Blood Work - Help???

Dayna_Hope

What is with all this mandated blood work?  I went to get some done today and I was told the total cost would be $1200 and neither the lab nor my insurance company can seem to tell me how much I will have to come up with out of pocket - "most likely the majority of it" since I havn't met my deductable yet. I'm just really frustrated

The blood work is testing for cystic fibrosis ($600!!), sickle cell, hiv, and the typical obstetric panel. 

 Is the cystic fibrosis testing really necessary and why??

 ::vent over::

rach312

I was very lucky that my insurance did cover my blood tests so for me it was a no brainer. 

About the cystic fibrosis test.  Cystic fibrosis is very serious and not talked about nearly as much as some of the other genetic diseases.  I was tested for it and I came back that I was a carrier.  I was devastated.  I googled too much and panicked.  In order for a child to have cystic fibrosis both parents have to be carriers.  My husband went to be tested and we found out he was negative.  

Even if my husband was also a carrier it did not mean a guarantee that our child would have it - but there was a high likelihood.  

 Children with cystic fibrosis require a lot of specialized care and I would have wanted to know if they had it in order to line up a specialist before the child was born in order to make them have the best life possible.  The life expectancy of a cystic fibrosis patient is only approximately 30 years old.     

JaxonD85

Most insurance gives you 100% coverage of prenatal care- that sucks that yours doesn't. One thing, though... since that's not the case for you, you're going to be meeting that deductible no matter what (ultrasounds cost hundreds each, plus all those appointments), so I would just not stress about when you hit it. I would budget for meeting your deductible twice (this year and next) and planning for hitting your out of pocket max next year, just in case... for example, my insurance has a 30% co-insurance cost in-network, and the average c-section at the hospital I plan to deliver at costs over $24,000, so I'd owe $7200 (except, thank God, my max is $4k) so you can see how it could happen- and you never know if you'll end up with a c-section you never planned on.

As for CF, you can, of course, choose not to test. Caucasians and people of certain Jewish descent with no family history have about a 1 in 30 chance of carrying one of the mutations that cause it, but the chances you and your husband both carry it are about 1 in 900 (please don't murder me if that's wrong, but I think that's how the statistics work). It's totally your decision, though. Some people would not chose to terminate a pregnancy regardless, in which case testing would not make as large a difference (same goes for the quad screen, which you can also refuse).

Totally off topic, in a way, but I did the quad screen and regret it. I got a positive result (a 1 in 50 risk, which is "high") for open neural tube defect, and even though it was ruled out with ultrasound, I was worried sick for nearly 3 weeks for (fortunately) no reason, and now my chart (possibly permanently) says that my baby was diagnosed with an "unspecified fetal abnormality" on each subsequent ultrasound. I'm trying to fix it, but it may be there forever, and that kind of thing can cause problems with buying individual insurance in the future

wrenr

The cystic fibrosis test is totally optional. Tell them not to run it. It would only be relevant if you plan on terminating the pregnancy if something comes up. I'm gonna guess that sickle cell and hiv are also optional, not to mention that sickle cell is most common in African Americans and I don't want to assume but your picture doesn't look like you are. I know I opted out of several tests that were offered. They're just trying to make you so anxious that you'll pay for totally unnecessary things. Ask your mom. Did she get tested for any of that? It's all new stuff.

Dayna_Hope

Thank you for all the replies.  I couldn't get a hold of my doctor yesterday and both receptionists told me it was "mandatory." Looks like they're just trying to get money because everyone I talked to said it was optional.  Terminating the pregnancy would never be an option for me. I'm going to try to get ahold of my doctor today and get a new work order without the $600 screening.  thanks again for your opinions!

jessysono

Im a sonographer (u/s tech) and my specialty is Obstetrics.  Its a shame your insurance wont cover that bloodwork but unfortunately most of it is necessary.  At least the Cystic Fibrosis the OB panel, Hem,etc, the cystic fibrosis for example in a rare case that you and your husband could be carriers, treatment needs to be done as soon as baby is born, it would be important to know. The OB panel looks for things that may indicate wether or not your anemic for example, certain things that may need treatment during pregnancy.  If you choose not to do any screening tests because you wouldnt opt for termination thats fine, just let your doctor know that is what you want.  Ill tell you that some tests you may decline but in case of emergency thell do them anyway, for example, I had declined  and signed off the HIV and some other test because I had already done it in the panel and I guess because I ended up being an emergency they ended up doing them anyway, as I found out later, but I guess if I were a self pay I would despute it because I had signed declining it.  Hope this helps.  Have a good pregnancy.