My wife and I got a genetic test (blood draw) a few months ago as we're trying and wanted to check on a couple of conditions in the family history. Today, I got a bill from natera for that test which made me laugh out loud and I just wanted to share because it's so silly.
Charges: $16,940 (this is not a typo)
Insurance paid: $1,038
Adjustments: $15,642
I owe: $259
I know from reading other people's posts that $259 isn't much compared to some folks when it comes to what they 'owe', I just thought it was pretty hilarious that they went to my insurer and asked for $17,000, then said "ok yeah no worries we'll take $15k off" just like that. Seems they just pick a number and see what sticks... No wonder they've had so many lawsuits related to deceptive billing!
Mine was $14k. Currently going through insurance. We’ll see what I owe in the end.
Apparently reading some other people's posts you can just say "no I'm not going to pay that, I'll give you (pick a number)" and they'll usually say ok and take it. Which seems totally insane to me, but the healthcare and insurance system in the US is completely untethered from reality so who knows...
Before we had ours done, there was an offer of paying a flat $99 fee or getting billed to insurance so that’s what we did. Crazy that they do this song and dance of billing a crazy amount to milk the insurance system and the customers.
Edit: To add, definitely try to get it down to $99!
Yeah I'm definitely calling them! Seeing that they had the audacity to charge nearly $17k for this and THEN bill me another $250 after insurance gave them $1,000 makes me want to get the down to a dollar.
Do the financial assistance form - quite literally took me 5 minutes and an upload of my pay stub. $99 total cost.
Saw the explanation of benefits from my insurance said around 15k+ but when the bill finally arrived 8 months later they were stating $650 but "oh if you pay now it's only $350". Nope, I already knew I qualified for the financial aid and did that on the website, and even at our very solid income level it immediately dropped to $99. Never had to call them or anything. I keep seeing people saying they paid $249, $300, $400 etc after negotiating and I just wonder whether anyone has been doing the actual financial aid form instead.
How’d you get your test? Directly or through a doctor referral?
Doctor referral from my wife's obgyn I think, or primary physican.
This is exactly why we didnt do natera testing. No one could give us an answer to how much it would be. Insurance wanted a pre-approval and doctor office wouldnt submit for pre-approval until after the blood was drawn. Fuck that.
And meanwhile my insurance premiums doubled this year. This system is crazy !
Unity billed me $21k. I paid $300.
Ok that's the winner...
"That Snickers you just ate is actually $1,200."
"Oh, all I have is two bucks."
"Ok good enough we're square."
I live in Canada. The panorama is out of pocket regardless. I paid $800CAD because that's the cost. The American insurance industry is nuts.
BabyBumps users and moderators are not medical professionals. Responses do not replace contacting your medical provider. You should always call your provider with any concerns.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
They told me $2000 for horizon and I just said “no I can’t pay that” and they dropped it to $349
When we had our NIPT test our OB told us that most often we won’t get a bill but if we do that we only pay $250 no matter what the bill says. She gave us a form to sign when we agreed to the test which mentioned not paying over $250. I never got a bill but I did get a statement notice that they were billing my insurance via text which was very odd. I never got a claim notice from my insurance or a bill. It’s really interesting to see how many people got bills for this test. I wonder if the process is different in different states or if not all doctors are assisting with the payment process. For those still in this process it might be worth checking with your OB on a payment form for the NIPT test. Our OB gave it to us during our appt when we discussed the NIPT test. Maybe other providers have something similar they just haven’t shared with patients?
If you had family history is wasn't all fully covered?!
In Canada genetic tests are only fully covered if moms are 40 or above or if there was a loss where there was a genetic disorder or there is documented family history. Otherwise you pay out of pocket and that's between $250-$650 CND depending on if you get some tests or all that's possible. If your insurance paid over a thousand I am not sure you can owe more in actual cost!
Natera is a predatory scam. As called out, they bill a ton of money, and when they inevitably aren’t covered by insurance, they bill you a few hundred dollars. It’s enough money that people feel it, but a low enough amount that they know most people will pay. I assume this is their operating model.
I had an issue with my bill once, and they are impossible to deal with. They only honored the pricing they were supposed to because I looped in my doctors office.
Keep an eye out because every year they slightly tweak the test and say you need another for genetic testing or breast cancer or whatever.