payer programs and requirements to refund amounts previously received from government. Further, as our operations expand into new states and jurisdictions, we must continually evaluate whether our relationships with physicians comply with that jurisdiction’s laws. This may require structural and organizational modifications to our relationships with physicians which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

The failure to comply with Anti-Kickback laws may subject us to liability, penalties or limitation of operations

We are subject to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, or the AKS, as well as similar state statutes and regulations, which prohibit the offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of any form of remuneration in return for referring, ordering, leasing, purchasing or arranging for or recommending the ordering, purchasing or leasing of items or services payable by Medicare, Medicaid or any other federally funded healthcare program. The AKS defines remuneration to include anything of value, in cash or in kind, and thus can implicate financial relationships including payments not commensurate with fair market value, such as in the form of space, equipment leases, professional or technical services or anything else of value.

The AKS is an “intent‑based” statute, meaning that a violation occurs when one or both parties intend the remuneration to be in exchange for or to induce referrals; however, the ACA, among other things, amended the intent requirement of the AKS.  A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it. In addition, the ACA provides that the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the AKS constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the false claims statutes. There are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting certain common activities from prosecution or other regulatory sanctions; however, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly, and practices that do not fit squarely within an exception or safe harbor may be subject to scrutiny.  Violations of the AKS may result in substantial civil or criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $25,000, imprisonment of up to five years, civil penalties under the federal CMP Law of up to $50,000 for each violation, plus three times the remuneration involved, civil penalties under the federal False Claims Act of up to $11,000 for each claim submitted, plus three times the amounts paid for such claims and exclusion from participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. If we face these penalties or the participation exclusion, it could significantly reduce our revenues and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Further, most states have adopted similar anti-kickback laws prohibiting the offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of remuneration in exchange for referrals, and typically impose criminal and civil penalties as well as loss of licenses. Some of these state laws apply to items and services paid for by private payers as well as to government payers. In addition, many states have adopted laws prohibiting the splitting or sharing of fees between physicians and non‑physicians, as well as between treating physicians and referral sources. We believe our arrangements with

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physicians comply with the AKS, and state anti-kickback and fee‑splitting laws of the states in which we operate, however, if government regulatory authorities were to disagree, we could be subject to civil and criminal penalties, and be required to restructure or terminate our contractual and other arrangements with physicians. This could result in a loss of revenue and have a material adverse effect on our business.

Some states have also adopted laws prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine, or prohibiting business corporations from employing physicians or engaging in activities considered to be the “practice of medicine.” In these states, we rely on service agreements with physicians and/or professional associations owned by physicians, to perform needed professional pathology services. We cannot assure you that a physician or physician’s professional organization will not seek to terminate an agreement with us on any basis, nor can we assure you that governmental authorities in those states will not seek termination of these arrangements on the basis of state laws prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine.

A failure to comply with governmental payer regulations could result in our being excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid or other governmental payer programs.  

Tests which are reimbursed by Medicare and other Government payers (for example, State Medicaid programs) accounted for approximately 15%, 16% and 21% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The Medicare program imposes extensive and detailed requirements on diagnostic service providers, including, but not limited to, rules that govern how we structure our relationships with physicians, how and when we submit claims for reimbursement and how we provide specialized diagnostic laboratory services. Further, we are prohibited from contracting with any individuals or entities who have been excluded from participation in Medicare or Medicaid and are listed on the OIG’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities List. Contracting with excluded individuals or entities, such as hiring an excluded person or contracting with an excluded vendor, can result in significant penalties.

Our failure to comply with applicable Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental payer rules could result in our inability to participate in a governmental payer program, an obligation to repay funds already paid to us for services performed, civil monetary penalties, criminal penalties, False Claims Act liability and/or limitations on the operational function of our laboratory. If we were unable to receive reimbursement under a governmental payer program, a substantial portion of our revenues would be lost, which would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Failure to comply with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Regulations may increase our operational costs.

The HIPAA privacy and security regulations establish comprehensive federal standards with respect to the uses and disclosures of PHI by certain entities including health plans and health care providers, and set standards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic PHI. The regulations establish a complex regulatory framework on a variety of subjects, including, for example, the circumstances under which uses and disclosures of PHI are permitted or required without a specific authorization by the patient; a patient’s right to access, amend and receive an accounting of certain disclosures of PHI; the content of notices of privacy practices describing how PHI is used and disclosed and individuals’ rights with respect to their PHI; and implementation of administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect privacy and security of PHI. Recent revisions to HIPAA allow patients the option to obtain certain of their test reports directly from the laboratory, instead of learning the results from the ordering physician. We have implemented policies and procedures to comply with the HIPAA privacy and security laws and regulations. The privacy regulations establish a uniform federal standard but do not supersede state laws that may be more stringent. Therefore, we are required to comply with both federal privacy and security regulations and varying state privacy and security laws and regulations. The federal privacy regulations restrict our ability to use or disclose certain individually identifiable patient health information, without patient authorization, for purposes other than payment, treatment or health care operations (as defined by HIPAA), except for disclosures for various public policy purposes and other permitted purposes outlined in the privacy regulations.

