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27 Apr 08 LabCorp Billing – Unethical?
If you have billing issues with LabCorp, let everyone know.
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Tags: LabCorp Billing Stories, Labcorp Criminal, labcorp unethical
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Funny to all but those directly affected: Labcorp used to turn over its own employees to collection agencies for not paying for free lab work. This occurred with some regularity in the Nashville office. Employees are were offered the choice of getting their lab work for free from Labcorp or having to pay all costs out of pocket for using other providers. About 6 weeks after submitting their paperwork, they received their greetings from the collection agencies.
The standard Labcorp protocall is for an employee to email the billing department with their Labcorp employee ID number and the bill will automatically be taken care of. With many employees that may have the same name as other patients the company cannot remove the bill of every “Tracy Smith” that has lab work done. I would suggest that the people in the Nashville office try emailing the billing department when they have labwork done. And by the way perhaps the employee’s should be grateful that their labwork is free. I personally think this is a great benefit as lab work can be very expensive.
Just received a bill (services 2-29-08)for a strep test with a charge for STAT. How bogus! This strep test was done at a walk in clinic. There was no need for a STAT charge.
Your physician probably ordered your strep test “STAT”. That means that he wants the results immediately. It could’ve been performed on a Friday and the dr didn’t want to wait 3 days for your results. Regardless of the reason for the stat, there is a special fee for that and most physicians don’t even realize that there’s an extra charge. That charge is billed to your insurance and unfortunantly, if it’s not covered, that charge gets billed to you. Some Labcorp locations waive that fee for some clients, but not very often.
Nice try about emailing billing. I emailed, wrote, talked to them on the phone, you name it, I tried it. They didn’t want any part of hearing about me being an employee and my bill. I finally gave up. Billing, like every other department, at LCA is so screwed up, it’s unbelievable. Oh, by the way, regarding your “grateful” comment. I am so grateful for LCA testing that I NEVER have any testing done at LCA because I want ACCURATE results. Sorry to throw everyone under the bus, but I witness way too many screw ups, to entrust this POS company with my health. So, bill this!!!!
I have been having problems dealing with Labcorp for over excessive billing.
Last year Labcorp charged my insurance company $898.00 for blood work done on my husband, $598.00 & $398.00 for blood work done on myself. All of the blood work was done in a doctor’s office.
I have called Labcorp several times & cannot get anything done..Labcorp insists that these charges are correct.
Any ideas on what can be done to resolve this?
I have contacted my Drs office & they insist that Labcorp handles their own billing.. Do Drs get a kickback from using Labcorp?
As a future former employee of the billing department for LabCorp, I feel I should comment on some of the statements made here about the billing department… For the person who says “Last year Labcorp charged my insurance company $898.00 for blood work done on my husband, $598.00 & $398.00 for blood work done on myself. All of the blood work was done in a doctor’s office” – I hate to tell you this, but most doctors DO NOT RUN ANY TESTING IN THEIR OFFICE. Just because your doctor’s office DREW the BLOOD or COLLECTED the specimen, it doesn’t mean the doctor or any of his or her staff are even involved in the testing process – these specimens are sent to an outside lab, such as LabCorp. We then perform the tests, as requested by the Doctor, and FORWARD THE RESULTS EITHER BY FAX OR ELECTRONIC MEANS to the Doctor. I can not tell you about the COUNTLESS TIMES we, as billing personnel, discover (form the patinet or the doctor’s office themselves) AFTER THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN TRANSMITTED, that the doctor ordered the WRONG tests, advised LabCorp of the incorrect insurance company to bill, used incorrect patient information, or even MIS-LABELED the paperwork for the specimen. We can only go by what your healthcare provider gives us with the specimen they send in or you turn in to the service center – check your paperwork carefully when you are given the lab form at the doctor’s office, and again when you SIGN YOUR FORM AT THE SERVICE CENTER. IF IT’S WRONG, ASK THE SERVICE TECH TO CORRECT IT – If it gets sent in and it’s incorrect, and you digned the form, who’s fault is that? As far as price: Your charges are based on the DOCTOR’S ACCOUNT with LabCorp – Your doctor is WELL AWARE of EVERY CHARGE YOU WILL INCUR FOR EVERY TEST THEY ORDER, as they are REQUIRED to have an account with LabCorp. They have access to pricing for