- How do laboratory services work at MIT Health?
- Do I have to have my blood drawn/sample collected at an MIT Health location?
- How will I learn about by laboratory results?
- Does MIT Health also offer Point-of-Care testing?
- How is laboratory testing billed?
- Why did I get a bill for my visit?
- Why wasn’t my test or visit covered by insurance?
- I have questions about a bill I received from Quest Diagnostics. Who should I contact?
- I suspect there was a mistake and I should have been covered for a test or visit I had at MIT Health. What should I do?
- Will my parents/partner/family see my laboratory tests?
- Is Quest Diagnostics part of MIT Health?
- What is Quest Diagnostics?
How do laboratory services work at MIT Health?
MIT Health partners with Quest Diagnostics for its laboratory services.
Quest Diagnostics operates a blood draw station in our Cambridge Care Center. The station is staffed with phlebotomists who can draw blood and collect other types of samples. In our Lexington Care Center, MIT Health staff draws blood and collects samples, which are sent by courier to Quest.
Laboratory appointments are not required on campus, but you do need an appointment for laboratory visits at our Lexington Care Center.
Do I have to have my blood drawn/sample collected at an MIT Health location?
No. Your provider’s test order is valid at any Quest location in New England, so you can visit any of their 2,000+ locations (more than 70 of which are in Massachusetts) and have the results sent directly to your MIT Health provider. You will need to let your provider know ahead of time if you plan to utilize a Quest location outside of New England.
Note: If you wish to be seen at a Quest location other than at MIT, you will need to make an appointment with that location before you are seen.
How will I learn about by laboratory results?
Your results will appear directly in your MIT Health HealthELife medical record.
Does MIT Health also offer Point-of-Care testing?
Yes. MIT Health offers a set of Point-of-Care (PoC) testing in our Urgent Care, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Primary Care clinics. We currently offer PoC testing for Flu/COVID/RSV, strep, pregnancy, glucose, and certain fungal infections.
How is laboratory testing billed?
Most laboratory tests processed by Quest will be billed directly to your health insurance. This is also true for students. Testing required for MIT Health employment (Occupational Health) and select sensitive tests for students will not be billed to insurance.
For students on MIT SHIP, most laboratory tests are fully covered with no copayment or deductible required. If you are a student who has elected to waive MIT insurance, the amount you will be required to pay will depend on your personal insurance benefits.
Why did I get a bill for my visit?
There are several reasons you may have been charged for your visit to MIT Health:
Your insurance plan requires a copayment for your visit
Your insurance company charges coinsurance for your visit
Your plan has a mandatory deductible that must be met before charges are covered
You are on a high-deductible health plan
The test or visit you had was not covered by your insurance plan. Examples might include unnecessary vitamin D tests, tests that are only covered at a certain frequency (e.g, once every 5 years), or multiple well visits conducted within a single calendar year.
You requested a screening or service that your insurance company deemed unnecessary
Why wasn’t my test or visit covered by insurance?
You will need to confirm the reason directly with your insurance company. But the most common reasons a visit or test wasn’t covered are:
The test or visit type is never allowed by your insurance plan
The test or visit was deemed not to be essential or necessary by your insurance company
A mistake occurred when transmitting your test/visit to your insurance company, such as your visit being accidentally billed to the wrong diagnosis code
I have questions about a bill I received from Quest Diagnostics. Who should I contact?
You will need to contact Quest directly. You can reach them by phone at 866-697-8378 or online.
I suspect there was a mistake and I should have been covered for a test or visit I had at MIT Health. What should I do?
In the event you suspect there was a mistake, first confirm with your insurance company that you are indeed covered for the test/visit in question. If yes, contact your physician’s office directly. Share the visit/test you are concerned about and let them know that the test/service was denied coverage. We can work with the insurance company to clarify the issue and potentially help resolve the issue if an error has indeed occurred.
Will my parents/partner/family see my laboratory tests?
Laboratory test results are never shared with others without your consent. However, if you are a dependent on someone else’s insurance plan, your parents/partner/family might get a bill. Even if an outside visit is fully covered and there is no bill, the subscriber may receive an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) document listing the services billed to insurance, including the names of laboratory tests.
In these cases, you can contact the insurance company in advance and request confidentiality. You can learn more about insurance privacy here. In addition, some types of sensitive testing for students, such as sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, will not be billed to insurance to minimize privacy risks.
Is Quest Diagnostics part of MIT Health?
No. MIT Health partners with several outside medical groups to expand access to select healthcare services for the MIT community. These partners see patients in Building E23, offering convenient, on-campus access to high-demand services.
Although these services are located at MIT Health and may coordinate with MIT Health clinicians in areas such as Primary Care, the partner clinicians and staff are not MIT Health employees, and their services are not provided by MIT Health. Learn more.
What is Quest Diagnostics?
Quest Diagnostics is one of the largest clinical laboratory service providers in the world. They partner with half of the hospitals in the United States and perform laboratory tests for one in three adult Americans each year. Quest Diagnostics operates locations throughout New England, with more than 70 centers in Massachusetts alone.