At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare spending on lab tests increased overall, despite spending for non-COVID-19 tests falling for the first time since 2016, according to the Office of the Inspector General at HHS.

Burlington, N.C.-based Labcorp had a strong 2021. Here are nine developments to know from the last 12 months:

The state of Oklahoma ranks last in COVID-19 sequencing, according to the CDC, despite being the only state to establish a pandemic lab.

Secaucus, N.J.-based Quest Diagnostics has acquired all assets of clinical diagnostic lab provider Labtech Diagnostics, based in Anderson, S.C.

The COVID-19 omicron variant has been detected through genomic sequencing in Cleveland Clinic's lab, according to a Dec. 13 Ideastream Public Media report.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a legislative package Dec. 7 that includes a one-year delay to reimbursement cuts for nearly 600 clinical lab tests, according to a Dec. 8 MedTechDive report.

Facing a government shutdown, the U.S. House and Senate passed a stopgap funding bill on Dec. 2, but Medicare reimbursement cuts for a slate of lab tests were not addressed in the bill, according to a Dec. 6 MedTechDive report.

Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network opened an outpatient center with a lab in New Kensington, Pa., according to a Dec. 6 TribLive report.

Researchers at Fairfax, Va.-based George Mason University said they have developed a new way to detect COVID-19, according to a Dec. 6 report by ABC affiliate The Denver Channel.

The Clinical Laboratory Management Association will join the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the organizations said in a Dec. 1 news release.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and research service provider CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services are building a joint-venture cell and gene therapy facility, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Dec. 2.

Meadville (Pa.) Medical Center is closing one of its two outpatient labs for an unspecified amount of time, the Meadville Tribune reported Dec. 1.

Marlborough, Mass.-based Akoya Biosciences was awarded CLIA certification for its Advanced Biopharma Solutions lab, the company said in a Nov. 30 news release.

Labs at Seattle-based University of Washington Medicine are gearing up to test the COVID-19 omicron variant against current vaccines and natural immunity to other strains, according to a Nov. 29 report by NBC affiliate KING-5.

With the COVID-19 omicron variant expected to be detected in the U.S. soon, public health labs are ramping up testing efforts and prioritizing sequencing of positive samples with an "s-gene dropout," a marker absent in the delta strain, according to a Nov. 30 Politico report.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Athena Esoterix is opening a 3,850-square-foot infectious disease lab, according to a Nov. 26 Chattanooga Times Free Press report.

Carthage, Ill.-based Memorial Hospital Laboratory was awarded accreditation by the College of American Pathologists, according to a Nov. 25 The McDonough County Voice report.

The California Department of Public Health's Valencia Branch Laboratory won't be issued sanctions after the department investigated the COVID-19 testing lab for much of the year, according to a Nov. 22 The Press Democrat report.

Dublin, Ohio-based lab product manufacturer Cardinal Health is opening its automated supply management business to clinical labs, the company said in a Nov. 18 news release.

Hawthorne, N.Y.-based medical robotics company Clarapath netted $16 million in follow-on financing after a previous close of $16 million in series B funding, the company said in a Nov. 18 news release.