every test – and if they don’t have a hard-copy price list, all they have to do is call thier client representative. Those prices are based on many factors, including prices that the DOCTOR or DOCTOR’s BILLING ENTITY has worked out with their LabCorp Sales Representative, and prices of other doctor’s in their area, as well as competitor lab pricing for their area. Also, as far as kickbacks go – have you ever heard of CLIA? The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act? If you haven’t, look into it – LabCorp doesn’t even give EMPLOYEES incentives like cash for collecting on overdue bills, yearly bonuses, etc – kickbacks are illegal! And as far as LabCorp doing their own billing, yes, we do – We did the work, why wold your doctor bill for the services? That would be insurance fraud (see CLIA) – a provider is only legally allowed to bill for services they perform unless they have an agreement with the insurance company to have the services billed to them, and then they have to prove that the service was performed by an outside entity, and that they are billing on behalf of that company, proving how much they were billed for the service. The process is complicated. In most cases, the Dr’s office sends the specimen to LabCorp, along with the patient’s insurance information, and LabCorp performs the testing and bills WHOMEVER THE DOCTOR TELLS US TO – whether that is the patient, an insurance company, or their office. LabCorp bills patients the SAME PRICE as they bill to the insurance company. Many patients complain that “the tests are overpriced and you [LabCorp] would never bill the insurance company this much…” That is where you are wrong. We are bound by contract to accept whsat your insurance company pays. If they reduce the price because of a contract, that is all we can take – if they TELL US to bill you for a remainder, such as co-pay, deductible, non-covered service, or co-insurance, based on YOUR POLICY with the Insurance Company, we are bound both by LAW and by CONTRACT to bill you for that amount. If the Insurance Company says you don’t owe anything, we don’t bill you. Many times, insurance companies will reprocess a claim, and not send new information to LabCorp’s insurance and billing departments, and adjustments don’t get made – because WE ARE NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE CHANGES – I know this because I speak to insurance companies all the time – they track how they inform providers and patients of reprocessed claims, and they will admit that they only sent the information to the patient, and not the provider. All you have to do is send us the Explanation of Benefits showing the correction, and we will make the adjustment (your bill CLEARLY STATES THIS). Other times, Insurance Companies just send a bulk payment for thousands of patient’s accounts at the same time, and fail to give sufficient information for the payments to be applied to the correct patient accounts. Don’t blame LabCorp’s billing department because you have shitty insurance company. Insurance Companies are in business to make money, not pay out money – if you think the Insurance Company is so great, why don’t you ask them about how they strong-arm providers into taking 10 cents on the dollar for services they perform. The only reason we (providers) accept the small payments is because of the mass amount of patients the company serves – almost like buying in bulk from COSTCO or SAM’S club – If they only had 5 members, the discount would not be so great, you would complain, and change insurance companies – would you not?. If you don’t want to pay high prices for labwork (which is quite involved, it’s not just pushing a button and getting a print-out), then get insurance that covers the tests, have your doctor order the RIGHT tests, or check with your insurance provider BEFORE you have services so you know if the service is covered. Remember, just because you HAVE insurance, it doesn’t mean they pay for EVERYTHING, and you don’t pay anything. Services that are deemed NON-COVERED or NOT MEDICALLY NECESSARY by your insurance company are your responsibility to pay for – and your lab form clearly states this. If your doctor sends the specimen from the Dr office, and you didn’t sign a lab form, you signed something when you became a patient of that doctor stating you will be financially responsible for services your insurance doesn’t cover. The doctor has the right to send your labwork to an outside lab, and because you are a patient of that dr, if you provide a specimen to the doctor, by implied consent, you have agreed that it is ok for them to send the specimen to someone instead of having the doctor’s office perform the work. It is your responsibility to know which lab you have to go to and whether the service is covered, not the doctor’s office or LabCorps responsibility. We don’t know if the service is covered until your insurance company processes the claim for the service. How are we to know what your individual policy covers? If you aren’t sure, ASK THE INSURANCE COMPANY! We are a lab, not an