Say Goodbye to Outrageous Medical Bills. True Health Labs Offers Affordably Lab Tests Online.

Jan. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- Many of the over 47 million uninsured face a major problem, and it is not the cost of the doctor visit, it is the cost of the lab testing that is involved. Those who are uninsured or underinsured avoid seeing their doctor because of the fear of going into debt with medical bills. Some will even delay annual physicals because of the high cost of lab testing. True Health Labs makes it possible to cut laboratory bills up to 80% by ordering lab tests online.

While the average routine annual physical cost about $70, the lab tests involved could make the cost of the visit around $850. Since True Health Labs have teamed up with a laboratory service that buys lab tests in bulk, they are able to offer the exact same lab tests for less, reducing a single doctor visit from $850 down to $140. A family of 4 who are uninsured could all see the doctor for $560 as compared to $3,400. For uninsured/underinsured patients, this is a big money saver.

Online lab testing can be of great benefit for the uninsured as well as the insured. Benefits include:

Time- Going to the doctor is a big time consumer.  One must take time off work, wait at the doctor’s office, have lab tests done, then revisit the office once the doctor is ready to discuss results. With online testing, patients can have the blood test ready for the doctor to review on the first visit. They can browse test panels on the website or ask their doctor what tests he or she would like to order beforehand.

Money- Individual doctor's offices do not have the ability to order lab tests in bulk. For this reason, the price they must charge is significantly higher than if the patient orders the tests themselves. If the patient has insurance and the lab tests are denied, which is very common, the patient could see a medical lab bill that is 2-3 times greater than what the office would have charged. For example:

Routine physical blood tests:
Doctor's office- $780
Insurance denies lab tests- $1600
TrueHealthLabs.com- $132

Protection- Typically, if lab tests are submitted to insurance companies, it is put into a permanent file. Since a diagnosis is needed in order for insurance to cover the cost of the tests, the patient is labeled as having a “medical condition”. Many people know this as a “pre-existing condition”.  This plays a significant role when updating insurance or even buying life insurance. When consumers pay directly for lab tests, they are safe from potential penalties from their insurance company.

Choice- More people are taking control of their own health. New laboratory techniques like food allergy testing, vitamin / mineral testing, and advanced cholesterol testing like the VAP cholesterol test (http://truehealthlabs.com/products/VAP-Cholesterol-Test.html) are here, however, not widely used due to the large gap between research and clinical application.

Ordering lab tests online is straight forward:

1. Search for a patient service center.
2. Choose the desired test form the company’s website, http://TrueHealthLabs.com
3. A form and/or test kit is sent shortly after checkout.
4. The materials received are taken to the patient service center where the specimen is collected. Some test samples, such as finger prick tests, hair, and saliva samples, can even be collect at home.
5. Patients are notified when their test results are available. Usually withing 24 hours.

"Our service does not in any way replace the consultation and examination from your doctor," says Dr. Brady Hurst, clinic director with True Health Labs. “Our service simply allows the insured and uninsured to order the same blood work their physician would order but at a fraction of the cost.”

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True Health Labs provides affordable and confidential laboratory testing directly to the public. Tests can be ordered online without a doctor and you get the results. Test types include blood tests, urine tests, saliva tests, hair analysis, and more.