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Frequently Asked Questions: Billing Services

General questions

The bill you received is for laboratory services provided by Quest Diagnostics, which were ordered by your doctor. This bill is for laboratory testing fees only and is separate from any bill you may have received from your doctor and/or paid at your doctor's office.

Although you may not have physically visited a Quest Diagnostics location, your doctor may have sent your sample out to a Quest Diagnostics laboratory to be tested.

Please refer to the message on your Quest Diagnostics bill or the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance company for more specific information about why you received a bill.

Here are some reasons why you might have rececived a bill: 

  • Insurance information was not received or the wrong insurance information was received on your test order
  • The insurance company processed the claim and denied payment
  • The insurance company processed the claim and applied the balance to your co-pay or deductible
  • The insurance company did not respond to the claim

To view an example of the Quest Diagnostics bill, click here. Please note that this example may look somewhat different from your bill depending on where your tests were performed.

To see an example of where you can locate your bill number on your paper bill, click here. 

For assistance in understanding your bill, please call the customer service phone number listed on your bill. You can also contact our online Customer Service.

Please send the requested information to the address listed on your bill. You can also call the customer service phone number listed on your bill, or contact our online Customer Service. If the message on your bill indicates that your insurance company needs more information from you in order to process your claim, please contact your insurance company directly.

Quest Diagnostics obtains diagnosis information from the ordering doctor's office. If your insurance company denied your claim due to the diagnosis code, please contact your doctor's office.

A draw fee is charged when a patient goes to one of our Patient Service Centers (PSC) for the drawing of a sample. Insurance may cover this fee. However, patients whose insurance does not cover the draw fee and uninsured patients are responsible for payment of the draw fee.

There are 2 reasons; that an additional test not originally ordered by your doctor would be performed. The first is that your doctor may have called the laboratory to request additional testing after the order was submitted. The second is that one of the tests your doctor ordered may have been a "reflex" test. Reflex testing may result in an additional test being performed depending on the results of the original test. The reflex test is performed to get more detailed information about the findings of the initial test.

Yes, if you have a MyQuest account, logging into your account will get you to your bill the fastest as you do not need to enter further verification information. 

Payment

Yes. Please ensure you have your bill number and a form of payment and click here to pay your bill online. 

Yes.

All of us are concerned about web privacy and the security of the information we transmit over the Internet. When paying your bill online through the Quest Diagnostics hosted bill payment website, be assured that your information is secure. 

Our application uses industry-standard SSL encryption on every page in the system. This is the same encryption and validation technology used by banks and brokerages to safeguard your financial information. To verify this system is delivered over a secure SSL connection, look for the SSL padlock in your browser.

For more information, see our privacy policy.

To pay your bill by mail, send your payment to the "Send Payments To" address listed on your bill.  

Please send the Payment Coupon(s) attached to your bill(s) along with your payment. Write your bill number(s) on your check or money order to ensure proper credit is applied.

Our billing system generates a bill for each transaction. Due to patient privacy issues, our system does not store information regarding the patient from transaction to transaction. Each transaction generates a new bill number. Therefore, if paying online, the online bill number must match the actual paper bill so the payment can be applied to the correct bill.

A payment may be required at the time of service for all past due balances. Quest Diagnostics reserves the right to refuse laboratory services if you have a past due balance. When you visit a Quest Diagnostics Patient Service Center, you may be told when you have an outstanding balance for previous services. If you do have a balance, you will be asked to pay the balance in full (or a minimum amount) before we complete your service.  

Quest Diagnostics offers payment plans which allow patients to pay in monthly installments until their balance is paid in full. We also offer a Financial Assistance Program that provides free or reduced-fee lab services. Reduced fees are based on federal guidelines for household income. Click here for more information.

Payment at time of service

If you provided payment at a Quest location and are receiving a bill, you may have participated in our Easy Pay program. Lab testing is a separate charge from your doctor’s visit. If you haven’t met your insurance deductible, have a co-pay, coinsurance, or if your insurance company doesn’t cover the cost of testing, there will be a charge. With Easy Pay, you provide a credit, debit, or health savings card during your Quest visit. You authorize an amount based on the estimated out-of-pocket cost of your lab test, but we only charge your card if there’s a patient cost after we bill your insurance company.

Quest bills your insurance company first. Your insurance company determines whether the testing is covered under your plan. Any amount not covered is your responsibility.

The amount that you are responsible for depends on your insurance. Your responsibilities typically include co-pays, deductibles, coinsurance, and any testing services not covered by your plan.

If your tests are fully covered, Quest will not charge the card you provided at your appointment. If your tests are not fully covered, the charge to your card will not exceed the amount you authorized. If you owe more than the amount you authorized, we’ll mail you a bill for the remaining amount.

No, your card will only be charged after your insurance company determines whether there is an amount due for your lab testing. The process usually takes 1 to 6 weeks, depending on your insurance plan. In the meantime, we will not withhold the amount you authorize and won’t charge you if no amount is due.

Provide your email address during your visit and we’ll send you an electronic receipt if we need to charge your card.

