Price Of Blood Work At A Regular Clinic?

[MoonSafari38]

I would like to know what other people have paid to for their lab tests.

I have an appointment next week where I will force/beg my doctor to run labs for me (all those AGA's and IgA's, etc, etc). I am unemployed and therefore have no insurance and I am trying to figure out the total cost out of pocket. I will hold off on the biopsy if the results are positive because there is no way I could afford that out of pocket. I know it will not be cheap but I don't want to have to continue eating wheat for months while I wait to get a job with health insurance. (I went gluten free for a bit in spring and had NO digestive issues what so ever and I have had digestive issues my whole life. I will for sure be cutting out as much gluten as possible from my diet even if I am not diagnosed with celiac because I am definitely gluten intolerant.)

I want to get the tests done at a good old fashion hospital/clinic so that my family and boyfriend will "believe" the results. I would never hear the end of it if I was diagnosed through "mail order" tests. (I know those close to me should support me no matter what I eat but this group of people needs to see a test result from an established hospital or I will never be taken seriously.)

Sorry if this topic has been covered before. I swear that I did dig around in the forums but I could not find info on what people paid for blood work at hospitals. If it helps, I live in Minneapolis and the doctor appointment will cost me about $170 out of pocket.

Thanks and feel free to just redirect me to another posting if this topic has been covered!

[happygirl]

It would depend on the lab running it - it varies greatly by lab. Your best bet would be to have the doctor write the order for the tests, and then contact the lab and request the prices.

[WorryMom]

My husband recently had a full celiac panel drawn here in Alabama and processed at Mayo's lab. According to paperwork from our insurance the amount the hospital here submitted was $1,443 but the amount they agreed to accept from our insurance as payment in full was $288 so there could be a wide range in what they want to charge you and what they might be willing to accept.

Maybe if you called before you had it done you could negotiate a reasonable price.

[dtgirl]

My husband recently had a full celiac panel drawn here in Alabama and processed at Mayo's lab. According to paperwork from our insurance the amount the hospital here submitted was $1,443 but the amount they agreed to accept from our insurance as payment in full was $288 so there could be a wide range in what they want to charge you and what they might be willing to accept.

Maybe if you called before you had it done you could negotiate a reasonable price.

That sounds close to what my insurance report said.

[Lynnie]

Wow...they really do jack of the prices, that is for sure.

I went to my doctor yesterday. I am not working right now and have no health insurance. The place that I go is a government funded clinic. I asked just yesterday how much it would cost for the Celiac test. They told me that because I go through them, it would cost me $178. If the test comes out negative, that would be the cost. But, if the test comes out positive, it would be an additional $71 for additional tests. The woman that was showing me the cost told me that if I wasn't going through them and me being on their sliding scale that it would cost $278. Big different from $278 to $1443. Depending on who is making the money, they just charge whatever the hell they want.

The medical communites in this country are shameful.

[nasalady]

Wow...they really do jack of the prices, that is for sure.

I went to my doctor yesterday. I am not working right now and have no health insurance. The place that I go is a government funded clinic. I asked just yesterday how much it would cost for the Celiac test. They told me that because I go through them, it would cost me $178. If the test comes out negative, that would be the cost. But, if the test comes out positive, it would be an additional $71 for additional tests. The woman that was showing me the cost told me that if I wasn't going through them and me being on their sliding scale that it would cost $278. Big different from $278 to $1443. Depending on who is making the money, they just charge whatever the hell they want.

The medical communites in this country are shameful.

I had the bloodwork done through Prometheus Labs. It was the full celiac panel plus the DNA analysis. My insurance would not pay for it. I paid $799.00.

JoAnn

[MoonSafari38]

Thanks for the replies. I did call the clinic where I would be getting the work done and the price the lab quoted seemed low: $46 total and about $60 if the results came back positive. (Park Nicollet clinics in the Twin Cities, tests cover a full celiac panel) Though the kid I spoke with wasn't sure what I was asking for and had to call me back the next day with prices. (This is my first experience calling to find out exactly what tests are run and exactly how much they cost and it seems to be catching the clinic off guard.) The problem now is my doctor wants me to see an Internist first, (I was really hoping I could just get her to request the blood test so that I could avoid the costs of a doctor's visit).

I think I will have to put off medical care for a while because I really cannot afford a specialist and what ever other tests she would want to run to rule out IBS, Crohn's, etc. If I had the insurance I would love to get a full review too but I figured I could at least rule out Celiac with the blood work. So I will continue to eat wheat for a few more weeks and endure the stomach aches, bloating and gas.

[TiffLuvsBread]

If you cannot afford it, you can always keep on the gluten-free diet and know that the gluten-free diet is all the proof that you need. You don't really NEED a blood test to tell you something you already learned, unless you would like to have a clinical diagnosis. For me, diet is enough, and I never want to have to go back to eating gluten in order to have a doctor say "yep, you were right." Yucko!

Good luck