Can a lab collection requisition be used in two different labs and still be covered by the health insurance?

In the united states the insurance company decides which lab testing company will be used to perform the test.

My spouse works in a doctors office, in the lab. Some small quick tests can be done in the office, others have to be sent out. Each insurance company decides how test A and test B are done, in the office or out of the office. Some companies even dictate that the sample be collected at a specific drawing center which means the patient has to go someplace else to get the blood collected.

If they have to send it out-of-the-office the insurance company dictates which external lab company will perform the test. The patient doesn't pick, and the doctor doesn't know. The lab staff collect the ample, check the insurance records, package the sample, generate the order, and put it in the pickup box. The transport company picks up samples at the end of the day. The lab staff then checks periodically for updated results on the website.

Exceptions to this are if the sample is collected in an emergency at an ER or hospital. More tests will be done in the on site hospital lab.

So If doctor X says get test A and test B done. Where the blood goes is out of the patients control. If the office messed up and Test B was done by an out-of-network lab, then complain. Of course if Doctor X is out of network, it is possible that your tests are also done by an out-of-network lab, and that can be very expensive.

Why is out-of-network always way more expensive? I had recent lab work done:

• $305 the Rate they would charge without insurance
• $15 the negotiated rate between the lab company and the insurance company
• $0 what I was charged in-network, because I had met my in-network deductible.

If I had gone out-of-network, I would have had to pay the lab company $305, and only $15 would have counted towards my higher out-of-network deductible.

Can the patient do test A in one lab and test B in another lab, and still be covered by the health insurance? Or does the patient need to have two distinct lab collection requisition?

If both are blood tests the person will fill multiple tubes at the same time. If one is blood and one isn't they will collect both samples at the same time. If you want test B done by a specific lab company you would have to find a standalone drawing center for that lab, insist they send it to lab B, and you pay the bill. The insurance company could decide to reject your claim because it wasn't medically necessary because they couldn't match it to a doctors order. If they did accept it, it would be out-of-network.