CHO Test

[Corporate ORphan]

We are still trying to get through the application process for getting private health insurance. UHC is now requiring DH to get a CHO test. They had the testing firm call here and set up a test without telling us even what it was for.... just that he needed a blood test! They couldn't even tell him if he should fast or not. Told him to talk to the insurance co. Our agent didn't know anything about it. We talked to UHC and they told him he didn't need to fast and that it was a CHO test. He called his doctor's office who said to definitely fast.

We get there and the nurse doing the test said you should always fast at least 4 hours prior to a blood test, otherwise, your levels will appear elevated and that the form said, fasting preferred!

We think the insurance company would prefer you didn't fast so that your levels are elevated and they can charge you more on your premiums. Doesn't make us trust them much. We are thinking to be safe we need to get a blood test on our own. The testing firm said they don't do the actual test and didn't know if we would even be notified of the results. We have a call in to our agent to find out.

ANyone with a similar experience?

[travelover]

Someone will be along shortly to tell you what wonderful people work in the insurance industry.

[donheff]

The market will take care of it.

[dgoldenz]

Sounds like you need a better agent. Always fast before a blood test, preferably for 12 hours and have the testing done first thing in the morning. The company probably won't accept a blood test from his own doctor since they are the ones ordering it. Your agent should have known about it because they can check on UHO's online broker system to see what requirements have been ordered for each policy.

The person you talked to at the UHO home office is probably a low-level worker and wouldn't have any skin in the game as to whether he gets approved or not. UHO is pretty fair with their underwriting, but if he does not have any cholesterol screening in the past 12 months and/or his numbers are borderline high, they do reserve the right to ask for the test.

[braumeister]

In the machine testing world, CHO stands for Continuous Hours of Operation. Seems like they could have just asked your age.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corporate ORphan We are still trying to get through the application process for getting private health insurance. UHC is now requiring DH to get a CHO test. They had the testing firm call here and set up a test without telling us even what it was for.... just that he needed a blood test! They couldn't even tell him if he should fast or not. Told him to talk to the insurance co. Our agent didn't know anything about it. We talked to UHC and they told him he didn't need to fast and that it was a CHO test. He called his doctor's office who said to definitely fast. We get there and the nurse doing the test said you should always fast at least 4 hours prior to a blood test, otherwise, your levels will appear elevated and that the form said, fasting preferred! We think the insurance company would prefer you didn't fast so that your levels are elevated and they can charge you more on your premiums. Doesn't make us trust them much. We are thinking to be safe we need to get a blood test on our own. The testing firm said they don't do the actual test and didn't know if we would even be notified of the results. We have a call in to our agent to find out. ANyone with a similar experience?

This sounds like something out of a science fiction novel! I absolutely hate that this kind of thing is happening to people. Oh brave new world.

[dgoldenz]

On a side note, this is a good reason to apply to two companies at the same time if there is anything questionable in the history...

[Corporate ORphan]

I agree it would have been nice to apply to more than one company. Our issue was the portability of the policy. Not many companies have anything portable so we didn't want to "waste" an application. We thought that if there was some reason we were denied or the rate was much higher than the one quoted we would learn from our experience and use it for another insurance company application. We don't think we have any pre-existing conditions but with the way things are these days, who knows. I read too much of the horror stories on the internet

As far as the agent, I couldn't agree with you more but we have already got him (and he was very highly recommended) so we'll stick with him at least for this application. I think we would have been better just applying to the company directly. We wouldn't have wasted two weeks time when we thought the application had been submitted.

BTW we got a blood test from his doctor yesterday, just in case, they say his CHO was elevated. THis is the same company that one of their reps on the phone told us to believe what he was saying "because he was trained". He didn't have anything in writing. It would be funny if it wasn't so important to have adequate health insurance in this country to protect your health and that of your pocketbook.