insurance broker’s office! Coverage is determined by a diagnosis code, which YOUR DOCTOR PROVIDES to LabCorp – if that Diagnosis Code doesn’t show the Insurance Company that your services were medically necessary, your insurance will deny – LabCorp, BY LAW, can not solicit a new Diagnosis Code from your physician unless it is COMPLETELY MISSING FROM THE PAPERWORK. Otherwise, that change must be made BY THE PHYSICIAN’S OFFICE, and the contact must be initiated by your doctor – if LabCorp contacts a Doctor and asks them to change a code just so an insurance company will pay for your service, that is INSURANCE FRAUD and considered SOLICITATION FOR PAYMENT – LabCorp WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN INSURANCE FRAUD ON YOUR BEHALF JUST SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY A BILL THAT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY ALREADY STATED IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY – if the terms of your insurance policy are unclear, have them explained by the insurance company – ignorance on your part does not constitute fault or unfair practice on LabCorp’s part! Get over yourself – Read up on the laws, familiarize yourself with your own insurance policy – Your insurance company will tell you whatever you want to hear over the phone – if it’s not in writing (in the form of an Explanation of Medical Benefits), it doesn’t apply. LabCorp may suck somewhat, but the billing department practices are EXTREMELY strict, and there are specific protocols in place to ensure that NO LAWS are broken based on the INFORMATION WE RECEIVE FROM YOUR DOCTOR WHEN THEY SEND IN THE SPECIMEN. Don’t blame LabCorp for high prices and bills you receive because your doctors office staff is inept or your insurance company is cheap and corrupt! One last thing about the LabCorp employee who received a collection bill 6 weeks after her original date of service: Flat out lie – LabCorp doesn’t send bills to collections until 5 1/2 months AFTER your original billing statment comes out – a total of SEVEN (7) billing statements – if you have insurance, LabCorp is REQUIRED to bill your insurance company first – then you must CALL THE BILLING DEPARTMENT and request the balance after insurance be written off for employee testing benefit – this process requires verification by your LOCAL HR Department – This process was CLEARLY EXPLAINED TO YOU WHEN YOU WERE HIRED DURING ORIENTATION. If you can’t follow directions, what do you expect? -Again, there is a process – if you don’t follow the rules, you get penalized – this is a billing department, not Dionne Warwick and friends Psychic Network and Lab – when we bill, we don’t know you are an employee – if you live in Arkansas and are an employee, how does the billing department in the main office in North Carolina know you are an employee? You call us, we verify employment – plain and simple and easy – if you don’t tell us, it’s not our responsibility to track you down or follow your paperwork from Dr office to lab to billing department, call your hr, verify, then wait for your insurance company to respond to the claim (sometimes as long as 90 days for really slow insurance companies), and then adjust your bill – what company, anywhere in the world, has the resources to do something like that for their 3000 employees and 300,000 specimens per day? I have had a lot of labwork done by the company, and so has my husband, and we have NEVER had a problem with the employee testing benefit. Who the heck are you e-mailing that your service didn’t get adjusted? Are you so dependant on the internet that you just send e-mails and expect magic to happen? Don’t be lazy – you should be following the rules and CALLING THE BILLING DEPARTMENT PHONE NUMBER ON YOUR BILL LIKE YOU WERE TOLD TO DO IN ORIENTATION – don’t call the service center, or your doctor, call the BILLING DEPARTMENT – how is the service center or doctor supposed to help you with a billing issue when they have nothing to do with billing??! (In my experience, many people admit they are speaking with the service center, not the billing department…) Certain aspects of the company may suck, and I will admit that (Like I said, I am a future FORMER employee for a reason), but before you go off complaining about the billing department, get your facts straight. 90 % of the calls we receive in the billing department about pricing, adjustments, insurance decisions, whatever, and they are NOT LABCORP’S FAULT, and are BEYOND THE CONTROL OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND BILLING DEPARTMENT SYSTEMS. Blame your doctor’s staff, your insurance company, or your own ignorance about your insurance policy. It’s easy to point a finger when it’s not pointed at you – and if LabCorp made a mistake, then they made a mistake – We didn’t cut off the wrong foot, we billed you based on information provided to us at the time the bill was processed – this is not “malpractice”…
Very well said, Anonymous in the billing dep’t. Wonder if you are in Raritan, NJ. Sounds like you actually do your job and care.
