<p>I got a bill today from a lab. They charged me for the routine blood work, almost $1,000. This is the same lab I’ve been going for years. When I registered for the lab, they didn’t say anything about not taking my insurance. I had no reason to think it wasn’t covered. Is there anything I can do?</p>
<p>Are you sure it’s not covered? Call them Monday morning. It could be an error in billing.</p>
<p>It could be the bill before submitting to insurance. Did you get an eob?</p>
<p>I’d call lab and insurer on Monday. Suspect it was coding or billing error and will be cleared up between them. That’s what has happened with us. </p>
<p>Not sure. I’ll call the insurance company in the morning. The bill states that the insurance was processed and this is my responsibility. I sure hope this is a mistake.</p>
<p>As others have said I would call your insurance company and find out why they are not paying, sometimes it is a coding mistake. If not, keep in mind that medical expenses do not get reported to the credit agencies. I am not saying to not pay, but pay what you can til they are paid in full. </p>
<p>If it was miscoded, like MD forgot to indicate the correct Dx code, the insurer will reject claim and message will say insurer paid what it will pay. Agree you should call insurer and lab Monday and see what’s up. </p>
<p>We had a bill that was many, many times what we usually pay for D’s lab work. Insurer’s EOB said they paid their minuscule portion. I called them and they said there was no diagnosis code. Told them the ordering MD’s name and they said they’d call him, get the code and reprocess. They said not to pay until it was reprocessed and we’d likely pay a nominal amount or $0. </p>
<p>Lab work generally isn’t network restricted; if the test is ordered, then it’s paid for according to the insurance schedule. </p>
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<p>Really? How do you know that, mamom?</p>
<p>It happened to me. Doctor’s office resubmitted claim and it went through the second time. </p>
<p>I am getting more hopeful that maybe a phone will resolve. I wish I could ignore the bill. Unpaid bills have a way of sending my blood pressure way up. I try to tell myself it’s worth the money if only to keep my BP normal.</p>
<p>I had this situation with one of my Ds. She went to the doctor and they decided to do some unnecessary blood work. Didn’t bother to check if it was covered. We got billed. 750 dollars worth. We did end up paying it but I made a lot of angry phone calls over that.</p>
<p>I got a bill for work once too. Turns out the lab didn’t bill my insurance correctly at all. It’s happened to me with dental bills also.</p>
<p>United Healthcare has in-network labs and labs that aren’t in-network. They change. Quest used to be in-network, but now another national lab is preferred. You do have to take responsibility to make sure you know what your insurer’s current in-network lab is. (Drug formularies change too. Just because a drug was covered as preferred last year doesn’t mean that it is still on the formulary this year.)</p>
<p>Even with an in-network lab, some of the charges are really high. I had a panel run a couple of months ago that had a “list” price of >$800. The actual bill with my insurer’s negotiated rates turned out to be less than $50. (Full charge – I have a high deductible health plan, and hadn’t met my deductible yet.)</p>
<p>I never pay until I see the completed claim from my insurer. Everything else is just funny money.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t the lab tell me if my lab work isn’t covered? I went to the lab and registered to do the blood work. They took all my info and didn’t say a thing that it will be out-of-pocket for me. Don’t they say if not covered how much it would cost me and lay out a payment plan or make you pay upfront?</p>
<p>My lab tells me if they think something won’t be covered. YMMV on this from place to place. </p>
<p>The person working the front desk at the lab would have no idea about your insurance plan unless they pre-authorized it. It is the patients responsibility. However, I still believe it’s an error. Could you go look at the eob and there are probably comments on the bottom of it that explain the charges. </p>
<p>Coverage can depend on how the lab work is coded. If there is no or wrong diagnosis code, lab work can be seen as screening and not covered. Billed properly with the Dx code, it can be covered at 100% or close to it. </p>
<p>Don’t fret until after you speak with insurer and lab and MDs office who ordered tests, as needed. </p>
<p>Is eob from the insurance company? I don’t have it yet. Just a bill from the hospital where the lab work was done.</p>
<p>If it was billed to the insurance company you would have received that eob first. When you get the eob the lab gets it at the same time, they enter it or it’s uploaded into their system and that is how a bill is generated to you. Something is amiss, and it’s not worth worrying about until you call them tomorrow. </p>