screening/testing, also venting

[sneetch]

What kind of optional testing did you have done?    If you had the nt scan, was it covered by insurance?

I would like to have the nt test/lab work, but I'm having trouble understanding if it will be covered by insurance.  If it's not, we would pay out of pocket if the costs were reasonable (though I really have no idea what it could cost).  My ob office gave me info on it and said I had to contact my insurance company to see if it's covered.  My insurance company said I need to get diagnosis codes from my ob office to tell me if it's covered.  Then my ob office said I need to contact the perinatal center who does the testing to obtain the codes.  Finally, the perinatal center hasn't returned my call.  Basically, I'm in hell and might kill someone. 

Was it this much of a struggle for anyone else?  I didn't think it would be so complicated.  I'll be 11 weeks on Wednesday, so I really need to get this scheduled asap if it's going to happen.

[sweetminnesnowtan]

Wowza, what a clusterfuck of bullshit.

My insurance lays out everything for maternity- 100% coverage, for everything. BUT, if I have questions on coverage, I can email/call them and they lay it all out for me, and normally give me more information than I thought to ask about.

So yes, NT scan was fully covered. I know many insurances don't though. Hopefully the perinatal center calls you back before people get shanked!

[ilikedonuts]

We had the NT scan and bloodwork done and it was covered 100% both times. BUT when I called my insurance company with the diagnostic code, they told me it would be covered at 80% once I hit my deductible which ended up being wrong (I have 100% prenatal coverage and the NT scan fell under that).

[blindyswife]

We did not do any of the optional testing for this pregnancy or the last. That might change though, if we have another baby, depending on my age. I think, but am not positive, that our insurance would at least cover a portion of the costs.

Hopefully you get some answers and calls back soon!

[AlpineSlide]

That does sound frustrating!

We didn't do any genetic screening/testing. I did have an ultrasound at 12 weeks but it wasn't exactly the NT scan b/c we did not do the blood test along with it. The scan was covered by insurance.

I am seeing a Maternal Fetal doctor now though. We had the anatomy scan done there at 22 weeks and I have a follow up at 30 weeks. DH had a brother born with a heart defect so my doctors wanted us to get a clear look at the heart (level 2) so that's why I was referred to MFM.

[Stingyshark]

My OB doesn't do the NT scan.. but as far as labs; He ordered a gigantic panel of labs - I called my insurance to see what would be covered. They said everything would go towards my deductible except the cystic fibrosis - They couldn't tell me if that would be covered until the claim was rec'd bc it depended on the diagnosis codes, and something else. The cost was $814.

I had everything done buy the CF at Quest; I ended up being responsible for $95. I went to a smaller lab for the CF test and paid $75 to have it done.

It was very difficult to get any answers out of my insurance - If I didn't do medical billing for a living I would have given up after the first phone call.. It took 4 phone calls to the insurance to figure out what i would be responsible for.

[Deleted]

My insurance covers all genetic screening as long as it's in-network. I am getting the NT scan and bloodwork through my dr's office. I also got the cystic fibrosis test but they sent it to an out-of-network lab and we got billed for $900! ughhhhh. My dr told me that the Maternit21 would cost about $2k if the insurance didn't cover it since the lab is out-of-network. I read online that you can call them and they will reduce it to $200 or so if that is the case, but I didn't want to take that chance.

[snickers]

I just had a maternal serum test done, they don't offer any of the other options here.
I am Canadian so everything was covered, but we had a false positive test which scared us to death. I don't know if I would do it again.

[annabear07]

My insurance was relatively easy to navigate. I decided to do the NT scan and blod test only. This was performed at a lab separate to my OB office and I only had to pay the copay associated with it. I have not done any other testing so far.

Good luck with figuring out, sometimes insurance is a curse along with the benefits!

[hymen]

I get the NT scan done in early September. My insurance is awesome and covers 100% of everything pregnancy related (including L&D).

[winecheery]

Aug 12, 2013 13:17:45 GMT -5 swizz said:

We had the NT scan with bloodwork and the cystic fibrosis blood test (what was recommended to me per my ethnic/cultural background).

Both were covered by insurance.

This.  We have like a $10 co-pay for blood work tho.

[Velar Fricative]

I think I would have been fine with insurance otherwise, but everything we've had done has been covered because I am classified as high-risk. So the NT scan, quad screen, all the bloodwork, all the extra ultrasounds and the amnio have all been fully covered except minimal co-payments for each visit.

I'm sorry you're getting the run-around.

[sneetch]

Thanks for all the replies. I have very good insurance and have met my deductible for the year, so I'm hoping most, if not all, of it will be covered. I left the perinatal center another voicemail and still no response. Ugh.