The HITECH Act and its implementing regulations also require healthcare providers like us to notify affected individuals, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and in some cases, the media,

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS (CONTINUED)

when PHI has been breached as defined under and following the requirements of HIPAA. Many states have similar breach notification laws. In the event of a breach, we could incur operational and financial costs related to remediation as well as preparation and delivery of the notices, which costs could be substantial. Additionally, HIPAA, the HITECH Act, and their implementing regulations provide for significant civil fines, criminal penalties, and other sanctions for failure to comply with the privacy, security, and breach notification rules, including for wrongful or impermissible use or disclosure of PHI. Although the HIPAA statute and regulations do not expressly provide for a private right of action for damages, we could incur damages under state laws to private parties for the wrongful or impermissible use or disclosure of confidential health information or other private personal information. Additionally, amendments to HIPAA provide that the state Attorneys General may bring an action against a covered entity, such as us, for a violation of HIPAA. We insure some of our risk with respect to HIPAA security breaches although there could be operational costs associated with HIPAA breaches above our insured limits.

We are subject to security risks which could harm our operations.

HIPAA and the HITECH Act imposed additional requirements, restrictions and penalties on covered entities and their business associates to, among other things, deter breaches of security. As a result, the remedial actions required, the reporting requirements, and sanctions for a breach are stringent.  Our electronic health records system is periodically modified to meet applicable security standards. Despite the implementation of various security measures by us, our infrastructure may be vulnerable to computer viruses, break-ins and similar disruptive problems caused by our clients or others, which could lead to interruption, delays or cessation in service to our clients. Further, such incidents, whether electronic or physical could also potentially jeopardize the security of confidential information, including PHI stored in our computer systems as it relates to clients, patients, and other parties connected through us, which may deter potential clients and give rise to uncertain liability to parties whose security or privacy has been infringed. A significant security breach could result in fines, loss of clients, damage to our reputation, direct damages, costs of repair and detection, costs to remedy the breach, and other expenses. We insure some of our risk with respect to security breaches but the occurrence of any of the foregoing events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Clinicians or patients using our services may sue us, and our insurance may not sufficiently cover all claims brought against us, which will increase our expenses.

The development, marketing, sale and performance of healthcare services expose us to the risk of litigation, including professional negligence or product liability claims were someone to allege that our tests failed to perform as designed. We may also be subject to liability for errors in the test results we provide to pathologists and oncologists or for a misunderstanding of, or inappropriate reliance upon, the information we provide. Damages assessed in connection with, and the costs of defending, any legal action could be substantial. We may be faced with litigation claims that exceed our insurance coverage or are not covered under any of our insurance policies. In addition, litigation could have a material adverse effect on our business if it impacts our existing and potential customer relationships, creates adverse public relations, diverts management resources from the operation of the business, or hampers our ability to otherwise conduct our business.

We must hire and retain qualified sales representatives to grow our sales, if not, our existing business and our results of operations and financial condition will likely suffer.

Our ability to retain existing clients for our specialized diagnostic services and attract new clients is dependent upon retaining existing sales representatives and hiring and training new sales representatives, which is an expensive and time-consuming process. We face intense competition for qualified sales personnel and our inability to hire or retain an adequate number of sales representatives could limit our ability to maintain or expand our business and increase sales. Even if we are able to increase our sales force, our new sales personnel may not commit the necessary resources or provide sufficient high quality service and attention to effectively market and sell our services. If we are unable to maintain and expand our marketing and sales networks or if our sales personnel do not perform to our standards, we may be unable to maintain or grow our existing business and our results of operations and financial condition will likely suffer accordingly. If a sales representative ceases employment, we risk the loss of client goodwill based on the impairment of relationships developed between the sales representative and the healthcare professionals for whom the sales representative was responsible. This is particularly a risk if the representative goes

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS (CONTINUED)

to work for a competitor, as the healthcare professionals that are our clients may choose to use a competitor’s services based on their relationship with our former sales representative.

Further, non-compliant activities and unlawful conduct by sales and marketing personnel could give rise to significant risks under the AKS. We require extensive, comprehensive training of all sales and marketing personnel, but cannot guarantee that every staff member will comply with the training. Thus, in addition to the cost of training sales and marketing personnel, we could face liability under the AKS for non-compliance by individuals engaged in prohibited sales and marketing activities.

Performance issues, service interruptions or price increases by our shipping carrier could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, and harm our reputation and ability to provide our specialized diagnostic services on a timely basis

basis.

segments.

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANTS COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES (CONTINUED)

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