The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    CVille Dem's picture

    My Recent Bill for Lab Work

    I just got a bill today for labwork.
                     CBC:   $37Metabolic Panel:     46       Lipid Panel:     93                 TSH:     94                Total:  $270
    ADJUSTMENTS:  ($234.41)  Meaning, the write-off that my insurance company has negotiated.
    INSURANCE PAID:  ($28.48)  The amount (out of $270 that my insurance paid)
    BALANCE Due:  $7.11 -- What I owe.
    Why is the original fee so outrageously out of proportion to what they got paid, which is a grand total of $35.59?!  Do people without insurance pay the total?  Does anyone?  What is going on here?
    In my job I personally run TSH's, and it costs ( just for supplies) around $10 to run.  That is before considering drawing he blood, and the human work involved, not including disposal of waste, etc.  
    I am baffled by this.  Someone is paying the difference.  Who is it?