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I order the test. The results are given to ME. I take them to my doctor.Well the doctor has to get the test from somewhere. Right? Who would he get it from?
The doc has nothing to do with it.Labs? And why would he get it from labs for the price of obviously less than $15 when companies sell it to individuals for hundreds of dollars? It seems like a huge gap between $250 and $15.
Not sure what you mean, but my doctor back home can't do the tests. If you need labwork done, you go to the hospital.Most people would simply go to a doctor and have him do the test for $15.
They CAN perform them cheaply, and they do.I mean it would seem to me like if hospitals could perform these tests cheaply they'd have a midway price of say $75 but not a difference of $235.
I am unsure what this proves other than the price I gave that the hospital charges for tests performed at a doctor's order is accurate. So, what you quoted confirms that is a "normal" price that labs charge. It says nothing about what the labwork actually COSTS. As you know, what something actually costs a provider and what they charge are two very different things.
My hometown hospital has a pamplet on their information counter that lists all of the labwork they will perform at a MUCH cheaper rate if you simply rip up the doctor's orders for the labwork and write your OWN order for the labwork. You have to pay right there - cash - and wait for the results. (or leave and return to pick up the results immediately after they are available). ONLY you can pick up the results. They will not send them anywhere. They will not give them to anyone else. They will not keep them around waiting days for you to pick them up. There are only certain tests they will do them for, but they are the most common tests performed. About 20 of them. The thyroid profile is one. There are different prices for different tests. Anyone can have their tests done this way. They don't ask any questions, there aren't any financial qualifiers. You pay them the amount in cash and pick up the results yourself, those are the only qualifiers.
Most people just don't know about it, is all. I wouldn't have known myself if I hadn't been standing there chatting with the information desk gal.