Solutions for Those with High Deductibles or No Insurance

If you don’t have insurance or have a high deductible and have difficulty affording healthcare, there are still options for you to get tests done and make your health a priority. Any Lab Test Now offers a multitude of tests at low prices and convenient times, and you don’t even need insurance to use their services.

No Insurance Necessary

If you are currently uninsured, it can be difficult and pricey to get medical attention. Any Lab Test Now will provide you with the tests you need, no insurance required. Now, you don’t have to worry about skipping a blood test or ignoring possible allergies. All tests are available to you, regardless of your insurance status.

In addition, if you will be paying for your test out-of-pocket, you can use your health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) for payment.

Low Prices

A lot of people skip their medical exams because they are overpriced. Any Lab Test Now offers tests at the lowest prices possible, ensuring that anyone can get tested and focus on their health. Patients are not charged excessive fees or high deductibles for their tests; instead, they are offered the same quality tests as other testing centers for an affordable price that can fit most budgets.

Easily Accessible

When cost is an issue, it’s easy to make excuses for skipping medical tests. It’s easy to blame the distance to the office or the time spent in a waiting room for not getting tested. After all, time spent on medical test can mean time spent away from work.

Fortunately, Any Lab Test Now understands this. Our locations are spread across the country and located in places where people work and live. You can easily find your local Any Lab Test Now and get started with your tests. You can also get your tests done in a convenient amount of time, so you don’t have to worry about sitting in a waiting room and wasting a whole day. Patients can, generally, have tests completed in 15 minutes or less and there is no appointment required. The locations are typically open at convenient times that will fit your schedule, including Saturdays, so you don’t even need to take time off during the work week.
Any Lab Test Now offers a service that allows you to prioritize your health. You can get any of the tests offered without insurance and at a low price. Now, there are no excuses to not get tested. Anyone can take charge of their health and get tests completed, even if they are uninsured or on a tight budget.

The 5 Best Tests to Use Your FSA On

HSA and FSA accounts can help you budget for your healthcare, and ensure you always have the money you need to pay for any unexpected health events. But if you still have money in your FSA, it will expire at the end of the year. Instead of letting your money vanish, put it to use by getting some testing or immunizations you’ve been putting off. Wrap up lingering health concerns now so you can start fresh in the new year.

Allergy Test
The holidays coincide with peak cold and flu season, but if your sniffles won’t go away, you might look into allergy testing. Up to 50 million Americans suffer from allergies. If you experience emotional or physical reactions after you eat, or if you frequently have symptoms like a stuffy nose or trouble breathing, you might have an allergy to something you ate. The Allergy Test goes through as many as 45 different foods and 45 environmental triggers to identify the root of your symptoms.

Intolerance Test
If you’ve been noticing symptoms that aren’t associated with an allergic reaction, then you might have a food intolerance. If you experience fatigue, gas or diarrhea, depression or anxiety, weight gain or a general chronic discomfort, you may want to get a food intolerance test. This becomes especially important as you grow older, because you can develop new food sensitivities or intolerances later in life.

Blood Cortisol Test
If your stress levels are through the roof, the holiday season will likely only make it worse — it can seem like your to-do list never ends! To see if your stress is starting to cause problems for your body, get a blood cortisol test. High levels of cortisol are dangerous, because over time they can lead to high blood pressure, inflammation, compromised immune response and weight gain.

Thyroid Test
The holiday meals sure are delicious, but do you know what isn’t so great? The holiday pounds. If your weight gain tends to stick around a bit too long after the holidays, you should get your thyroid tested. Your thyroid controls metabolic activity, which is vital for maintaining a healthy weight. Poor thyroid health is associated with symptoms like fatigue, short attention span, weight gain and numbness or cold intolerance. Thyroid disorders can also cause conditions like osteoporosis and heart disease.