No, each appointment is independent and requires you to provide a card and an authorization.

Insurance

You can find out if Quest Diagnostics is in-network with your health insurance plan by clicking here. However, it's the patient's responsibility to verify benefits before services are performed. Any questions regarding coverage should be directed to your insurance company.

Here are some reasons why you might have receieved a bill:

  • Insurance information was not received or the wrong insurance information was received on your test order
  • The insurance company processed the claim and denied payment
  • The insurance company processed the claim and applied the balance to your co-pay or deductible
  • The insurance company did not respond to the claim

Please refer to the message on your Quest Diagnostics bill or the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance company for more specific information about why you received a bill. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your insurance company directly. 

You can update your correct insurance information here by authenticating with your bill number, date of birth, and zip code and then clicking on "update insurance." We will resubmit a claim to your insurance company. It is helpful to have your insurance card in front of you when providing this information.

Individual insurance coverage plans typically change on an annual basis. It is important to provide your most current insurance policy information at each visit to ensure proper billing.

If your bill reflects incorrect insurance information and was denied, you can update the insurance information online by clicking here and authenticating with your bill number, date of birth, and zip code.  

Your insurance company is billed based on the information provided to us on the original test order from your doctor, also called a requisition. Sometimes the information provided on the requisition is incorrect. To ensure your insurance is billed properly, please present your insurance card at each doctor's office or Patient Service Center (PSC) visit. Please also make sure your doctor's office or the PSC has your most current insurance and billing information, including your current address, contact information, and correct date of birth. Some doctor's offices have a separate laboratory test ordering system, called Quanum, so you can also check with your doctors office or the PSC to verify that your insurance information is correct in this system as well.

Blue Cross Blue Shield requires laboratory testing be submitted to the state where the doctor is licensed. As a result, the insurance company name may be different from the name reflected on your insurance ID card.

For information regarding coverage and benefits from your insurance company, please contact your insurance company directly. Information about how a specific claim is processed should be provided to you from your insurance company on an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) form. These forms usually differ with each insurance company. You can click here for a glossary of terms, which may help you interpret the information provided by your insurance company.

If you received an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance company that differs from what is indicated on your Quest Diagnostics bill, please write your bill number on the EOB and mail a copy or fax it to Quest Diagnostics. Please refer to your bill for the correspondence mailing address and fax number. Quest Diagnostics will contact your insurance company to research and resolve the discrepancy.

It typically takes about 4-6 weeks for your insurance company to send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB).

No, Quest Diagnostics does not know each individual patient's insurance coverage. It is the patient's responsibility to verify benefits before services are performed. Any questions regarding coverage should be directed to your insurance company.

Quest Diagnostics will file eligible claims to a secondary insurance company as a one-time courtesy. You can add secondary insurance if your primary insurance has fully settled the claim by clicking here and authenticating with your bill number, date of birth, and zip code. Then click the "update insurance" link. If your primary insurance has processed your claim, you will be prompted for secondary insurance. You can also call the customer service phone number listed on your bill or contact our online customer service.

An Advance Written Notice,  or AWN, is used to inform a patient that their insurance may not pay for laboratory testing ordered. Signing an AWN form indicates the patient is assuming financial responsibility for services not covered by the insurance plan. 

Online billing services

We have simplified our email billing process to make it easier to access and pay your bill online. 

Yes, we will send you an email with a payment receipt to the email address you provided when paying your bill. 

Please allow up to 7 days for us to receive your payment and for it to be seen in your online balance. 

You can find your bill number in the upper right hand corner of your paper bill. If you have not received a paper bill, you can request a one-time passcode on our online billing site to quickly locate your bill.

Pricing

If you are having testing done at a Quest Diagnostics Patient Service Center (PSC), you can use our self-pay price estimate tool to obtain pricing information. 

The price you pay for tests performed by Quest Diagnostics depends on a few things, like:

  • Whether you are insured or uninsured
  • Which lab tests are covered by your insurance
  • How old you are; if you are age 65 or older Medicare may not pay for some tests your doctor might order
  • What kind of account your doctor has with Quest

Medicare

An Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) is a requirement by Medicare. The purpose of the ABN is to help patients make an informed choice about whether or not they want to receive certain laboratory tests that have a likelihood of being denied for payment by Medicare. The Medicare program pays for services only if it determines that the services are reasonable and necessary. Medicare deems some tests as medically necessary only if the patient has certain medical conditions, symptoms, or diseases. Medicare calls these "Limited Coverage Tests." If someone chooses to have these Limited Coverage Tests, the patient will be responsible for the cost of the test if Medicare denies payment.

Medicare provides a "crossover" program that automatically forwards a patient's claim to their secondary insurance for coordination of benefits. To take advantage of this program, please contact Medicare directly to notify them of your secondary insurance coverage.

Test results

To receive a copy of your test results, create or log in to your MyQuest® account here. MyQuest is our free, easy to use, and secure tool that makes it easy to get your test results.

Billing & insurance

Pay your bill, check bill status, update insurance information

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