$852.00 price for basic blood work for a physical???

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
last month i had a physical done and my doc drew two vials of blood. i just got my insurance statement and there are two line items for each. one was for $293.00 and the other was $559.00.

WTF??? for basic blood work this seems pretty fricken high.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Gotta cover the costs of all those illegals somehow...
 

TraumaRN

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2005
6,893
63
91
Originally posted by: Citrix
last month i had a physical done and my doc drew two vials of blood. i just got my insurance statement and there are two line items for each. one was for $293.00 and the other was $559.00.

WTF??? for basic blood work this seems pretty fricken high.

Depends on what they draw....some tests run in the multiple thousands or more...
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
Originally posted by: DeathBUA
Originally posted by: Citrix
last month i had a physical done and my doc drew two vials of blood. i just got my insurance statement and there are two line items for each. one was for $293.00 and the other was $559.00.

WTF??? for basic blood work this seems pretty fricken high.

Depends on what they draw....some tests run in the multiple thousands or more...

cholestrol, triglycerides, RBC, WBC and your other normal stuff for a physical on a 38 year old male.
 

TraumaRN

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2005
6,893
63
91
Originally posted by: Citrix
Originally posted by: DeathBUA
Originally posted by: Citrix
last month i had a physical done and my doc drew two vials of blood. i just got my insurance statement and there are two line items for each. one was for $293.00 and the other was $559.00.

WTF??? for basic blood work this seems pretty fricken high.

Depends on what they draw....some tests run in the multiple thousands or more...

cholestrol, triglycerides, RBC, WBC and your other normal stuff for a physical on a 38 year old male.

Not all of it is the lab costs....some is doctor cost and whatnot.

 

drinkmorejava

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
3,567
7
81
Originally posted by: Citrix
Originally posted by: ChaoZ
You have insurance and it still costs that much?

the only thing i paid was the 20 buck co-pay.

Then what are you complaining about, Europe isn't getting it much cheaper. On the topic of pharmaceuticals, there are multiple non-industry supported studies that show comparable dosages are similarly priced within the US and EU. The big differences in spending come from Americans taking more and newer drugs, which in most cases won't be in Europe for at least 18 months.
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
Originally posted by: DeathBUA
Originally posted by: Citrix
Originally posted by: DeathBUA
Originally posted by: Citrix
last month i had a physical done and my doc drew two vials of blood. i just got my insurance statement and there are two line items for each. one was for $293.00 and the other was $559.00.

WTF??? for basic blood work this seems pretty fricken high.

Depends on what they draw....some tests run in the multiple thousands or more...

cholestrol, triglycerides, RBC, WBC and your other normal stuff for a physical on a 38 year old male.

Not all of it is the lab costs....some is doctor cost and whatnot.

i think all of it is lab fee. each one list Frontline Laboratory
my doc fee is a separate line item and that is for 100 bucks.

example:
Frontline Laboratory 293.00
Frontline Laboratory 559.00
Dr. 100.00
 

SmoochyTX

Lifer
Apr 19, 2003
13,615
0
0
When I had 5 stitches in my thumb a few months ago, I paid a $150 ER deductible when I went to the ER.

I now also have an additional bill for $74.69 to the hospital and a $235.69 bill for the Physician's Assistant.

ETA - Aetna FTL
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
Originally posted by: drinkmorejava
Originally posted by: Citrix
Originally posted by: ChaoZ
You have insurance and it still costs that much?

the only thing i paid was the 20 buck co-pay.

Then what are you complaining about, Europe isn't getting it much cheaper. On the topic of pharmaceuticals, there are multiple non-industry supported studies that show comparable dosages are similarly priced within the US and EU. The big differences in spending come from Americans taking more and newer drugs, which in most cases won't be in Europe for at least 18 months.

WTF are you talking about? i had a physical along with 2 vials of blood tested thats it nothing special.

why do i care? because i think its too high, yes i am paying for all of it along with everybody else who has United Healthcare Insurance.
 

mzkhadir

Diamond Member
Mar 6, 2003
9,509
1
76
instead of going to the normal doctor, people just jump and run to the hospital for small things, which costs more too.
 

Mermaidman

Diamond Member
Sep 4, 2003
7,987
93
91
Originally posted by: Citrix
Originally posted by: paulney
Is that before insurance-hospital adjustment?

that is what is in the "amount billed" column
I believe that is the "MSRP." Usually, the insurance company pays a discounted amount to the lab (or other healthcare provider) if the lab has a contract with the insurer. I've seen some crazy discounts--e.g. A hospital bill reduced from thousands to a couple hundred.

Recently, there was a brouhaha regarding the lack of such discounts for Medicare.
 

gsethi

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2002
3,457
5
81
That is just an inflated payment shown on your bill. Your doctor and/or the Lab wont get anywhere close to that amount from your insurance company. That figure is just there to scare you so that you continue to keep your insurance (oh, and thats what you would pay if you didnt had insurance)

 

Slew Foot

Lifer
Sep 22, 2005
12,379
96
86
Originally posted by: gsethi
That is just an inflated payment shown on your bill. Your doctor and/or the Lab wont get anywhere close to that amount from your insurance company. That figure is just there to scare you so that you continue to keep your insurance (oh, and thats what you would pay if you didnt had insurance)


Exactly, it doesnt matter what the bill says, the insurance carrier has a contract to pay a set amount for those labs (probably close to $200 or so). They like to send you the hospital charge just to scare you though.
 

mzkhadir

Diamond Member
Mar 6, 2003
9,509
1
76
Originally posted by: Slew Foot
Originally posted by: gsethi
That is just an inflated payment shown on your bill. Your doctor and/or the Lab wont get anywhere close to that amount from your insurance company. That figure is just there to scare you so that you continue to keep your insurance (oh, and thats what you would pay if you didnt had insurance)


Exactly, it doesnt matter what the bill says, the insurance carrier has a contract to pay a set amount for those labs (probably close to $200 or so). They like to send you the hospital charge just to scare you though.

qft.

Insurance doesn't pay as much to the hospital as you would if you didn't have a contract.
 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,914
1,560
126
not sure what the going cost is now, but 10 years ago when I sprained my ankle, the bill showed a $30 charge for 2 tylenol, a $50 charge for a compress (which was a ziplock bag full of ice), another $40 for an ace bandage and some obscene amount for crutches. My deductible was like $25...
 

Goosemaster

Lifer
Apr 10, 2001
48,775
3
81
Originally posted by: spacejamz
not sure what the going cost is now, but 10 years ago when I sprained my ankle, the bill showed a $30 charge for 2 tylenol, a $50 charge for a compress (which was a ziplock bag full of ice), another $40 for an ace bandage and some obscene amount for crutches. My deductible was like $25...

lol