Labs Accused of Charging Unfair Fees for Cost of Blood Work

The cost of blood work has skyrocketed much like the rest of health care costs, but for a different reason.

Some lab companies are charging patients more than 14 times the cost of blood work that an insurance company would be charged for the same test.

Insurance companies negotiate rates with lab companies the same way they negotiate rates with hospitals and doctors.

For instance, a blood test that costs $220 for a person without insurance might cost much less for a person who has insurance because the insurance company has negotiated a lower rate. The same test might cost only $25 if a person’s insurance covers it.

However, if an insurance company denies coverage of a lab test that they determine is “unnecessary” or “experimental,” the lab company often bills the patient at the higher rate charged to those without insurance, known as the “rack rate.”

While the insurance company would have paid $25 for your blood test, you are stuck with the $220 rack rate bill for the cost of blood work when your insurance company denies coverage.

Insurance Fraud Accusations in the Cost of Blood Work

Among the medical lab companies that are possibly engaging in health insurance fraud practices in regards to over-billing patients are LabCorp (Laboratory Corporation of America), Quest Diagnostics and Bio-Reference Laboratories.

Now that consumers know that more than one price list is consulted before they are billed, they are demanding more transparency from their lab invoices. In order to determine the true cost of blood work, the insured patient needs to know the negotiated rate versus the rack rate.

Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp are each facing medical fee class action lawsuits filed by consumers who allege they were charged a substantial amount more for the cost of blood work than their insurance companies would have been charged had the insurance companies covered the costs of the tests.

Lab companies also are accused of supplying consumers with cryptic bills that contain lab jargon difficult for the patient to understand.

Many times, a lab will collect credit card information before performing a blood test so that they patient will subsequently be charged fees after the insurance company says “yay” or “nay” to the cost of blood work. At the time the patient is supplying his credit card, he has no idea how much money will be charged to the card.

Plaintiffs are demanding that the lab companies reimburse them for the extra amounts they were charged and to adopt more transparent billing procedures.

If you feel you were overcharged for the cost of blood work after your health insurance company denied coverage, you may qualify to participate in a lab fraud class action lawsuit.

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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