Patients without Insurance at Risk for High Quest Diagnostics Test Prices

Patients across the country are complaining of being billed for lab tests after their insurance companies deemed the tests unnecessary or experimental. Not only are patients complaining that their insurance companies are not covering their lab tests, they are alleging that lab companies may be taking advantage of patients.

Even though lab testing companies often offer discounted rates to insurance companies, patients without insurance coverage often experience significantly higher rates.

One of the lab companies under fire for allegedly increasing prices on patients is Quest Diagnostics, which has been hit with a class action lawsuit along with Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) facing their own claim.

Patients allege that they were charged significantly higher LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics test prices than what they would have been billed if they had been covered by insurance. After being forced to pay higher LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics test prices, plaintiffs are requesting to be reimbursed for the unwanted costs.

Plaintiffs also request that they are reimbursed any additional costs they had to pay that was above fair market, and that lab testing companies charge uncovered patients.

Even though insurance companies typically have agreements with lab testing companies that guarantee set prices for medical lab fees, or fair market value rates, patients without insurance are charged much higher or “rack rates.”

Patients have reported that they were charged ten times the amount of the fair market value price, compared to what insurance companies would be billed for the same test.

Overview of Quest Diagnostics Test Prices

Quest Diagnostics is the largest lab testing companies, offering a variety of services for patients and provides over 100 million laboratory tests per year. However, the growing healthcare crisis has been pushing patients to their mental and financial limits, as they continue to try and determine whether or not they are covered for certain medical tests or procedures.

The alleged higher Quest Diagnostics test prices to uncovered patients have not helped matters and have already resulted in several lawsuits filed. One of these medical lab test prices lawsuits was filed conjointly by a group of patients, alleging they were each hit with higher Quest Diagnostics test prices.

All the claimants allege that they were unexpectedly hit with high Quest Diagnostics test prices when they had been under the impression they would be charged the same whether or not they were covered by insurance companies.

Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Quest Diagnostics test prices for uncovered patients is significantly higher than established fair market value prices. One of the plaintiffs involved in the medical lab test prices lawsuit is Lawrence C., who was billed for $218.48 for a Homocysteine test.

Lawrence claims that he was denied insurance coverage due to the test being considered “experimental or investigational”, and was allegedly charged 14.5 times the fair market value rate established between Aetna insurance and Quest Diagnostics.

If Lawrence had been covered, Aetna would have reimbursed Quest Diagnostics $15.02 and Lawrence would have had no copay. This medical lab test prices lawsuit is filed in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, and is being filed by Marvin L., Lawrence C., and at least three other claimants.

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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