insurance and antibodies testing

[North48]

Will insurance only cover antibody testing if the tsh or free t4 or free t3 show abnormal?  I have 1 son with hashimoto and type 1 diabetes diagnosed when he was 10yrs now 20. Now my other son 23 who has allergies has always kind of had a problem with weight and still does.  He's very active eats less then his friends.  He went to a new dr last week b/c of always tired and can't move the scale no matter what he does.  I did have the pediatrician check his thyroid many years ago but I didn't know any better at that time and they just did the tsh which was normal.  Now the new dr told my son that they would only do the tsh, ft3 and ft4 but not check for antibodies because insurance would not cover it, only if tsh ft3 or ft4 would come back abnormal.  So now my question is what if the tsh would be in the upper part of normal wouldn't they need to look at the antibodies to know if there is a problem?  We have really good insurance and I have a hard time believing they wouldn't cover it especially with a hugh family history of autoimmune diseases, I just don't understand. The dr wants to send him to a sleep lab to check for sleep apnea which I think at this time is more of a waste of insurance money.  Maybe a new dr. LOL  What do you guys think?

[JolieFille]

Bunch of bunk!  Shame on that doc!!  I have antibodies tested routinly with out my TSH elevated.  I just checked on the price of a TSI antibody test because I heard they are very expensive.  It was less than 500 dollars and paid by my insurance.

Call your insurance company and they will help you with this answer as well.

[North48]

Thanks and Good Luck to you.

We don't need referrals so I think we'll just find a good endo but they can be hard to find and thats another subject.

I have found that alot of good endo's can be really good with diabetes but they must have been sleeping during thyroid training and in a coma during pituitary class. (chuckle chuckle)

Bad humor I know but I don't know how else to say it.  Anyway thanks for listening to me and really Good Luck

[PPhelps]

I know how you feel. My TSH back in July 2007 was 3.77. My endo said it was off then. Why did my doctor do nothing? I told him then thyroid problems runs in my family big time. My mom, her mom, my aunts, some cousins. Does he do follow up testing? NO,

Diabetes also runs in my family, usually around the age of 50 everyone has gotten DX with it, so my endo spec. wants to catch it at pre-diabetes, and prolong it from happening. Thats my kinda doctor. My follow up appointment is Thursday we'll see what she has to say.

Does your insurance require you to have a referral from your doctor? If it doesn't, just go see an endocrinologist. My insurance doesn't require me to have a referral. So I just bypassed my GP, but I made sure all my reports go to him also, to show him how its suppose to be tested.

I hope he gets help. I know it su cks feeling crappy all the time from the symptoms.

[North48]

Thanks for the response.  This is just what I thought a bunch of crapp.  Sorry to get mad but the kid is finally able to get time off between work and college and go to the dr and I told my son what to request so that the thyroid could be ruled out, talk about a waste of time and insurance money. But I suppose thats how they keep you coming back. scam..... I suppose we shouldn't screen for breast cancer either if thats in your family history... same thing just about.

Sorry just a little upset about how thyroid patients and families are treated!!!!  

[PPhelps]

Your doctor must really be on top of things when it comes to insurance. I haven't met a doctor yet that hasn't told me to check with girls up front regarding insurance requirements. LOL  He is talking out of his @ss, more than likely. My endo spec just ordered my antibodies done. Not one word was said about Insurance. There is so many different kinds of insurance. How does he/she know YOURS doesn't allow this? But, if you really want to know, call your insurance and ask.

[stella5349]

I never was questioned for payment