Learn the true cost of blood work without insurance and the value of ordering your blood tests online!
Routine Testing
Getting blood work done on a regular basis is an important part of monitoring one’s overall health. Routine testing provides both the individual and their service provider with a baseline of the individual’s blood levels. This allows the patient to not only compare his or her blood work to the population norms, but also to his or her own norms. Even small changes in blood work that technically still fall within the normal range can reveal the beginning stages of a health disorder. One of the biggest benefits of regular blood testing is the early detection of blood abnormalities and potential health problems. With most health concerns, the earlier the problem is detected the more favorable the prognosis will be.
Routine blood testing is also used with individuals who are being treated for high-risk and/or frequently fluctuating health problems like diabetes or hypertension. These disorders require constant monitoring. Individuals who take medications that affect organ functioning, such as that of the liver or kidneys, also employ frequent blood testing to make sure that the organs are working properly. If there is a problem, doctors want to be able to identify and correct the issue as quickly as possible – this may help the patient avoid damaging vital organs.
No Insurance
Although blood tests are important and often necessary, the cost of blood work without insurance can be quite costly. The cost of medical treatment has increased dramatically over the last decade, and current prices are high – even for simple procedures and tests. Blood work pricing at a lab can range anywhere from $100 for one simple test, to $3,000 for several complex test panels. On average, to get blood work done at a lab when the patient is uninsured will cost around $1,500. This steep cost of the testing deters many individuals without insurance from getting the blood testing that they need. Individuals without insurance will often wait until their symptoms are severe enough that they need to seek emergency care. Ultimately, this leads to a delayed detection of illnesses, worsening the prognosis and usually increasing the overall cost of treatment.
Ordering Online
One way to make blood work testing more affordable is to order the tests online. Ordering blood work online is convenient and affordable, with savings of up to 85% off of lab pricing. Another benefit of ordering online is that, for the most part, no physician referral is required, saving the cost of the visit to the doctor. In order to take charge of their health, individuals can simply go online, search the thousands of tests available, and order the specific test that they want. Once the test is purchased, the order is taken to a local laboratory that will run the test. Test results are emailed out within 24-48 hours of the testing. The email includes information on the normal range of the test so that those out of the normal range can make an appointment with their physician to discuss the results. Online ordering of blood work allows individuals to take an active role in their own health and makes this important testing available to a much wider range of people. Online ordering of blood tests is not only less expensive than ordering from a lab when the patient doesn’t have insurance, but also for individuals who have insurance but are on a high deductible plan.
Insurance with High Deductibles
Although many insurance plans will cover part of the cost of blood work, not all tests are covered under all plans. Elective procedure labs, for example, are usually not covered by insurance. What defines a lab as being “elective” can be quite broad and can include labs that the patient believes to be necessary but the doctor does not specifically order. The out-of-pocket cost of these labs often dissuades individuals from taking their health into their own hands and forces them to rely on the judgment and opinions of their doctors. This also becomes a problem for those with insurance plans that have high deductibles. These individuals are often left paying the same price as those who have no health insurance coverage. High deductible insurance plans are often called catastrophe plans because the insurance holder pays full price for normal visits and procedures, and the real benefit of the plan only comes if the insurance holder has some very expensive procedure or treatment. An individual could pay full price for all of their labs throughout the year and never reach their deductible. For these individuals, ordering labs online is usually more cost-effective than going through their insurance.
