How To Find Low Cost Lab For Annual Blood Work?

[badatmath]

As it happens I saw my doc for unrelated matter and they agreed to check my TSH (which I was gonna pull my own lab or skip) and it is way off . . .

So the moral of the story I think is - check anyway. I thought something was wrong but I kept assuming stress and pushing it aside.

 

[JBTX]

https://www.ultalabtests.com/


https://www.jasonhealth.com/

 

[rodi]

I thought one of the changes with the ACA was that the annual wellness check was free (not billable) before you go on Medicare. I'm on a HDHP and never get charged for my annual checkup as long as that is the only thing talked about. I made the mistake of letting the doc freeze a wart off, one year. That converted it from a wellness exam and it became quite expensive. So now I am very careful to not ask about non checkup stuff at my wellness exam. If I have other concerns, I make a separate appointment, go in with a list, and expect to be billed.

 

[sengsational]

I routinely get labs from Life Extension. The CBC/Lipid panel is $35. Sometimes on sale for $26. What they call the Male Panel is $299, checks lipids, plus numerous other things like Thyroid, A1C and other tests. They use Labcorp offices.

I did this once. Reasonably priced if you buy the batch of tests that are on sale.

I'm a bit curious why you all need to be paying for blood work. It has always been covered in my plans. Is this a Medicare thing?

Would you like to know something about yourself but your doctor doesn't think it's important enough to test for it? That's why.

I've been on an ACA plan for a decade and my doctors have been somewhat flexible if I make the case for a test. But that's only the first part of the gauntlet. Now it's denied by the insurance company, so you're asked to pay the "insane price".


LabCorp has a contract with Blue Cross, and if the test is "allowed", the price is dirt cheap. I pay it, because I have a high deductible plan, but it's so cheap it's laughable. The problem is that they sometimes designate a test as not allowed. This seems somewhat arbitrary because one year it's fine, the next it's not allowed. Then the price goes to an insane level (5x the negotiated rate), and if LabCorp bills you for it, you better pay it, or they'll not do your next blood draw. So if you don't want to pay the insane price, your only recourse is to appeal with the insurance company.

• Comprehensive Metabolic Panel(80053) insane: $35, allowed:$7
• Lipid Panel(80061) insane: $45, allowed:$9
• Vitamin D test(82306) insane: $133, allowed:$29
• PSA Test(84153) insane: $63, allowed:$13
• Complete Blood Count (CBC)(85025) insane: $25, allowed:$7
• C-Reactive Protein (CRP)(86140) insane: $40, allowed:$7

If I didn't know that LabCorp negotiated for these low rates, and presumably make a profit from doing the negotiated rate tests, I'd probably think the insane rates were fine.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Those "insane" rates made me laugh. After calming down, I pulled up the medical claim for last year's wellness exam and blood work. The blood draw, done at my PCP's office cost $29, which is perfectly reasonable. They sent my blood off to the lab at the local hospital which billed my mega-corp retiree medical insurance $1,807 for what should be your standard metabolic panel and other basic annual labs. My insurance covered or negotiated the $1,807 rate down by $1,017, so I paid $790 + $29 for my labs last year. I paid a similar amount the previous year. The hospital is In Network, but I wasn't a patient at the time, so that might have something to do with it. Or, they just billed my insurance a crazy price, which I got stuck with.

I called the local LabCorp office, located in one of our Walgreens, and I'm going to give them a go this year. It won't be for a few weeks, but I'll report back on my experiece.

 

[Free To Canoe]

The local hospital and Rotary club put on blood test days. Make an appointment and walk in on the assigned day. A standard panel $60 (psa extra). Maybe there are deals like this in your neck of the woods. A week or so later, you get the results. Actual testing is done by ACL a Quest Diagnostic affiliate.

 

[tmitchell]

Questions for those of you who do this:

1. Do (or the lab) send results to your PCP?
2. Is it cheaper than going through Dr, i.e. does the Dr get a mark up if you go through her/him?

 

[Onda]

Since I retired, I've paid roughly $1,200 per year for the annual wellness exam office visit and lab work. It's pretty much all been out of pocket as I am on a high deductible plan.

Does not ACA 100% cover annual physical exams as a preventive benefit under the ACA?

 

[RetiredHappy]

Does not ACA 100% cover annual physical exams as a preventive benefit under the ACA?

Free only for specific screenings like pap smear, mammogram and colonoscopy. Blood work and office "wellness" visits are not free.

 

[sengsational]

My insurance covered or negotiated the $1,807 rate down by $1,017, so I paid $790 + $29 for my labs last year. I paid a similar amount the previous year. The hospital is In Network, but I wasn't a patient at the time, so that might have something to do with it. Or, they just billed my insurance a crazy price, which I got stuck with.

I called the local LabCorp office, located in one of our Walgreens, and I'm going to give them a go this year. It won't be for a few weeks, but I'll report back on my experiece.

Yeah, I realized after typing that post that there are the hospital "charge master" rates which are in a category of their own. Perhaps the "insane" moniker should have been reserved for hospital pricing. Let's instead call those prices "completely deluded"

 

[athena53]

Questions for those of you who do this:

1. Do you (or the lab) send results to your PCP?
2. Is it cheaper than going through Dr, i.e. does the Dr get a mark up if you go through her/him?

