Labcorp to operate 5 Inspira Health hospital labs

Labcorp has entered an agreement to operate some Inspira Health hospital laboratories in New Jersey and will serve as the primary lab for health system's physician network.

The company said it will operate and help staff five of six Inspira inpatient hospital labs located across Vineland, Elmer and Mullica Hill. It does not plan to acquire the labs, a Labcorp spokesperson said. Financial details were not disclosed.

Related: Labcorp completes acquisition of Ballad Health lab assets

No Inspira Health lab employees will be affected by the transaction, the spokesperson said Thursday. The agreement marks the latest deal for Labcorp, which last month completed its acquisition of select Ballad Health lab assets. The company completed similar deals last year with Springfield, Massachusetts-based Baystate Health, Renton, Washington-based Providence and Naples, Florida-based NCH Healthcare System.

Health systems are selling parts of their laboratory businesses to shift spending to other areas. Independent lab companies often can conduct a larger volume of tests at a lower cost compared with hospitals performing tests at their own facilities.

Quest Diagnostics, another independent lab company, has acquired several hospital lab services in the past year, including select assets from Columbus-based Ohio Health, Cleveland-based University Hospitals and Minneapolis-based Allina Health.