Proof of Immunizations
Are you traveling for the holidays or early next year? The first thing on your list should be to make sure your immunizations are up-to-date, which you can do by getting a proof of immunization test. These tests ensure that you have gotten the immunizations you need and provide valid paperwork to prove that you are immunized, which can be helpful if you’ve lost any documentation.

Don’t wait for the new year to address your lingering health concerns. If you have an FSA that is going to expire soon, get the important lab tests you need before 2017! For more information, visit your local Any Lab Test Now.

The Difference Between an HSA and an FSA Account

We’ve all had frightening medical situations. Maybe you were sitting on the sidelines when a baseball nailed your little man and he had to be rushed to the emergency room. Perhaps you were doing yardwork, got stung by a bee and realized that you needed a $400 round of medicine for a previously unknown allergy. Or maybe you felt painfully rundown and needed to find answers that only a lab test would provide. Whatever the situation, medical expenses happen from time to time, and you never want to find yourself in a situation where you have to make a choice between proper medical care and its cost.

Luckily, there are easy ways to save money for medical expenses. Aside from your basic savings account, there are two notable tools that can help you put money aside tax-free. These are the Health Savings Account (HSA) and the Flexible Spending Account (FSA). The fact that they are tax-free means you are able to save more using them than you would if you simply had money in a traditional savings account. Both plans are used exclusively to pay for qualified medical expenses, but this has a broad definition and may include vision, dental, medical testing and medication costs too.

Of course, there are some differences between the two accounts.

Who is eligible?

The first is eligibility. The HSA is only available to people who have selected a qualified high-deductible insurance plan. The FSA plan is available to anyone who has a job-sponsored health care insurance plan. Your employer should be able to help you figure out which one you can use.

When can you add money?

The second difference is the time of year that you can put money into your account. With the HSA, you are typically able to change how much you add to the account at any point throughout the year. In contrast, the FSA plan generally requires that you establish an amount during the open enrollment period that stays consistent throughout the year.

When do you have to use the money?

The third, and most important difference, is what happens to the money at the end of the year. With an HSA account, there is no time period in which you must use the funds that you set aside. Once you put money in, it remains in an investment account until you need it for qualified medical expenses. If you never use it, you can withdraw it after age 65 without tax penalties.

On the other hand, the FSA requires that the money saved is used within the plan year. There are some companies that offer a grace period, meaning you have an extra two and a half months to use the funds. Beyond that, however, unused money is surrendered to the fund itself; either you use the money in the plan year, or you lose it.

The good news is that the the list of qualified medical expenses includes lab fees, which means you have time left in the year and extra money to take charge of your health! Now is the time to investigate why your energy level has been lower lately. Perhaps you are tired of the constantly running nose? Find out if you have an allergy. Blood tests can even help detect warning signs of a variety of medical conditions, from diabetes to arthritis, so you can begin feeling better more quickly.  At Any Lab Test Now, we have more than a thousand tests available, and you’re able to use those FSA and HSA funds to cover the cost of your tests. It’s a great time to take advantage of the extra savings so you don’t lose them!

What are the Differences between a Lipid Panel, VAP® Test and PLAC Test?

So you’ve been told you may need to have some cholesterol tests done.  Or, maybe you are getting ready to get in shape and eat right, and want to set a baseline to measure what’s going on inside. Getting tested is the first step to becoming a healthier, happier you. Any Lab Test Now is here to help you Take Control of your Health® with the Lipid Panel, VAP Test or PLAC Test – three different tests to measure your cardiovascular health. But which test is right for you? Read on to learn more about each of these tests.

Lipid Panel
A Lipid Panel is used to determine if you have abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. These measurements can help your doctor determine if you are at risk for heart disease or other coronary illnesses. A Lipid Panel includes five tests: Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, HDL/LDL ratio and triglycerides. When evaluated together, these tests can help your doctor determine if you would benefit from a cholesterol maintenance medication. You are required to fast for at least eight hours prior to the tests. A Lipid Panel costs only $49 at Any Lab Test Now.

