SUMMIT COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNCES AFFORDABLE BLOOD TESTS PEOPLE WITHOUT INSURANCE
Updated March 01, 2010
The Summit County Medical Society announces that Pioneer Physicians Network has agreed to perform blood tests for people without health insurance at rates much less than those charged by area hospitals and commercial laboratories.
Pioneer, a Greater Akron area physician network, will offer the tests at four of its sites. The charge for a basic metabolic panel, for example, one of the most commonly ordered blood tests, will be $14. An article in the Akron Beacon Journal earlier this year showed that people without insurance are charged from $22.60 to $175 for this test at area labs and hospitals
Patients without insurance typically pay full charges for blood tests. However, people with health insurance pay far less because their insurance companies negotiate deeply discounted rates from hospitals and commercial laboratories.
The high cost of lab tests for uninsured patients poses undue financial stress on uninsured people, and some of them simply forego the tests, said Doug Lefton, MD, a family physician in Fairlawn and special projects coordinator for the medical society. “It’s also a problem for doctors,” he said. “It’s hard to treat patients without the important information that blood tests provide.”
Mark Meyer, MD, president of Pioneer, said “This is a great way for us as an organization and as a group of physicians concerned about the plight of the uninsured, to give back to the community,”
Patients will be able to take any doctor’s lab order to one of Pioneer’s four draw sites. Patients must phone ahead to make an appointment for the blood draw, and will be expected to pay at time of service with cash, check or credit card. A $5 draw fee will also be charged.
Most blood and urine tests will be run at Pioneer’s own lab in Tallmadge. Specialized tests will be sent out to reference laboratories. Results for commonly ordered tests will be faxed to the patient’s doctor by the next day.
The four draw site locations are Pioneer’s central laboratory, 65 Community Rd,
Tallmadge, (330) 633-6601; Columbia Woods Medical Group 3300 Greenwich Rd, Norton, (330) 825-7371; Hearthstone Family Practice, 4444 S Arlington Rd, (330) 896-6111, and Pioneer’s South Main Street Medical Center at 4880 South Main St, Green (330) 644-2700.
More information, including directions to the three blood draw locations and a comprehensive list of available tests and prices is available on the Pioneer website at www.pioneerphysicians.com.
The announcement today followed a 4-month search by the medical society to find a lab that would offer prices at or close to what Medicare pays. Dr. Lefton said he had contacted all the local hospitals and commercial labs and that only Pioneer was willing to offer such low rates. “I give a lot of credit to Pioneer for stepping up to the plate on this,” he said.
He said the medical society invites other labs to offer low prices to uninsured people. If so, they will be added to the medical society’s webpage.
One of those resources the medical society notes on its webpage is the Hospital Care Assurance Program. This program, mandated by the state, requires all hospitals to offer free care—including free blood tests—to anyone whose family income is below federal poverty guidelines. The 2009 poverty level is $22,050 for a family of four. Summa hospitals, and LabCare Plus, the lab system owned by Summa, go farther than the requirements and offer free care to patients who earn up to 200 percent of the poverty level.
The Summit County Medical Society’s mission is to represent physicians in the community and to improve the health of the community. It has 400 physician members and is a part of the Ohio State Medical Society.
Pioneer Physicians Network is primary care network of 24 doctors in 9 locations throughout the Greater Akron area.
The groups recommended to receive the novel H1N1 influenza vaccine include:
- Pregnant women because they are at higher risk of complications and can potentially provide protection to infants who cannot be vaccinated;
- Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age because younger infants are at higher risk of influenza-related complications and cannot be vaccinated. Vaccination of those in close contact with infants less than 6 months old might help protect infants by “cocooning” them from the virus;
- Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel because infections among healthcare workers have been reported and this can be a potential source of infection for vulnerable patients. Also, increased absenteeism in this population could reduce healthcare system capacity;
- All people from 6 months through 24 years of age
- Children from 6 months through 18 years of age because we have seen many cases of novel H1N1 influenza in children and they are in close contact with each other in school and day care settings, which increases the likelihood of disease spread, and
- Young adults 19 through 24 years of age because we have seen many cases of novel H1N1 influenza in these healthy young adults and they often live, work, and study in close proximity, and they are a frequently mobile population; and,
- Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.
We do not expect that there will be a shortage of novel H1N1 vaccine, but flu vaccine availability and demand can be unpredictable and there is some possibility that initially, the vaccine will be available in limited quantities. So, the ACIP also made recommendations regarding which people within the groups listed above should be prioritized if the vaccine is initially available in extremely limited quantities. For more information see the CDC press release CDC Advisors Make Recommendations for Use of Vaccine Against Novel H1N1.
Summary of Situation
Updated March 01, 2010
Key Flu Indicators
Each week CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes findings of key flu indicators in a report called FluView. During the week of August 16-22, 2009, a review of these key indictors found that influenza activity is either stable, or is increasing in some areas. Activity appears to be increasing in the Southeast based on influenza-like illness data reported by health care providers. Below is a summary of the most recent key indicators:
- Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) were highest in February during the 2008-09 flu season, but rose again in April 2009 after the new H1N1 virus emerged. Current visits to doctors for influenza-like illness are down from April, but are higher than what is expected in the summer and has increased over the last two weeks.
- Total influenza hospitalization rates for adults and children are similar to or lower than seasonal influenza hospitalization rates depending on age group.
- The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was low and within the bounds of what is expected in the summer.
- Most state health officials are reporting regional or sporadic influenza activity. Two states (Alaska and Georgia) and Puerto Rico are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. Any reports of widespread influenza activity in August are very unusual.
- Almost all of the influenza viruses identified were the new 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses. These 2009 H1N1 viruses remain similar to the viruses chosen for the 2009 H1N1 vaccine and remain susceptible to antiviral drugs (oseltamivir and zanamivir) with rare exception.
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