I would never go to Lab Corp. I wish there would be some type of undercover investigation.
future former lab corp employee:
Spoken like a true lab corp billing person. The arrogance is aparent. It is this attitude that makes it very difficult to resolve billing issues, not only for the patient, Dr office, but internal customer service department.
While it is true that if a patient has a bill the amount paid by the insurer is what is negotiated by LABCORP and the insurance company. LABCORP does not have to accept that insurance if they don’t want to. The large amount a patient sees on their bill is the magic number a patient without insurance has to pay. In other words if the bill is $900.00 and the agreement between the insurance company and LABCORP is 150.00 that is what is paid. However if you don’t have insurance you my dear are liable for the entire $900.00. You see the patient without insurance is subsidizing those who have insurance.
To make a long story short,LABCORP agrees to accept the assigned amount from the insurance company (so stop complaining billing person)and the big bucks are paid by the uninsured!
By the way billing person don’t leave LABCORP you fit right in with the culture at this company!
Hello.
Martha Louise, who is the only daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, gave up the title of ‘royal highness’ upon her 2002 marriage to writer Ari, and has a reputation for not standing on ceremony.
Bye. Those of you that know the company know what I am talking about.
I am an ex- employee who was taken to a collection agency for non-payment of doctors fees that I had incurred because of a job related exposure. The blood work was paid by my insurance company but I was left to pay the outstanding balance for my medical evaluation. I tried three times to take care of the situation. I am also left wondering why Labcorp would bill my insurance for an exposure to blood while I was working there. I thought that that fell under workmans comp.
I have even a more serious complaint with this lab. I am a patient of a doctor for chronic pain and nasty panic attacks.
It cost me $240 cash to have a drug test to prove to my doctor I AM taking both my pain and nerve meds. Well people, I hate too tell you this, but my results were NOT accurate and it may very well cost me my sanity and even my job if I have no meds during a work related panic attack I will be unable to work and likely will end up in the hospital, still with no medical insurance. I did everything I was supposed to to as told and directed.
The medication not detected was Klonopin (Clonazepam)- I have needed and taken this medication along with my pain killers for years, and now my life is much better and I can once again work for a living. Because of this screwed up test result my life now is in the hands of LabCorp and my doctor. – Most likely I will end up in a hospital if my doctor cuts me off. I’m in shock over this. I’m innocent. I can not understand what the problem is with the lab not detecting this particular nerve/panic med, but I have read that it’s happening to others too.
I have found much evidence that shows how the most expensive drug testing labs can go by NOT detecting Klonopin (Clonazepam)in patients that take it- and you can bet I have submitted all of such information to my doctor. This is my life as I know whats at stake here, (A LOT!!) and for $240 one would think a lab could find a med I was taking every single day for years, and even on the day of the drug test.
I had to pay CASH $$ for my drug test, so I hate their rates AND their screwed up lab work. My life as I know it is in the hands of a bunch of people that can screw up my life for a very long time. I suggest NOBODY uses this drug testing company.
Now I have to worry about real life nightmares hitting me while I drive, all because of a drug test that was wrong and a doctor that places too much faith in such tests. I’m not very happy, and I’m broke. I did nothing wrong and I fear there must be many others just like me in the same boat. Doctors should not place so much faith in these drug tests- they can be WRONG!
ME
Clonazepam has a very low cross reactivity to the benzo screen techniques. Therefore, if the screen is negative, no confirmation will be performed. Also, the correct test code must be ordered to confirm clonazepam on a suspect positive benzo screen. I would recommend having the urine retested directly for clonazepam.
Since my doctor bills were coded wrong in the first place, they were recoded correctly at the end of Dec. 2008. I had two that went to LabCorp. One went through to my insurance and I paid my % already. One bill for the PAP (deleted then recoded) strangely doesn’t want to be forwarded to UHC. I have made over 20 phone calls in three moths to both companies, one saying the other is not going through the billing process correctly. Okay, the first recoded bill went to UHC electronically/no problem, but this recoded bill HAS TO be sent through the mail. I left a message with the LabCorp Supervisor handling this. One week later, she hasn’t returned my call eventhough I have left two messages on two different systems. All my bills are paid for concerning this December/November procedures. UHC said they haven’t received any communications from LabCorp since Feb 24th. I just want to pay my portion of the bill! Think of the interest on the money LabCorp is losing if they don’t do their jobs correctly. Think of all those people who want to pay their portions of their medical bills, but can’t and won’t until they know what they % after it is given to their insurance company. (Everytime I have called LabCorp it seems as if I am talking to someone at home on their home computer. Scripted, yes, knowledgable about medical billing and billing procedures especially when it comes to forwarding bills to health insurance companies, no.) So frustrated.
