5 ms·

A test in the US < $50 and is easy to schedule without having a doctor involved at LabCore or similar. Is that an option in CA?

rmellow 5y ago
There are private clinics one can become a member of, but this is extremely uncommon and most people don't know it's an option. Costs upwards of $3,000 annually.
- foota 5y ago
  Only 3,000? chuckles in American
  - xeromal 5y ago
    You can go to quest diagnostics or labscorb and order yourself a test for under 200$ (no insurance needed) that would do an entire panel on you. I did this and then called a teledoc for like 40$ (copay) and had them go over hte results with me. It's pretty sweet.
    - InitialLastName 5y ago
      > called a teledoc for like 40$ (copay) So, more like $7400 annually [0], plus a $40 copay, discounting whatever other health care you needed in the year. [0] https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2020-section-6-worker-and-employer-contributions-for-premiums/ https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2020-section-6-worke...
      - ejolto 5y ago
        If you make 100K a year in Canada you pay $29,986 in taxes of which about a third goes to healthcare, so $10000 annually and you still won't get tested preventatively.
        InitialLastName 5y ago
        The difference is that the US cost is true whether you're wealthy or poor (above a certain margin). In Canada, if you make the median household income of $35k, you presumably pay proportionally less (or even less than that; I can't be bothered to look up the progressive taxation margins) in taxes, so $3500 max.
Karawebnetwork 5y ago
In Quebec at least, a doctor's prescription is required for all blood tests even at private labs.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- SOLAR_FIELDS 5y ago
  Crazy how different it is vs the States - check out for instance what you can get immediately at this pretty popular chain: https://www.anylabtestnow.com/general-health/ https://www.anylabtestnow.com/general-health/ Hundreds of different ones. Granted you still need some level of medical expertise to be able to accurately interpret results on a lot of them but a smart enough layman could probably self diagnose some illnesses with enough homework.
  - Karawebnetwork 5y ago
    We even need a prescription for repeat labs. So if my doctor is away for personal reasons for a month and I need to have my [thing that I get tested every month] checked, I can't without having to navigate the entire healthcare system to find a workaround. I would be easy for me to interpret the results as my doctor is clear that [number] should not fall under [threshold]. It even comes back highlighted in red on the result sheet if it falls under that number. And I have clear instruction on what to do if that happens. But nope.
doublepg23 5y ago
That's interesting pricing. I just did some blood tests at Quest Labs w/o a Dr and it ran me $200
- testesttest 5y ago
  You got a cholesterol test and only a cholesterol test? That was what the parent comment is about. Tests vary a lot by test. LabCorp states their prices very clearly. Walgreens also has cholesterol tests for ~30$ https://news.walgreens.com/press-center/news/walgreens-introduces-daily-testing-for-cholesterol-blood-glucose-and-a1c-at-more-than-1400-stores-in-33-states-and-washington-dc.htm https://news.walgreens.com/press-center/news/walgreens-intro...
  - doublepg23 5y ago
    I read the comment wrong. I thought they meant a full test battery not just a cholesterol test.

rmellow 5y ago

There are private clinics one can become a member of, but this is extremely uncommon and most people don't know it's an option. Costs upwards of $3,000 annually.

foota 5y ago
Only 3,000? chuckles in American
- xeromal 5y ago
  You can go to quest diagnostics or labscorb and order yourself a test for under 200$ (no insurance needed) that would do an entire panel on you. I did this and then called a teledoc for like 40$ (copay) and had them go over hte results with me. It's pretty sweet.
  - InitialLastName 5y ago
    > called a teledoc for like 40$ (copay) So, more like $7400 annually [0], plus a $40 copay, discounting whatever other health care you needed in the year. [0] https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2020-section-6-worker-and-employer-contributions-for-premiums/ https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2020-section-6-worke...
    - ejolto 5y ago
      If you make 100K a year in Canada you pay $29,986 in taxes of which about a third goes to healthcare, so $10000 annually and you still won't get tested preventatively.
      - InitialLastName 5y ago
        The difference is that the US cost is true whether you're wealthy or poor (above a certain margin). In Canada, if you make the median household income of $35k, you presumably pay proportionally less (or even less than that; I can't be bothered to look up the progressive taxation margins) in taxes, so $3500 max.

Karawebnetwork 5y ago

In Quebec at least, a doctor's prescription is required for all blood tests even at private labs.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
SOLAR_FIELDS 5y ago
Crazy how different it is vs the States - check out for instance what you can get immediately at this pretty popular chain: https://www.anylabtestnow.com/general-health/ https://www.anylabtestnow.com/general-health/ Hundreds of different ones. Granted you still need some level of medical expertise to be able to accurately interpret results on a lot of them but a smart enough layman could probably self diagnose some illnesses with enough homework.
- Karawebnetwork 5y ago
  We even need a prescription for repeat labs. So if my doctor is away for personal reasons for a month and I need to have my [thing that I get tested every month] checked, I can't without having to navigate the entire healthcare system to find a workaround. I would be easy for me to interpret the results as my doctor is clear that [number] should not fall under [threshold]. It even comes back highlighted in red on the result sheet if it falls under that number. And I have clear instruction on what to do if that happens. But nope.

doublepg23 5y ago

That's interesting pricing. I just did some blood tests at Quest Labs w/o a Dr and it ran me $200

testesttest 5y ago
You got a cholesterol test and only a cholesterol test? That was what the parent comment is about. Tests vary a lot by test. LabCorp states their prices very clearly. Walgreens also has cholesterol tests for ~30$ https://news.walgreens.com/press-center/news/walgreens-introduces-daily-testing-for-cholesterol-blood-glucose-and-a1c-at-more-than-1400-stores-in-33-states-and-washington-dc.htm https://news.walgreens.com/press-center/news/walgreens-intro...
- doublepg23 5y ago
  I read the comment wrong. I thought they meant a full test battery not just a cholesterol test.