Cost of routine blood labs

[My Good Babushka]

Cost of routine blood lab for my spouse, with insurance. Unfortunately, the stars have aligned so that my annual check up is also scheduled. I will be getting another one of these bills very shortly. Ridiculous!

I don’t understand why we’re all not flipping tables and setting things on fire.

I have a "good" plan that was grandfathered in when the Affordable Care Act passed. It doesn't even have to meet ACA standards, which means, it doesn't have to fully cover routine physicals.

[DetlefK]

1. That depends on how elaborate the test was.

How many workers with which skill-sets were involved?
How long did it take to make the test?
What chemicals were spent on this test?
What lab-devices were used for this test?

[My Good Babushka]

2. There is no way to defend the kind of inflated charges that made up this blood lab

This is routine work. They weren't looking for traces of uranium or rare diseases. No place in the world charges this for routine blood labs, those tests take mere pennies to process. Doctors used to do them in the office before outsourcing to labs and charging exorbitant fees became common.

You may not be interested in reform, but I still am.

[DetlefK]

3. Again: How many people, how much time, what chemicals, what devices?

Lab-work costs ressources. There is no way around that.

[My Good Babushka]

4. I looked them up

The basic metabolic profile, lipid panel, CBC, iron, and calcium tests come up to about $150
The cost is inflated by more than 50%. And this is a cost added onto the hundreds of dollars in monthly premiums we pay. It is a real hardship, not just for us, but for many families. It is still a huge problem that people with insurance can't afford to use it.
It's not like health care gouging is some great secret!
If we don't provide testimonials, and evidence, there will be no hope for reform.
I am done whistling past the graveyard.

That you even begin your response in an adversarial tone, and with the implied agreement that the insurance company is in the right not to cover these costs out of the premiums I pay every month, tell me what an uphill battle reform still is. i.e., with friends like these, who needs enemies?