my story is similar to others, first they did numerous blood tests without any diagnostic codes for them!!! without informing me about it, without contacting my doctor about it. They just did the tests anyway. and they were not supposed to do Anything without proper diagnostic codes in the first place (unless the informed patient signs the waiver, agreeing to pay all expenses out of pocket, which i never even seen )then, they told me it was somehow my responsibility to “monitor” the doctor and make sure the codes are relevant, and now i have to pay the bill because my insurance rejected their claim without the codes. keep dreaming, LabCorp! then, they sent claim to the wrong insurance, still with no codes. got rejected again, and they are pissed off at me? my doctor send them the codes long time ago, but they either lost them, or want to charge ME and not my insurance on purpose. anyway, i’ll see where it goes from here. The labs are required by law to have correct diagnostic codes for the tests they perform, or if they don’t, they have to notify the patient and obtain a written permission from the patient, that he/she agrees to pay for these tests. otherwise, (my situation) they are responsible for the full cost of their tests, and can’t make the patient pay anything.
I, too, have had problems with LabCorp’s Billing Department. I had some labs drawn in my doctor’s office by the nurse who works in my doctor’s office who is NOT an employee of LabCorp. My insurance had changed, and, unfortunately, the doctor’s office did not sent the correct insurance info to LabCorp. When LabCorp thought I didn’t have insurance, they sent me a hug bill which I then forwarded to my insurance carrier. I later received a revised bill for half the amount they were originally charging. In addition, there was a $16 charge for venipuncture that LabCorp did not perform. When I called the Billing Dept. to dispute this charge, the woman who answered my call basically told me I was stupid and that the nurse was probably a LabCorp employee. I told her I’ve been going to that doctor for quite a while, and I know she is an employee of the doctor’s office and not LabCorp. This woman then hung up on me! When I tried to call back, the phone rang and rang and rang, and I never could get an answer again. I literally sat and let the phone ring at least 30 times, but still no one answered, and this happened 4 times!!! In the end, I just gave up. The statment I received from my insurance carrier shows what my insurance paid and what LabCorp can bill me, yet LabCorp is still trying to charge me twice what my insurance says they can, in addition to still trying to charge me for a venipuncture they didn’t perform! Maybe it’s time someone in the legal profession looks into LabCorp’s billing practices.
I plan to submit a written complaint to the FTC about LabCorp. After months of threatening letters and LabCorp ‘losing’ my insurance company’s payment I recieved the blatent lie, in writing, that seals the case:
‘$XXX is due immediately. Your insurance company has processed your claim. Balance is your responsibility. Protect your credit!’
When I called my insurance company again they told me they had faxed LabCorp payment 12 days before the date on LabCorps threatening letter! And when I called LabCorp, surprise surprise, my payment had been made, the day after the date on their scary letter, and now my balance is zero. They were half right- my insurance company had processed the claim- but it wasn’t my responsibility. Why would LabCorp do this? Because they wanted $400 from me, and my insurance company only paid $40. If my grandparents had recieved such a letter they would have written a check.
LabCorp, why don’t you try to make a profit by serving your customers instead of cheating them? And if that’s the only way to make it nowadays than find another business.
Labcorp has some of the most incompetent employees working in their lab in Oxon Hill, Md. I submitted a new insurance card to them in 2006 yet they continued to send all my claims to my old health insurance company. Needless to say, the claims went unpaid and now I have a negative report on my credit report for their mistake. They informed me that they cannot remove the negative status because the claim still hasn’t been paid. Well, if they’d done their job in 2006, the freaking claim would’ve have been paid. Who do I contact to voice my complaint? Who governs these labs?
Here’s a copy of the complaint I sent to LabCorp (we’ll see if it goes anywhere).
“I received an invoice for this bill dated 7/29/09 and my husband paid it online 8/3/09.
