Medical Test Redundancy?

[SunnyOne]

My primary care doctor monitors my A1C levels, each appointment, a few times per year.

Now I have also received an A1C home testing kit from my health insurance company. They are asking me to take the test
at home and send it back.

If my doctor is measuring my A1C, why would my health insurer also want another test?

 

[engineernerd]

My primary care doctor monitors my A1C levels, each appointment, a few times per year.

Now I have also received an A1C home testing kit from my health insurance company. They are asking me to take the test
at home and send it back.

If my doctor is measuring my A1C, why would my health insurer also want another test?

Maybe to save money by getting you to do this instead of your doctor measuring it all the time? I think these at-home test kits are fairly new so maybe it's just an experimental pilot program. Try asking them?

 

[Flyfish1]

Because there is no communication between these entities. And as mentioned they are probably just rolling out a new home test that some third party vendor scored a contract on.

 

[badatmath]

So they can use the data to market some sort of crap to you (probably via a third party).

 

[Midpack]

My primary care doctor monitors my A1C levels, each appointment, a few times per year.

Now I have also received an A1C home testing kit from my health insurance company. They are asking me to take the test
at home and send it back.

If my doctor is measuring my A1C, why would my health insurer also want another test?

I’d start by asking your health insurance company?

 

[RetMD21]

MA plan, right? If you have diabetes they are probably going to get more money from the government. I don't think your doctor tells the insurance "no diabetes" if you have a good result.

 

[disneysteve]

Because there is no communication between these entities.

I vote for this answer. You would think your insurance company would know what your provider is doing, but they don't, or at least not to the extent one would expect. The billing department might know but the marketing department doesn't. If they've got a deal to send an A1c test to every diabetic on the plan, they are able to access that diagnosis code and send the kit to everyone but they don't/can't cross reference that list to see who actually needs the test performed and who already had one in the last 90 days.

Unless they are paying you a bonus of some sort to return the test, I would just ignore it. And I might ignore it anyway unless the bonus is substantial. If it's just a $5 Starbucks card don't bother.

 

[rk911]

Maybe to save money by getting you to do this instead of your doctor measuring it all the time? I think these at-home test kits are fairly new so maybe it's just an experimental pilot program. Try asking them?

I've been augmenting my twice-a-year 'official' A1C tests with a Walgreen's branded home A1C test. Been doing that for 10+ years on my own dime. In my case I've found the home tests are good for establishing trends up or down and I find value in that. But my results usually show the A1C via the home test to be lower than the lab's results. My doc did not order me to do the home tests and neither did my private insurance prior to my switch to Medicare.