I send a copy of mine to the doc's office and they get put in my records. I have never had a doc order duplicate tests.

Based on my single scary story (doc ordered CBC and a1c, pretty vanilla tests but not covered by Medicare and I almost got stuck with the sticker price of $800), yes, there are markups all over. Not sure what the Medicare-negotiated cost would have been. When you go direct to the lab or through sites such as RequestaTest, at least you know up front what it will cost. I'm good with that.

 

[shanehus]

You can check out Lab Corp. or Quest Diagnostics. They have a good price.

 

[samcat]

I second or third WalkinLab. We have been using it for years and it works great!

 

[tenant13]

I travel a ton so I mostly do my bloodwork outside of US. In most countries for a $100-150 you can do every test imaginable.

 

[DanP]

As a bit of a health nut I do test myself regularly on my own terms. Best pricing I've been able to locate, by far is ownyourlabs.com.

They use Labcorp so pretty convenient.

 

[68bucks]

I was under the impression that all medical plans were required to pay for annual well visits. I get a full lab and physical each year and I never see a bill. I'm on a HD plan so I pay everything else. My vision plan pays an annual examen also and I don't see that bill. Am I missing something?

 

[KarenF]

Ulta Lab Tests is inexpensive for self pay. My doctor also has a pay option where I prepay $200 and it is covered.

 

[KarenF]

I was under the impression that all medical plans were required to pay for annual well visits. I get a full lab and physical each year and I never see a bill. I'm on a HD plan so I pay everything else. My vision plan pays an annual examen also and I don't see that bill. Am I missing something?

They may pay for annual well visits but the labs are iffy, depending on your deductible. I have paid $200 and $1400 for the same lab work.

 

[68bucks]

I have a $5000/$10,000 deductible plan. My doctor orders the lab work, I go to a lab of my choice for the blood draw and they send the result to my doctor. I have never even seen a bill for the lab work or the office visit for my annual physical. Anything else I get a bill. Still not sure why some people do but I don't.

 

[engineernerd]

I was under the impression that all medical plans were required to pay for annual well visits. I get a full lab and physical each year and I never see a bill. I'm on a HD plan so I pay everything else. My vision plan pays an annual examen also and I don't see that bill. Am I missing something?

You are indeed. All Obamacare plans are required to provide a specific list of preventive care, spelled out in the law: https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-adults/

An annual exam is not in the list, nor are most routine blood tests.

 

[engineernerd]

The blood draw and lab work have been about $750.

Ouch! Here is the price list where I usually go:
https://www.sonoraquest.com/my-lab-request/

It's in Arizona, which passed a law a number of years ago saying people can order their own blood tests if they want, no doctor's order is needed.

But if you live in a state where a doctor's order is necessary, it's almost as cheap and easy. For some time there have been companies that specialized in providing doctor's orders to the labs - you tell them which tests and which lab location you want, and for a modest fee (on top of what the lab charges for the tests) they send the order to the lab for you. And now it looks like the big lab chains (LabCorp and Quest) are horning in on that business too.

 

[Slater]

Theres a mens health forum called excel male...
The founder of the forum I believe owns discountedlabs.com, who utilizes quest labs I believe...
Have used them numerous times, all pricing on website & if you email them, they will give you discount codes....
you pay discountedlabs for the tests, & schedule blood draw at your local quest labs, or just walk-in...

 

[Maximus]

It depends on which tests/combination of tests you want. I've been using Jasonhealth.com the past 2 years. The test is done through Quest. Another one is ultalabtests.com

As previously mentioned, you can also order the test directly on Quest's website. The prices can vary quite a bit for the same test. I did a price comparison of the total cost for all the tests I wanted and Jasonhealth.com was slightly cheaper.

For PSA test I checked requestatest.com and walkinlab.com, Jason Health and Quest directly. It seems Jason,walk-in and request all redirect to Quest labs. Jason was the lowest by a wide margin. Total $33. Paid online and will head into Quest tomorrow.

 

[athena53]

I have a $5000/$10,000 deductible plan. My doctor orders the lab work, I go to a lab of my choice for the blood draw and they send the result to my doctor. I have never even seen a bill for the lab work or the office visit for my annual physical. Anything else I get a bill. Still not sure why some people do but I don't.

Your doc's office knows how to code it so the insurer accepts it. I bet they don't use the word "routine", for example.

And now it looks like the big lab chains (LabCorp and Quest) are horning in on that business too.

Yeah, I once tried QuestDirect. Results were online as promised but they also sent me a notice to call them. It was basically to allow someone to read me boilerplate about my high cholesterol numbers and the possible implications and offer me a chance to talk to a "health care professional". I haven't used them since. I'm under the care of a cardiologist, thank you.

 

[Trooper]

Just completed a blood draw this morning at LabCorp, which partners with requesta test.com. Ordered the test online, walked into the lab at 7 am since it was a fasting panel, and was done by 7:20. Easy peasy.

I could have made an appointment but the first one available was April 8th, almost three weeks ago, so I walked in.

Results are estimated in 24 hours.