We then received an invoice dated 8/19/09- more than TWO WEEKS AFTER this bill was paid online and should have been in your computer- stating that it had gone to your collections department.
Since I didn’t know my husband had paid this bill already, I sent you a check for this same bill. You now have double the amount.
My question is, if this bill had already been paid for over two weeks, why did you send this account to your Collections department and bill us separately? And when are you going to refund the second payment?”
Attorney John Hoevel is interested in pursuing claims of patients against LabCorp for improper billing practices. Please contact Mr. Hoevel if:
1. Your insurance company processed a claim for LabCorp services, and
2. LabCorp or LCA Collections billed you for a balance higher than the patient responsibility amount shown on your Explanation of Benefits (EOB), and
3. You paid the balance, or any portion thereof.
You may contact Mr. Hoevel at lab@hoevellaw.com.
To “anonymous” in the billing department- I have worked in a call center as a customer service representative (in billing) and as a sales person and I have to say- you exemplify everything that is wrong with the medical system today. You don’t care. I would never show such contempt for someone attempting to purchase a phone, much less for someone who may have a grave illness. Should healthcare providers, including laboratories and insurance companies, be able to make a profit from their services? Absolutely, but you have to remember the Hippocratic Oath, which should apply to ALL that provide health services, not just doctors. You are supposed to act like you actually have a beating heart in there along with your capitalistic intents (and I say this as a libertarian, free-market capitalist who WANTS business to exceed over regulation). The attitude at some of these healthcare companies is one of smugness, of believing you are in charge and right 100% of the time. Your own personal ignorance and smug attitude shows in your long-winded, assumption saturated comment. Thank goodness you are a soon to be FORMER employee in this position. Your would be customers should feel relief at that small fact, despite that it is shortlived as it is probable that you are leaving to get a promotion. Call centers have an ugly habit of promoting the slowest of their pack. Here’s the thing- you don’t know what companies tell employees during orientation; you know what your company told YOU. Your comment spoke to the notion that you may not have worked in a variety of companies. You say that doctors often make mistakes in tests that they order, which I can believe. Then you go on to say that it is still our responsibility because we signed a form. Yet you acknowledge that we may not have been given such a form, but signed something else that is not an itemized list of labs requested. If anything is signed that is not an itemized list there is no way to check our doctor’s mistakes. That is in no way a patient’s fault. Not LabCorp’s fault, but still- it’s called empathy for your customer. Get some. You say that you bill insurance companies the same as the customer without insurance, and I believe you. But then you go on to say that you will work a deal with an insurance company that I will bet my last dollar that you would never give to a customer. When you give an insurance company a discount that you won’t give to the average Joe, you are in fact “billing” differently regardless of what the first bill sent out contains. And don’t demonize the insurance companies either. While you are correct in stating that many are corrupt, that corruption, and the fact that a vast majority of Americans unknowlingly participate in this corrupt system, drives the costs for services up, creating asrtonomical profits for LabCorp and keeps your behind making bad decisions in a uncouth way for patients that need your help, not your attitude. Medicare and Medicaid make it worse, forcing the fees for those on the countries largest insurance plan to be spread among those that have no option but to pay, while giving lower costs to those with more of an ability to pay. When most people have insurance, the provider of care knows that the patient will not usually be responsible for the bill and therefore charges more for said service. It’s basic economics. And speaking of basic economics- if you had a legal degree you would make more money. You wouldn’t work for a call center for so long that the bitterness drives you to seek out criticism of a company you have been brainwashed by. Don’t quote laws that you don’t have the means to interpret. That law was intended to make sure people had the knowledge to do their jobs when taking samples or in the laboratory itself. It is not a play-by-play for lab technicians and their employers. As for the ex-employee that was sent to collections 6 weeks after the test- I believe that. It may not be policy, but computers make mistakes all the time. All I really came on here to do was find out what the rate was for a test (which should be easy enough, and public knowledge), as I believe I was charged too much. $341 for a simple exam, when I already paid the doctor hundreds to collect the specimen, seems a bit high (especially considering that is not what I was quoted [$94]). After reading what you wrote, now I know this company has no scruples. I am not usually this blunt to those on the internet or elsewhere, but as a healthCARE provider you should behave a little more CARING. Listen to these people complaining. They have no financial incentive to lie. Take these tips back to your supervisor and use them yourself. Improve your customer service so that your customers will have less to complain about. Then you would not have to seek out these negative comments and refute their claims. Your customers would be happy.
