What is the customary charge for a urine drug screen?

[McCamy Taylor]

My husband, who has chronic headaches and who does not take any opiates or other scheduled drugs or use any recreational drugs was referred by his neurologist to a headache specialist who put him on nonscheduled (i.e. non opiate pain med) Indocin. The doctor ordered a urine drug screen which showed zilch (of course). The shocker was the price. $1575 dollars for a urine drug screen done at a lab in Dallas (won't give the name). Our charge after insurance was $200. The MRI was cheaper.

Is this a normal charge? Should I notify the state medical board that something fishy is going on? I can not find the owners of the lab online. They do not have a website, just a Yellow Pages listing. I am concerned that the headache specialist may be an owner, and that he may be padding his bill this way. Is there any way to find out who owns a llc?

[rug]

1. Do you want to pass it?

[Chan790]

2. I have no idea how much they actually cost but other knowledge makes me think that's legit.

Other knowledge: More than 95% of employer drug screening test are never actually done (at employer request) because of the cost...they just collect the urine, temp-check it, monitor the testee for erratic behavior that often is an indicator that they would have failed (basically guilty people act differently or do things that don't make sense unless they're cheating.)...and mail it to the lab where it's typically thrown away.

Why go through all that? So the people at the testing center and potential employees don't know which employers are testing versus merely collecting.

Think about it for a moment. I used to work for one of the largest banks in America. They hire 200 people a day on average company-wide. 200 times even $1000/test is $200K...that's a quarter's worth of profits for an entire branch. They have better things to spend $200K on. We know they're not testing because one of my coworkers was a long-time friend and that kid has been high for years straight. The only tests actually being done were the handful of people company-wide tabbed daily for random testing (maybe) and the employees being ordered to take a test on suspicion of workplace drug-use.

[A Simple Game]

7. Interesting, could you give us a source for this other knowledge? n/t

[Chan790]

9. I don't know where I first heard that.

It was years ago. I've heard it repeatedly since then from a number of sources both anecdotal and from people with knowledge of the subject. Even at the lowest costs imaginable, it makes sense...$150 is a lot to spend on a new hire for a drug test when you're pretty sure of the answer or else you'd have not hired that person.

That's one thing I miss about NPOs. My executive director might have been an asshole who sexually-harassed everybody but he point blank told us that he didn't care if we were high.

[jmowreader]

3. What kind of a drug screen was it?

If we're talking about your normal "SAMSHA-5" piss test--weed, opiates, cocaine, amphetamines and PCP--fifty bucks is MORE than sufficient. Think about it, ma'am: the trucking industry would go bankrupt overnight if they had to pay $1500 to test one driver. LabCorp runs seven-drug screens that include SAMSHA-5 plus two drugs of the requester's choosing, and they wouldn't be much more expensive because all they need do is enter a few more commands into the testing machines.

There is a drug test that looks for over 200 different drugs, but that's used very rarely because there's not much need for it...the first thing that comes to mind is your probation officer REALLY wants to throw your ass in jail and needs a reason. Also, if you OD'd on something they can't identify and need to know to save your life. That test is probably $1500 but why would they run it on him?

I think you got ripped off.

[douglas9]

4. Drug Abuse Profile, Urine (7 drugs) with confirmation

Regular Price:$169.00
Our Price: $139.00
Savings $30.00!

http://www.econolabs.com/product_p/lc-794388.htm

[hobbit709]

5. That's a ripoff. Even a hair analysis doesn't cost that much

[Phentex]

6. I would check them out....

by calling someone. That seems terribly high to me. Regardless, they should have given you an estimate before they ran the test.

[LeftyMom]

8. They sell weed test kits at the dollar store.

Most anything else is out of your system too soon to get caught unless you're an absolute moron.

A basic drug screen runs about $50. Add another $20 or so if you want to add alcohol. At least that's what my company pays, and yes, real tests. We've had at least one idiot come up dirty.

