By MATTHEW HOLT
For these of you ready for the Labcorp, Blue Protect of California, Brown & Toland Physicians Physicians replace, the ball has been moved a few years down the sector.
If you wish to catch up right here is an element 1, half 2 and half 3)
You’ll recall we left it with a thriller $34.94 invoice which didn’t both match the official $50 copay quantity I’ve, nor the $0 affected person accountability in my EOB. I obtained a name from Rhea Fleming, an skilled buyer rep at Labcorp, on whose digital desk this has been dumped. We had a stunning dialog through which we agreed that the co-pay ought to both have been $50 or $0 however that it’s attainable that the co-pay is the decrease of $50 or the quantity Labcorp was making an attempt to gather.
She had beforehand referred to as the Blue Protect of California supplier line to attempt to determine this out. Blue Protect had certainly kicked this declare from Labcorp to Brown and Toland the IPA I’m assigned to within the HMO product I purchased. The costs from Labcorp have been $322.28 and the response from B&T was that the contractual value (i.e. what they agreed to pay Labcorp for these exams) was $34.94, therefore the “adjustment” of $287.34. Nonetheless in Labcorp’s system the algorithm interpreted B&T’s response as saying 1) the agreed cost is the $34.94 in keeping with the contract and a pair of) they weren’t going to pay so the affected person owes the distinction. When Rhea Fleming requested Blue Protect’s rep why the affected person owed cost on this, the Blue Protect rep stated that the process code and analysis code from my PCP (One Medical) didn’t rely as preventative care. In different phrases Labcorp has not obtained paid in any respect for working these exams to this point, as a result of they’re in keeping with B&T “not preventative”. Though IMHO, CMS says that they’re. And naturally because it says my copay is $0 I’m deciphering Blue Protect of California’s EOB as saying that to me!
Therefore Labcorp generated the invoice for the $34.94 and despatched it to me. Which began this complete telenovela.
BTW Rhea’s conclusion was that as not one of the exams have been “preventative,” Labcorp billed me the $34.94 as that was the overall it was contractually owed quite than the $50 copay I’m alleged to pay for lab work. I really checked again in my Labcorp account and located that final yr I did actually pay $50 so maybe final yr I had totally different exams or someway they’ve modified the algorithm. I checked the EOB for that 2024 invoice and the overall cost was $445.20 of which Blue Protect paid $28.07. No I couldn’t discover the Labcorp invoice on their system, presumably as a result of I’ve paid it! On condition that I paid $50 for providers from Labcorp on that date (sure, it took me 7 months to pay up!), it’s probably that the agreed cost was $78.07 ($50+$28.07) of which I unthinkingly paid the $50 copay. And sure that ought to have been preventative too. (Maybe I ought to ask for that $50 again!!)
BRIEF UPDATE: Rhea from Labcorp appeared into this 2024 invoice and that’s precisely what occurred
Then, I had one other thought.
It seems that the lab outcomes this yr generated an extra concern in my physician’s thoughts. (Keep in mind I had the lab exams earlier than the workplace go to in order that we may talk about the outcomes). Plainly my iron ranges have been a bit of low, so whereas I used to be within the physician’s workplace he ordered some extra exams particularly about that. As One Medical has techs on website they drew my blood then and there and shipped it to Labcorp.
In response to my EOB, Labcorp’s cost for these new exams was $60.79 of which Blue Protect or quite Brown and Toland once more paid $0 and created an EOB which once more stated my affected person accountability was $0. I requested Rhea to test that invoice in her system and it seems that I do NOT owe Labcorp something on that set of exams. Possibly they have been coded as preventative? I attempted to seek out the invoice on my affected person portal at Labcorp however as a result of I don’t owe something I haven’t been despatched an bill and with out an bill quantity you can not test the invoice!
When Rhea ended the decision with me, her subsequent transfer was going to investigate of Blue Protect and Brown and Toland what the rationale was for me owing $0 on that invoice!
In the meantime I await the results of the official Blue Protect investigation with curiosity. After all this would possibly simply have come right down to Amazon One Medical coding the exams incorrectly. But it surely’s all enjoyable and video games when you’ve got limitless endurance in American well being care.
And naturally, this nonetheless isn’t over!