My doctor just ordered a Basic Metabolic Profile. I have no insurance so I want to shop around. I called a local labcorp office and asked what the price would be. The representative just mumbled something incomprehensible and hung up on me.
Any person with a moral direction and a mind will not work at Labcrap. All thats left is numbed chubbies waiting on their retirements (its not their fault, the lab festivities cause mass force-feeding of cubicle restrained biologic units. Any one with deductive reasoning would recognize right away something is wrong with their whole business model. Treating patients poorly is bad for business. The people who work there are truly depressed and hate their jobs–I have seen it first hand-luckily I made the change before Labcraps nonsensical farce took hold of what brain cells remained after being treated like a true lab rat.
LabMoreCrap charged me 2,100.00 for a bunch of tests for a family member. Anthem’s negotiated rates were 210.00 of which I owed 40 bucks.
What happens to the folks that don’t have healthcare insurance?
Labcorps is big reason why healthcare costs so much.
As part of a regular health checkup, my doctor ordered a series of blood tests. She provided me with a LabCorp work order that specified 3 different blood tests.
I took this work order to LabCorp in Greenville, Texas. The lady who dealt with my paperwork informed me that 2 of the tests listed on the work order would not be covered by Medicare and she printed out the Labcorp Form CMS-R-131 where both test were listed and I checked and signed the appropriate section – Option 3 – I don’t want the laboratory test(s) listed above. I understand with this choice I am not responsible for payment and I cannot appeal to be if Medicare would pay. I have a copy of that form in my possession.
This same lady assured me that the third test on the work order form WAS covered by Medicare, so I went ahead and blood was drawn.
Several weeks later I received a bill from LabCorp which listed 4 different tests had been performed on my blood. Medicare had been billed and had denied payment on all 4. LabCorp was billing me for everything.
This despite the fact that:
a) The work order from my doctor only specified 3 tests
b) I had signed LabCorp’s own form declining 2 of the tests
c) Their representative assured me that the third test WOULD be covered by Medicare.
d) They will give me no explanation of the fourth test appearing on their bill.
I have been in touch with LabCorp repeatedly, but no-one has shown the slightest inclination to sort this mess out. In fact I received a form letter in the mail from them yesterday explaining that the bills are for “Clinical Laboratory Services Performed at the request of my physician”.
BS – I have a copy of their Form CMS-R-131 here in front of me as I write, categorically declining 2 of the tests, while their own representative assured me that the third test on the work order was not a problem and was covered by Medicare.
Not only did LabCorp frivolously ignore the fact that I had signed their own form to decline 2 tests, they completely misinformed me on the third and also added a fourth test, apparently of their own choosing.
Stay right away from LabCorp. They are incompetent and unethical and their customer service is non-existent, nobody gives a damn.
I am a self paid pregnant patient. Well we had 2 tests done recommended by the dr. and since labcorp is the recommended lab by the dr. we had our bloodwork done and even the GC test..we got a mail billing saying the bloodwork cost $300++ and the GC amplification for $246…we were stunned by how overpriced it was, we researched and compare prices from different labs after receiving this mail and guess what the GC amp only cost $40-$45..this is really ridiculous…LABCORP and the Drs. recommending patients to them shaould have the conscience because this is hard earned money we are spending and other patients too.
I am a nurse for a family practice physician in the Dallas area and we do not tend to have TOO many billing issues with them. Often times it is usually an issue with a patient’s insurance company…they all have their certain reasons for rendering a specific test as “non-covered”. Most of the time it is an easy fix! Just call your doctor’s office with your invoice number and we will call LabCorp to add or change any diagnosis codes. For example, not all insurance plans will cover a Vitamin D level for women under a routine physical code (V70.0). Your doctor can call and add a code for family history of osteoporosis/osteopenia or a code for postmenopausal age in irder for the test to be covered. I am usually off the phone in 5 minutes with the claim being resubmitted to insurance. Call us – your doctor should be aware of what tests are NOT routinely covered, so there is usually an acceptable diagnosis for everything! (Medicare patients – make sure your doctor does NOT use any routine physical codes. It is unfortunate, but Medicare does not pay for any preeventive care. There must be some sort of associated health issue for the claim to be paid.)