[Nikia]

10. My previous employer did for hire and random drug testing

There was relatively high turnover and number of the potential new hires failed. There was probably a dozen random tests done in a year. This was at a company with around 45 employees.
The company was privately owned and the owner wouldn't spend $1500 on various things that would save tens of thousands of dollars or get him hundreds of thousands of dollars in business. I doubt that he would spend money on drug tests that were nearly that expensive.

[LanternWaste]

11. The cost to the company I work for is $55/individual

At my office, HR tests prospective management candidates (in-house and from the outside). The cost to the company is $55/individual, but I doubt we're getting any bulk-discounts as we usually only have this done about twice a year. This office is in the D/FW area, also.

$1575? That seems excessive.

[tdotson]

12. I just had the same experience

I went to a pain doctor for the first time because I have a herniated disk. I was checking into the possibility of having an injection in my back. They required a urinalysis and I didn't think a lot about it at the time. My insurance was charged 1524.20. They also coded some of it as exceeding the usual and customary charges and they were right to do so because it was a ridiculous charge. I'm so pissed off. The drug test was almost as much as the surgery/injection I had done at the hospital. I just joined this forum to respond to this. I don't know all the rules, but I don't mind saying that it was Primaris Lab in Dallas. Is that the same lab you had problems with?

[av8rdave]

13. With or without gratuity?

[Jordan222]

14. Total rip off

I take suboxine and get a drug test every month, I pay for a doctor, counselor and the prescription, after the test I got a $1500.00 drug test bill which is over 4 times more than the rest of my treatment combined!!! I told my doc there was no way I could see him and I should have been told that the drug screen was going to be 15 times more than the bill for the doctor visit. He and his finance dept. told me they had an agreement with the company and I would NOT have to pay. I even called the company (medi labs) and they said if that's what my doctor said then that's OK. Flash forward to today and my $6000.00 bill past due for 4 test. Of course it's Friday and I can't talk to my doc till Monday. Keep in mind I've NEVER failed a single test and if I've had a test every month then why do I only have 4 bills? I filled out a financial aid form and gave it to my docs office, I was told everything fine ignore the bills, if the company can charge $1500.00 why not 15,000.00? Or 150,000.00???? A drug test cost on the low end $50.00 at the most 150.00 but not 10 times that!!! Is it legal to tell someone they don't have to pay then charge them anyway? Or not to tell them they will have to pay. I sell honey, if someone says " I want this jar of honey" and gives me a credit card can I charge them $2000.00 for it??????? Because that's what I'll have to do if I'm forced to pay this bill.

[rzemanfl]

19. Where are you that it is Friday today? n/t

[likesmountains 52]

15. I am sure it ia a lot less at the hospital where I work.

Hard to believe, I know. We do urine screens on pg women with 'red flags" or know drug issues and i am pretty sure they are much less than $1500. I will post the price tomorrow.

[V.G. Author]

17. Here's my experience!

Usually, they cost about $350.00 if done in the doctor's office and not sent out to a lab some where! What I experienced was that these Labs are some times very far away! One lab charged $1200.00 but the last time I had one I was totally astounded, and that's putting it mildly....my doctor sent it to California! To some chain of medical centers in and near Oakland! My insurance promptly denied as being not medically necessary and I'm going to have to stop seeing my doctor to pay this....are you sitting down...I now have to pay for a $7000.00 urine test! I'm not joking! It's Seven Thousand Dollars!!! I now can not afford to go to the doctor. It's going to take me more than a year to pay this! I sure would like to know what on earth constitutes a urine test being that outrageously expensive! Those tests are bought in bulk by doctors and hospitals for pennies! This urine test should be able to give me the winning lottery numbers for that price! So as to Customary charges....I think it just depends on how greedy the lab is!!!

[rzemanfl]

18. Care providers usually get things pre-approved by insurance. Are you sure

you aren't being scammed?