The Cost of Bloodwork Without Insurance May be Unfairly High

In general, most people will agree that the cost of healthcare is ridiculously high, and that includes individuals who may or may not be covered by medical insurance.

As part of the cost of healthcare, medical lab fees have also recently come under scrutiny. Some insurance companies do not cover these services. In those cases, patients may have to pay the amount in full. For those patients, the cost of bloodwork without insurance may be unfairly high when compared to the fair market value for the lab fees.

Medical labs agree to accept reduced medical lab fees when being reimbursed by an insurance company. They can bill at a certain price, but the insurance company only agrees to reimburse the laboratory at the negotiated rate. However, the full rate, if not paid by insurance, may be 10 times the cost of an insurance-covered price.

For example, a certain lab test may only receive a $15 reimbursement from the insurance company based on the agreement between the laboratory and the insurance company. In this case, the $15 reimbursement is considered the fair market value of the cost of the test.

If insurance does not cover the particular test, then the lab may choose to charge the patient $150 for that same test. Many patients feel this practice is unfair and even fraudulent.

As can be imagined, patients are incredibly frustrated by the high cost of bloodwork without insurance, especially since there is often a large discrepancy between the amount charged for the test and the fair market value assessed for patients whose insurance covers the medical lab tests.

A push has come from consumers to demand higher levels of transparency with respect to the cost of bloodwork without insurance. They feel that the pricing should be the same for customers with and without insurance coverage, and that laboratories should not take advantage of consumers when their insurance refuses to pay for a test.

Consumers feel that if a lab is willing to take $15 for a lab test, an amount that is deemed fair market value, that same lab should not be able to charge 10 times the cost for bloodwork without insurance.

Some individuals have decided to take matters into their own hands and have gone on to take legal action against the laboratories to address these alleged wrongdoings.

One lab fees class action lawsuit filed against Quest Diagnostics claims the fees that company charged were “in excess of the negotiated or mandated fair market value rates established for those services between Quest and private or public insurers.”

Taking Legal Action over the High Cost of Bloodwork Without Insurance

If you have paid a high cost of bloodwork without insurance coverage, you may be eligible to file an individual or class action lawsuit against the laboratory. By doing so, you may be able to recover the additional fees that you are required to pay the laboratory, as well as obtain additional legal compensation designed to punish the company for its alleged wrongdoing.

An experienced attorney is available to review your case at no charge to you, and can recommend potential course of legal action depending upon your unique situation.

Join a Free Medical Lab Fees Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you believe you were overcharged for medical lab fees after being denied coverage by your health insurance company, you may qualify to file a lab test fees lawsuit or laboratory fraud class action lawsuit.

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