My insurance company mails me a paper copy of each claim or service rendered once a decision has been made. It always shows the amount/breakdown of what the provider charged, how much of it insurance paid for, and how much I owe. Usually these show up in the mail and I can throw them away because I have already paid the copay in-office and/or I don’t owe anything. I happened to open yesterday’s and it was for the lab work I had done at the original hematologist’s office – the lab work I never even saw, the lab work that was taken by the lady who didn’t wear gloves. Despite the fact that I made it abundantly clear to the hematologist that my vials needed to be sent out to either Quest or LabCorp, she sent them for testing at some random, local lab that isn’t covered by insurance. As a result, the paperwork I got from the insurance company shows they covered none of the cost and I owe almost $4,500! For lab work?! She only took five vials of blood! What in the hell costs $4,500 to test?! Did she combine my blood with liquid gold? I don’t understand.
The insurance paperwork says on it “this is not a bill”, but I know that means the bill from the lab is on its way. This could get interesting because there is no way in hell I’m paying a cent of it. I told the hematologist flat out that the blood needed to be sent to Quest or LabCorp because those are the only two labs my insurance covers AND they cover them in full – I shouldn’t even owe a copay for lab work. Somehow, this crazy lady took it upon herself to completely ignore my instructions and send the vials wherever she damn well pleased. I’m not paying $4,500 for lab results I didn’t even receive just because she was too lazy to follow directions. Quest & LabCorp are probably the two largest diagnostic lab chains in the nation – it should have been a very simple request. I’m not sure what happens when I get the bill – do I fight it out with the old hematologist, the laboratory, or insurance? Do I get my company’s HR Director involved? I’m already getting anxiety and the bill hasn’t even come yet. I don’t need this added stress right now. UGH.