Billing Services

Frequently Asked Questions: Billing Services

General Questions

• Why have I received a bill from Quest Diagnostics?

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

  Although you may not have physically visited a Quest Diagnostics location, your physician may have sent your specimen 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 carrier for more specific information about why you received an bill.

  A few reasons you may have received a bill include, but are not limited to, the following:

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

• I dont understand some aspects of my bill.  Who can help me to understand it?

  Click on the highlighted term to view an example of the Quest Diagnostics bill, which contains definitions for many of the terms used on it.  This example may look somewhat different from your bill depending on where your tests were performed, but the definitions of terms may be helpful to you.

  If you would like further assistance, please call the Customer Service phone number listed on your bill or click here for our Customer Service phone numbers by area.  You can also contact our online Customer Service.

• I received a bill requesting additional information.  What should I do?

  Please send the requested information to the address or fax number 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 carrier needs more information from you in order to process your claim, please contact your insurance carrier directly.

• Where does Quest Diagnostics obtain the diagnosis information related to my claim?

  Quest Diagnostics obtains diagnosis information from the ordering physicians office.  If your insurance carrier denied your claim due to the diagnosis code, please contact your physicians office.

• Why am I being charged a draw fee?

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

• Why am I being charged for additional testing which was not on my original test order (requisition)?

  There are two reasons that an additional test, which was not originally ordered by your physician, would be performed.  The first is that your physician may have called the laboratory to request additional testing after the order was submitted.  The second is that one of the tests your physician 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.

Payment

• Can I pay my bill online?

  Yes, click here to get started.

  If your lab code begins with ZOT, we'll redirect you to MyDocBill.com, the website of Quest's billing services provider. Here, Quest patients have secure access to pay their bill, update insurance, edit their profile and view their account history.

• Is my payment information secure?

  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 application, be assured that your information is secure, both during transmission over the Internet and within the application itself.

  This 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.

• How do I pay my bill by mail?

  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, along with your payment and write your bill number(s) on your check or money order to ensure proper credit is applied.

• Why do I have a different bill number each time I have services performed?  How does this affect making payments online?

  Our billing system generates transactional specific bill.  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.

• Am I required to pay for past due balances in order to get future services?

  A payment may be required at the time of service for all past due balances.  Quest Diagnostics reserves the right to refuse laboratory services for failure to pay for past services.

• Does Quest Diagnostics have a program for patients experiencing financial hardship and/or patients who do not have insurance?

  Quest Diagnostics offers payment plans, which allows patients to pay in monthly installments until their balance is paid in full. We also offer Financial Assistance, which provides free or reduced-fee laboratory services, to those who qualify based on U.S. Department of Health and Human Service poverty guidelines.  Click here for more information.

Insurance

• How can I find out if Quest Diagnostics is a participating provider with my insurance?

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

• How do I submit secondary insurance information?

  In select geographic areas, Quest Diagnostics will file eligible claims to a secondary insurance carrier as a one-time courtesy.  To check availability of this courtesy service and to submit your secondary insurance information, please call the Customer Service phone number listed on your bill or click here for our Customer Service phone numbers by area.  You can also contact our online Customer Service.

• Why have I received a bill when I have insurance that covers my laboratory testing?

  A few reasons you may have received a bill include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Insurance information was not received or the wrong insurance information was received on your test order;
  • The insurance carrier processed the claim and denied payment;
  • The insurance carrier processed the claim and applied the balance to your co-pay or deductible;
  • The insurance carrier 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 carrier for more specific information about why you received a bill.  If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your insurance carrier directly.  If your insurance carrier was not billed or was billed with incorrect information, you can submit your correct insurance information here and we will resubmit a claim to your insurance carrier.  It is helpful to have your insurance card in front of you when providing this information.

• My insurance information has changed.  How do I correct it?

  You can update the insurance reflected on a bill received by clicking update my insurance.  Please be sure that the information provided is accurate and complete.  Inaccurate or incomplete information may result in a delay or denial of payment by your insurance carrier.  You can also mail or fax a copy of the front and back of your insurance card to the correspondence address or fax number listed on your bill.

• Why does my bill reflect incorrect insurance information?

  Your insurance carrier is billed based on the information provided to us on the original test order from your physician, 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 physicians office or Patient Service Center (PSC) visit.  Please also make sure your physicians office or the PSC, has your most current insurance and billing information, including your current address, contact information, and correct date of birth.  Some physicians offices have a separate laboratory test ordering system, called Quanum, so you can also check with your physicians office or the PSC to verify that your insurance information is correct in this system as well.

• Why do I have to give my insurance information each time I visit my physician or Patient Service Center?

  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.

• I received information from my insurance carrier about my benefits and I do not understand all of the information.  Can you help me?

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

• The "Explanation of Benefits" I received from my insurance carrier is different from the information on my Quest Diagnostics bill.  What should I do?

  If you received an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance carrier 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 carrier to research and resolve the discrepancy.

• How long will it take to receive a response from my insurance carrier?

  It typically takes about four to six weeks for your insurance carrier to process your claim and send you and Explanation of Benefits (EOB).

• Is Quest Diagnostics able to tell me if I am covered for testing?

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

E-Billing Services

Bills and billing notifications may be sent by text, email or paper.

Pricing

• How can I obtain pricing information?

  If you are having your blood drawn at a Quest Diagnostics Patient Service Center (PSC), you can ask for patient pricing before it is drawn.  You can also contact the Billing Customer Service or the Customer Service department at the laboratory that services your area.  Click here for a link to our Customer Service phone numbers by area.  In order to receive accurate pricing information, it is necessary to provide the correct service code from the test order.

• Can Quest Diagnostics tell me how much I can expect to pay for my tests?

  The price you pay for tests performed by Quest Diagnostics may be dependent on several variables, such as:

  • If you have insurance or not;
  • Your insurance plan coverage of laboratory tests;
  • Your age: if you are 65+, Medicare will not pay for some tests that your physician considers important; and
  • Your healthcare providers agreement with Quest Diagnostics.

Medicare

• What is an Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) and why is it required for certain tests?

  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 tests Limited Coverage Tests.  If the patient chooses to have the Limited Coverage tests performed, the patient will have financial responsibility for the testing if Medicare denies payment.

• How can I have Medicare send my bill to my secondary insurance carrier?

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

Test Results

• Can I receive a copy of my test results?

  Click here for information on obtaining a copy of your test results.