I was paying my latest bill yesterday and logged into my health insurance account to make sure I hadn't missed anything, and saw an outstanding claim for $4,000 for the NIPT! I haven't actually been billed for it, it's just listed on my portal (and I have been billed for some of the claims that occurred after that test) so I'm assuming my health insurance and the company are still going back and forth with each other over billing....but still. WTF. It also shows that my insurance will only allow $675 of that 4k to go towards my deductible...uh no, I'm sorry--if you're only going to allow $675 towards my deductible then there is no way I'm paying $4000. Ugh. #endrant
@nsk489 ugh...that's so stressful! My boss (who has the same health insurance as me but lives in a different state) had warned me that for his most recent kid (born last year), they were also billed something crazy for the NIPT. And it's not because our insurance doesn't cover it, but their kit was sent to an out-of-network lab.
I got the CPT code and name of the lab from my OB's office a few days before my appointment and double checked with my insurance that it was covered, and then called my insurance again after I got my results to make sure it was billed and covered correctly. Because I'm AMA, it was covered at 100%...so I'd be pretty pissed if I had gotten an insane bill. I did the same thing when I was referred to a nutritionist, and am very lucky that that's covered at 100% as well.
@nsk489 also in WA state here. When getting my NIPT, I found out that for the bloodwork it was actually cheaper to NOT use my insurance ($340), than with my insurance ($589). I hate insurance so much. Oh and the cost of ours will be going up in 2021, and they’ll be covering 10% less.
We have a crazy high deductible plan (because up until this point, it's just been my husband and I and neither of us has any medical issues, so other than my annual gyno visit we never go to the dr). So I knew I'd be responsible for paying since we haven't met our deductible yet for the year, just wasnt expecting the cost to be so high! After my initial shock/freak out, I did some googling and it seems like this company often bills the insurance a crazy amount (which is rarely covered) and I'll be able to have them bill me directly instead for a much more reasonable amount (between 150-250).
@nsk489 the same thing happened to me! On my claim it says I owe $6000 for the NIPS test...so when I called the genetic testing company they clarified that they sort of just go through the motions with insurance and “charge” them that high amount. But they don’t expect me to pay it when insurance denies coverage. Once they finish their back and forth I’ll get a bill for $100, just like what you found in your research. It’s frustrating because I did get confirmation from insurance that they would cover it but apparently not. It’s such a racket.
Re: WTF Wednesday
I got the CPT code and name of the lab from my OB's office a few days before my appointment and double checked with my insurance that it was covered, and then called my insurance again after I got my results to make sure it was billed and covered correctly. Because I'm AMA, it was covered at 100%...so I'd be pretty pissed if I had gotten an insane bill. I did the same thing when I was referred to a nutritionist, and am very lucky that that's covered at 100% as well.
Let us know how it works out!