Testing is it necessary????

Boricuabella067

I am scheduled for a consultation, blood test and the scan, but i just found out with my insurance that they don't cover genetic testing, my question is do i really need it? I refuse to pay 2000.00 dollars for something that will not make a difference to us either way. I cried about it and will now PRAY hard about it and will see if i make it to my appt tommorow, am i being a unfit mom by not going tomorrow???? 

sciteach

Some people get tremendous comfort in knowing, so I understand why they do it - I guess you need to decide would you get $2000 worth of comfort?Some people would not continue the pregnancy, so for them it is necessary. It is a personal choice. We declined all testing both times. I'm confident I'm not an unfit mother - in the minority, yes, but not unfit.  

tkcarnes

It is only a screening test. It is up to you. But just to let you know I just received my bill today and the cost was $476. It was certainly for my piece of mind I was more worried about Tri 18 then the Tri 21.

MAtoNC

Boricuabella067:

I am scheduled for a consultation, blood test and the scan, but i just found out with my insurance that they don't cover genetic testing, my question is do i really need it? I refuse to pay 2000.00 dollars for something that will not make a difference to us either way. I cried about it and will now PRAY hard about it and will see if i make it to my appt tommorow, am i being a unfit mom by not going tomorrow???? 

How did you find this out? Did your doctor's office try to do a pre-approval? Is that why it happened? Most insurance companies will cover it with the proper medical coding, in this case "advanced maternal age". 

JulesDiane

Hmmm.. I have not called to check out with my insurance company if it is covered. My Doctor gave me the code so I can call and check. I kind of assumed, I would pay for it out of pocket if it isn't covered. I didn't realize it could be that pricey!? I guess I better call at least so I know what we might be getting in to!

BrideBuddies

I assume you're talking about the NT Scan and First Tri blood screening?  

You could skip the NT Scan pretty easily.  It's simply an "indicator" that there "could" be "potentially" something amiss.   But certainly it's not all that diagnostic.    Our NT scan came out great, but then the blood screening completely contradicted that and said we were very high risk for Downs and elevated Tri-18.   So which do you want to believe?

Only a CVS or Amnio would give you truly accurate results.  But by the time those tests come around, it's pretty late in the ballgame to terminate, etc.

Personal choice, really.

  

dkays

Definitely call the insurance company yourself.  When we were having these tests done early on,  the insurance company said it was not covered but that was only because the wrong code were used. 

For our particular situation, we opted to go straight to amnio because we needed to be able to plan and have peace of mind.  It really is personal choice.   GL!

 

Madison789

My doc coded all testing not as 'advanced maternal age' but as 'suspected chromosomal abnormality' - if that helps.

swrlygrl

BrideBuddies:

Only a CVS or Amnio would give you truly accurate results.  But by the time those tests come around, it's pretty late in the ballgame to terminate, etc.

Personal choice, really.

CVS is done between week 11 and 12 w 6day and you can still terminate easily, you can also still terminate after an amnio (done between 15-18w) but it is a much more serious procedure physically and emotionally.

 Aside from that my first Tri Screen/NT  is covered by my insurance and if needed so will the CVS due to my "advanced maternal age"  I know here in California they gave me a booklet about al the screen processes and for the Full Integrated screen which includes the Blood work and NT in first Tri and the comparisons in weeks 15-20 and in the back it had a quote for $169.00  which is also a non-evasive screening process $2k seems high.  Did you speak to your insurance directly or the billing office at your OB's also what did the Genetic Counselor say? You have until 13w 6 days to get the blood work and NT scan done for the 1st Trimester Screening maybe se if you can talk to some more people.  I would still go in for the bloodwork part since that can't be too expensive and then you just have to ge tin within 10 days for the NT scan (or before 13 weeks 6 days)  (just going through all this yesterday and today setting up my apointments & meeting with counselors so it's all fresh on my mind)

But no, in my opnion if you know you would not terminate then I don't think you are a bad mom-to-be the only drawback is that you would not have the time to prepare ahead if there was to be a situation.  I am so sorry you have to deal with this, I really hope it works out for you.

kate&patrick

You are definately not a bad mom to decline this!  Do what is in your heart  (and wallet)

nikkiw421

You are not an unfit mom! A lot of people choose not to have this test! It's especially not necessary if it's not going to change your mind one way or the other!

I had to call my insurance 4 times to find out what they covered and also learned from my billing person at the dr office how much OOP it would be if insurance did not cover it. The 1st Tri blood screen was $350. She couldn't quote the U/S but my first one was billed at $200.

Either way, do not beat yourself up over whatever decision you make! Good luck!

UTKD

I agree with other posters.  Lots of women don't any testing.  You are not an unfit mom if you opt out.