Need labtests....

Need Labtests…

… but have a pissy doctor that won’t order the tests that you know you need?

There’s a new alternative.

By going here, you can pick your own tests, pay the Medicare costs (up front, but at the MUCH reduced rate), pay a $9.50 service fee, print out a lab sheet to take to a local LabCorp, and have the results emailed to you and faxed to your doc.  No one knows that YOU chose the labs, that you prepaid, etc.  Additionally, if you submit the labwork after you pay to your insurance, it will most likely be covered assuming labs are covered by your insurance, once meeting your deductible.

Seriously, how much easier can this be for us?

How many of us ***** that we want PTH, or need a copper level pulled, but the surgeon doesn’t believe in running such elaborate tests and our PCPs have no clue?

The full list of labs (and costs) can be found here.  Here are the prices based off my 12 month test list:

• 85025  CBC w/ diff – $10.86
• 80053  Comprehensive Metabolic Profile – $14.77
• 84134  Transthyretin (Prealbumin) – $41.75
• 80061  Lipid profile – $17.77
• 83735  Magnesium, Serum – $13.23
• 7444  Thyroid panel – $103.00
• 83540  Iron Profile (Includes TIBC and Sat %) – $9.05
• 82728  Ferritin – $19.03
• 84630  Zinc, RBC – $42.15
• 84446  Vitamin A – $49.00
• 82306  Vitamin D (25-hydroxy) – $52.12
• 84425  Vitamin B-1 (Thiamin), whole blood – $60.00 (serum)
• 84207  Vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine), plasma – $88.00
• 82747  Folate, RBC – $77.55
• 82607  Vitamin B12 – $29.75
• 83970  Parathyroid Hormone (PTH), Intact – $56.25
• 83937  Osteocalcin – Not Available
  83921  Methylmalonic Acid, Serum – $114.90
• 85610  PT – $5.49
• 85730  PTT – $16.95
• 84590  Vitamin E – $59.00
• 82525  Copper – $42.50
• 496  Hemoglobin A1C – $13.56

Total for this list: $936.71

Is this a lot of cash?  Of course it is.  What I suggest is that you get as much as you can from your doc.  And what they WON’T order?  You do yourself.  Make life easier — especially those of you who aren’t to the point of standing up to the docs yet (hey, it takes time to get to the point of learning that you really DO have balls and the right to do so).  So if 1/2 is ordered?  Take care of the other 1/2 and SUBMIT THE BILL TO YOUR INSURANCE!  Still cheaper, I’m sure, than what you’d pay by going through a local lab.

Actually, I love the ability of being able to call up a lab at any time.  What’s my iron doing today?  Well, now I can find out without having to call up a doctor to find out — and it’s not going to cost me an arm and leg to do so.

This is another tool to allow us to take care of ourselves.  It’s up to us to take responsibility for what we chose to do to our innards.  Please act responsibly and care for it.