Unfair lab charges
#314826 - 09/11/07 12:06 PM
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Nelly
Reged: 08/06/04
Posts: 4381
Loc: Within stray mortar fire of DC
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The fibromyalgia clinic sent me for $800 worth of blood work at a lab, but told me I had to pre-pay them first. Now the lab is sending me bills for $800 for the last 2 months!!! I am so pissed. 
I just got the third notice in the mail. The fibro clinic tells me "We're on it!" but it's been 2 whole months. Once this bill goes to collections, it'll be impossible to get resolved.
BF is giving me terrible advice, saying I should call the police. (He's not good with people). I've send loads of emails about this, but the girl who was handling this is gone on vacation for another week and a half. I called the clinic and they passed me around to three idiots who said I'd just have to wait til she came back. Grrrrr!! 
I hope they all get billed hundreds of dollars unfairly too. Evil doctor office hoes.
OK I feel a little better for venting. 
~nelly~
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Nelly, what were the labs ordered and what kind of health insurance do you have? Maybe I can help 
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~~~Lisa~~~
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Thanks Little Lisa. I called the 1800- number on the back of the bogus bill, and at least got in their computers (they didn't even know it was being contested!!)
I have no health insurance.
The tests were for a bunch of bloodwork (I think they took 11 vials this time):
Aldosterone, LC/MS/M . . $41
Cortisol, Free total . . $70
DHEA-Sulfate . . $27
IGF-1 . . $36
Pregnenolone, S . . $40
T-3 Reverse - ARUP . . $135
T-3 Free . . $27
T-4 Free . . $27
Vitamin D . . $139
Candida lgG/lgM/lgA . . $128
Total: $667.00 Prepaid to my doctor.
He gives me the forms, I go to Quest and get sucked dry. It has to be done at Quest Diagnostics. They have an agreement with the doctor: I pay the doctor and get a discount; they send all their patients to Quest Labs and get some sort of kickback.
Works out GREAT, until Quest starts sending me bills for their inflated prices for the same stuff, in the order of $768.39!!!
Grr! the system does not work!! 
~nelly~
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Hey Nelly,
I hear you on this. We had $10,000 in hospital bills after Ollie's stay in the NICU. Dealing with the insurance was crazy. Every single time the lab people would bill us saying they had no insurance info for us. I would call, give them the info, they would send a new adjusted bill. Well, then they'd send us another bill, on a different account number, for some other lab work on him or me. Again, they'd have no idea we had insurance! I must have called the lab thirty times, not even thinking about working crap out with the other doctors. And that's with insurance! The gastro doctor just did the same thing for me, where they sent me a bill for the copay I had paid! Aargh. You'd think they'd keep better records.
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OMG I just don't get it! How can you PREPAY your doctor and then Quest bill you also? That is double billing. Something's not right there. I think all private pay patients should get some type of discount for having no insurance but usually they don't. The dentist that I worked part time for gave a discount for patient's with no insurance but I also worked for a hospital and now a skilled nursing facility and we don't give any type of discount. It really stinks because everything is SOOOOOO expensive.
Have you applied for Medicaid ever? If you would qualify, they would help you out with your bills.
I hope it gets straightened out soon. I'm sure you called Quest and told them that you already paid your doctor right?
Grrrrr it is frustrating I'm sure. But you need to have these tests done to diagnose you. It's a catch 22 isn't it?!?!?!?!? 
Let me know how you make out!
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~~~Lisa~~~
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