Also, know your insurance! If you have a high deductible, this will need to be met before your health plan will pay the lab a dime. HOWEVER, the insurance adjustments will still be applied and your total out of pocket costs are significantly decreased. For example, I have a patient invoice here for a urine culture – total charges are $127.00. This patient has BCBS PPO, and the agreed upon contracted rate between LabCorp and Blue Cross adjusts the total cost by $98.73. This is money LabCorp EXPECTS to lose…they are only actually paid $28.27. This would be the patient’s only cost if the insurance left them fully responsible. And for anyone who has ever taken a microbiology class – it take 2-3 days to grow a bacterial culture! Of course it is all about perspective, but that cost does not seem completely unreasonable. Would you rather have a UTI for weeks because your doctor is having to play trial and error to GUESS which antibiotic will treat the unknown bacteria in your bladder?
As for patients without insurance…often times your doctor will have the lab bill them directly so they can in turn charge you the much lower contracted rate LabCorp and your doctor have agreed upon. These prices are very similar to the adjusted rates insurance companies have access to. Your doctor does not profit from this – but this way you will only have to pay, for example, about $30 of the entire $130 cost. Of course not all physicians will do this, but it could be something you inquire about before you choose a primary care physician and/or specialist.
I am sure many mistakes DO happen. Maybe try calling your doctor to see if they can help straighten out the problem with LabCorp? It’s at least worth a shot I guess.
LabCorp is a scam!!!
I did some tests a month ago, and repeatedly asked the staff of the charges, since I was paying cash. They told me the test is free you just have to pay for the blood draw $10.
A month later I get a bill for $227. If this isn’t unethical charging than what is?
Stay away fro m LabCorp. It has Scam written all over it.
Labcorp has drained my husband & I financially. My husband & I are going to have to file for bankruptcy.
This company is ever so relentless in collecting their precious money,they don’t give a damn. Labcorp has turned bills that my husband & I have that are 4 years old to a collection agency.
I have worked for years trying to get these charges looked into,but I cannot get anything done.
I have paid thousands to Labcorp since 2005,& they still are wanting more money.
I give up.
Anyone questioning why LabCorp has so many billing errors should check this link out.
https://www.labcorp.com/wps/wcm/connect/5319c4804a1630549ba5ff90b80e7bff/L+4528+WelcomeBook.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=5319c4804a1630549ba5ff90b80e7bff&CACHEID=278e128049e4f37ca850f8a5bb678953&CACHEID=278e128049e4f37ca850f8a5bb678953
It should demonstrate to you how complicated the billing process is and why it is so hard to get an insurance claim right or get insurance companies to approve a claim. Having guidelines this complicated and several entities (physicians, insurance co., LabCorp., who can all make a mistake in the process) involved in the billing process makes it very difficult to be perfect. Lack of communication between entities is also a problem. Yes, there are instances where there is wrong-doing in LabCorp, but that is true for any company. You have to take into consideration the amount of detail the insurance companies require on a claim to even approve a payment to the provider. If even one digit is wrong in a code or the code isn’t specific enough for there taste, the insurance company will reject the claim and send it back to LabCorp. Even with correct codes, the insurance company may find a loophole that allows them to deny the claim. Some insurance companies will do just about anything to get out of paying. LabCorp billing specialists will try to find an error on a returned claim, which takes alot of research and these claims can be nearly impossible to resolve. Also consider that billing specialists are under alot of pressure to make production and not be penalized by management for screwing up. There is much more to the billing process than many of you can imagine.
My insurance covers preventative medicine 100%, but LabCorp insists on billing me for some lab work done on a physical exam I took. Initially wanted to charge me $50 and after I disputed repeatedly and asked the doctor’s office to resend the diagnostic codes (LabCorp was very good at pointing fingers at both the insurance company and the doctor’s office that requested the labs…), and finally LabCorp acknowledged they received it. Now they only want $20 for what should be free. That’s progress, I suppose, but I don’t want to pay them a dime as it will only encourage this bullying behavior.
I just went in to get lab work for my thyroid and I got a bill for $1,300!!! How is this even legal? There is no way you can charge a person that much for a routine blood test. There has to be a class action lawsuit for this jerks.