Let’s face it: health care is outrageously expensive in America, and the costs have been on the rise over the last couple of decades. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average consumer spent $4,968 on health care in 2018. Your health care costs may vary depending on your health insurance (or lack of it), but very few people find medical costs reasonable, especially when additional lab charges are billed after a medical visit. However, what most patients (especially those who haven’t encountered major medical issues in the past) don’t know is that there are ways to reduce prices by turning to specialized service providers, which are independent of doctors, medical clinics and urgent cares such as Test Smartly Labs Testing Centers.
Ordering lab tests for oneself is defined as “Direct-Access-Testing” or DAT, and most of them do not require a doctor’s prescription. Moreover, they are available to any adult above the age of 18, residents of any state apart from New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island (where the regulations are tighter). In this article, we’re focusing on the benefits you can get by utilizing DAT companies such as Test Smartly Labs and by taking control of your health care costs.
Prevention is key
We are always told that prevention is more important than cure, yet even highly educated patients often tend to be reactive, rather than proactive. Many terrible diseases are preventable and take less effort to address if identified early on, during regular check-ups, just as handwashing is the best weapon against contracting flu (hence the popular expression “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”).
By going through regular blood testing and examinations with your medical professional and lab partner, you can keep a close tab on your health and get the timely diagnosis you need to plan your precautions, treatment, and maintain your wellbeing. For example, the panal complete blood count (CBC) test evaluates many of the cells that circulate in the blood and can identify minor abnormalities; as well as, anemia, infections, allergies, bleeding disorders, or cancer.
Save time
It’s crucial to note that laboratory testing companies are not qualified to offer medical advice and do not interpret the results – that’s the doctor’s or medical professional’s responsibility. Most states in the US allow personal testing for nearly everything, so a doctor’s order to run standard tests is not mandatory. Moreover, going to a dedicated lab testing company in advance of an annual check-up can save up a lot of time, since you can have the results before your medical appointment and not wait for your physician to ask for them to evaluate your health state at a later date.
Save Money
While the benefits mentioned above should be substantial enough motivators, let’s go back to the ridiculous price of health care and why going to direct-to-consumer lab testing can be a smart financial choice, especially for uninsured people and those with HDHP (High Deductible Health Plans).
While there’s plenty of evidence that having insurance is highly beneficial for obvious reasons, statistics show that 27.5 million Americans under the age of 65 were uninsured in 2016, the common goal being the high costs of health plans (when not provided by employers or the government). According to Gallup, the number of adults without coverage has increased slightly since the end of 2016, while other sources show no significant change. On the other hand, young and predominantly healthy citizens who get HDHPs don’t have it much better, since deductibles are often higher than with traditional health insurance plans.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, 32% of the people who were insured and had problems with additional medical costs said they received care from a provider that their insurance wouldn’t cover. Moreover, 69% of those weren’t even informed about the pricing in advance. It’s common to receive a separate lab bill for blood testing from the expected doctor bill that needs to be paid out of your pocket – but this type of situation can be avoided by taking the matter in your own hands. Independent lab testing companies such as Test Smartly Labs offer prices 40-70% lower than most medical clinic and provide pricing upfront to people. Those people with high deductible health plans and those bundling multiple tests can reduce costs even more. In what regards the uninsured clients, they can also benefit from tremendously for lab test (blood test) discounts.
Contact Test Smartly Labs today for Direct-Assess-Testing lab testing…