VAP Test
A VAP Test, or Vertical Auto Profile test, is used to provide an extremely accurate picture of an individual’s potential for heart disease and diabetes. Not only does this test include the basic cholesterol tests seen in the Lipid Panel, but it also gives a detailed report of individual lipoprotein subclasses and apolipoprotein subclasses. It identifies any cholesterol abnormalities that may be a precursor to heart disease or diabetes and can help your doctor provide the proper care to prevent future heart attacks. Best of all, you are not required to fast for this test so can come in anytime during the day. A VAP Test costs $79 at Any Lab Test Now.

PLAC Test
A PLAC Test measures the increase of an enzyme present when your arteries are inflamed. This test can help your doctor better assess your risk for heart attack and stroke, as well as determine any necessary medication or lifestyle changes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration uses this test to assess the risk of coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke, associated with atherosclerosis. The PLAC Test is usually an “add on” to other tests, and no additional blood work is necessary if done with another blood test or panel. You are not required to fast for this test. A PLAC Test costs $139 at Any Lab Test Now.

Ignoring it won’t make it better!  If you haven’t had your cholesterol checked lately, now is the time to do it – for you and your family.

Have You Had Your Annual Check Up?

When’s the last time you had your health checked?

August 11 is Annual Medical Checkup Day. Preventative checkups can catch problems before they start. Your age, family history, lifestyle choices, and other important factors determine the types of checkups that are recommended for you. By getting the right health services, screenings, and treatments, you are taking steps that help your chances for living a longer, healthier life!

August 10th – August 16th is Health Center Week. This is a time set aside to celebrate community, migrant, homeless, and public housing health centers. Some of the successes that are celebrated are their ability to provide affordable, high quality, cost effective health care to underprivileged people throughout the United States. During this week, we should take the time to be thankful for the health care providers in our community.

Celebrate life and health by scheduling your annual checkup appointment today. Annual Checkup Day is the perfect opportunity for you and your family to have a preventative medical check-up that will keep you healthy longer!

How To Encourage Your Employees To Get Fit, Give More & Live Well

Managing healthcare expenses for employees has become top-of-mind for employers today especially due to the Affordable Care Act. The utilization of these three innovative, yet simple tools is a helpful way to make it easier for employers to support their employees and to encourage employee wellness.

Charity Miles
Charity Miles is a free mobile app that combines healthy living with charitable donations. Its GPS-enabled platform tracks the number of miles walked, run, or biked, then calculates a dollar amount to be donated to one of nine participating charities. Earn $.25 for every mile run or walked and $.10 for every mile biked!

Registered users can launch the app on any Android or iPhone, choose the charity that will receive their donation, and turn their fitness routine into a way to help the community. Charity Miles is funding the first $1 million donated, then anticipating continued corporate sponsorship as the app’s popularity grows.

Sonic Boom
Sonic Boom’s approach to employee wellness is based on the simple idea that healthy habits practiced on a daily basis are key to increased employee productivity and lower healthcare expenses for employers. Through motivation via friendly competition, this all-inclusive service focuses on gamifying and incentivizing fitness. The company asserts that up-front program costs to the employer are continually offset by healthcare coverage savings and real ROI. Try utilizing this fun, interactive approach with your employees.

WellnessProposals.com
WellnessProposals.com is one of the largest resource bases of free wellness programs available to employers. In addition to a library containing over 15,000 free resources like handouts, brochures, and policy recommendations, the website provides specialized tools for addressing important concerns that range from heart-health and smoking cessation, to safety and stress-management. Browse the full library to learn more about how your business can get started today.

The Affordable Care Act has brought an immense amount of change in this arena, so taking proactive steps and utilizing free services is extremely helpful. Employees, and people in general, have more of a responsibility to manage their healthcare and healthcare budget. Creating and optimizing employee wellness programs is one step in helping employees to effectively manage their health.

