Got burned myself on this so figured I'd save someone else the headache. I have a high deductible plan through work, $4k before anything kicks in. So i went in for my annual physical, doctor ordered bloodwork CBC, CMP, lipid panel and vitamin D. Figured it was covered since it's a physical right? Nope. Bill came back $390 because half the tests got coded diagnostic instead of preventive. Called billing twice and basically got told that's how it works. My coworker saw me complaining about it and told me he just orders his own labs through Quest online and put me on so i ended up saving around 90% which is still mind boggoling how there can be such a difference between doing tests through a DTC service versus going through insurance!
I've done it twice now. Walk into Quest, they draw your blood, results come back in a few days. Not saying don't go to your doctor for actual medical stuff but for routine bloodwork numbers this saved me a lot of money and a lot of aggravation.
For anyone on a HDHP you can order your own bloodwork for a fraction of what your doctor bills
byu/Limp_Point3487 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Limp_Point3487
5 Comments
Your insurance must not be very good at negotiating… whenever I get bloodwork done, the “rack rate” is indeed ridiculous, but what insurance pays (or I pay if I haven’t hit my deductible) is peanuts.
I use Goodlabs which also goes through Quest depending on your area, you just pick your tests and book at a location near you. No subscription or anything you just pay for what you want. A CMP is $5, lipid panel is $8. I didn’t meet the requirements for the free donation path but that’s on me. People would be surprised how many cheap alternatives are out there if they just research a little!
sometimes doctors can code things as preventive if they’re part of an annual, but once you mention any symptom or concern it can flip to diagnostic. That’s usually where the surprise bills come from.
Pro tip for anyone with an HSA, DTC lab services are usually HSA/FSA eligible. So if you’ve got money sitting in there this is a solid use for it.
This is a great idea, thank you.
Have you found that your doctor will accept the results from those test? It seems like they always want to order their own so I’m just curious.