These three resources are a great step in improving and encouraging employee wellness in your workplace. There is a plethora of information on employee wellness on each of these resources. It’s beneficial for all involved as it can help save employers cost on medical expenses and it can help employees better manage their health. Although these three were featured, there are many more ways to improve your employee wellness programs! Get started today.

How The Affordable Care Act Affects Workplace Wellness

As health care reform continues to be explored, it’s interesting to evaluate how it affects the workplace. Workplace wellness programs have become more of a trend due to the Affordable Care Act. The workplace wellness provisions have sparked research into the effectiveness of programs as well as added concern of shifts in health care costs due to the state of employee health.

“In a 2013 report, “Workplace Wellness Programs Study,” sponsored by HHS and conducted by Rand Corporation, researchers found that uptake remains limited, with fewer than half of employees undergoing clinical screenings or completing a health risk assessment. However, the report found “meaningful improvements” in exercise rates, smoking and weight control, though not in cholesterol levels.”

In addition, many employers expressed the reduction of medical costs due to wellness programs. The goal in creating and implementing these programs are to improve the health of employees and to control healthcare spending. By creating wellness programs and encouraging employees to participate in those programs, these facts can continue to improve.

Are you incorporating a new or improved wellness program in your workplace? There’s no better time than now to re-evaluate your wellness programs!

For more information visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca.

Coverage Options For Your Kids With The Affordable Care Act

As families continue to grow and as the Affordable Care Act becomes more prominent in people’s daily lives, it’s important as fathers and as the head of the household to remember how that affects your family.

Pre Affordable Care Act, insurance companies had the right to remove enrolled children at the age of 19, or occasionally older for full-time students. Now that the ACA is in effect, the majority of plans cover children/young adults up to the age of 26. There is a lot of wiggle room of the standards for your kids to remain on your plan until they hit 26. They can remain on your plan even if they are married, are not living with you, are full-time students, are not financially dependent on you, or are eligible to enroll in their employer’s plan. For a full list of Q&A’s when talking with your children about their enrollment process visit here.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca

Men, Learn How To Manage Your Health

As mentioned prior, men’s heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. More than half of deaths in heart disease in 2009 consisted of male victims. Detailed information and other statistics about men’s heart health are provided on the CDC’s website.

In addition to that, Men’s Health Magazine compiled an extremely intriguing perspective on the various and multiple reasons as to why American men die young. Everything from prostate cancer, to medical errors, to infectious disease, to diabetes and more is addressed.

Bringing up serious health issues in men is for a reason. In order to prevent these diseases controlling the lives of men, it’s important to be proactive in managing your health and to be aware. By completing routine tests, routine physicians visits and truly maintaining your health, you are taking a step towards taking control of your health. As the Affordable Care Act continues to evolve, it’s important to know how to move forward with taking control of your health. For example, knowing costs of treatments, lab tests and/or procedures upfront can help you make your healthcare as affordable as possible.

To learn more visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca.

Manage Your Health Savings Account (HSA)

Now that the Affordable Care Act has gone into effect, managing your health savings account (HSA) is important to pay attention to.

Healthcare.gov defines Health Savings Accounts as such: “A medical savings account available to taxpayers who are enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan. The funds contributed to the account aren’t subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Funds must be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. Unlike a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), funds roll over year to year if you don’t spend them.”

You are able to use your HSA for any family member listed as a dependent on your taxes. A “qualified medical expense” can mean various things. This includes medical and dental expenses which can consist of the costs of diagnoses (lab tests), cure, mitigation or reduction of pain and costs for treatments.

To learn more, the IRS Publication 502 explains in greater detail. These things can add up if not properly managed. Knowing costs upfront is vital to managing your healthcare budget along with your HSA. We help to fill one of those holes due to our wide selection of lab tests with upfront pricing. You know exactly how much your test is before you get it done. This saves you many headaches and helps you to manage your HSA in its entirety.

Visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca to learn more.