For now though, diet labs offer a number of tests to help people understand their current health condition and be better informed about what proactive steps can be followed to lose weight and become healthier.

What Tests do Diet Labs Offer?

Right now, there is no standardized legal description of a “diet lab”, so every facility offers different diet testing. Some of the tests currently available from diet labs include:

• CBC – Otherwise known as a “Complete Blood Count,” this common test will measure the functioning of your immune system, as well as the oxygen levels in your body. The test can reveal certain forms of malnutrition, including anemia, as well as the presence of inflammation in cell tissues, which can be linked to the consumption of certain types of food and drinks.
• Comprehensive Metabolic Panel – This full-spectrum test of your blood will reveal important insights into how your kidneys and liver are functioning. Your blood glucose levels will also be measured, which can reveal the presence of diabetes or an elevated risk of contracting Type II diabetes. Thyroid and other metabolic disorders can also be identified with this test, as well as abnormally low Vitamin D and/or calcium levels.
• Ketones – This test will measure the number of ketones in your urine. High levels can indicate the presence of diabetes or an excess of high glycemic index foods in your diet.
• Liver Panel – When people are obese, there is a strong correlation between high enzyme levels produced by the kidney. This test can also identify long-term damage to the kidneys.
• Serum Iron – This test measures the level of iron in your blood. Low levels may indicate anemia, iron deficiency due to dietary or other causes, as well as other forms of malnutrition.
• Lipid Profile – This is the test that measures the various forms of cholesterol in your blood, an important marker for tracking and monitoring your overall health.
• Serum Magnesium – This test can identify problems related to a loss of magnesium which can occur due to malnutrition, the consumption of diuretics (which include “water pills”), and excessive use of laxatives.
• Serum Phosphorous – Consuming too many diuretic drinks (which includes soft drinks, coffee, and tea) can lead to low calcium levels. High levels of phosphorous in the bloodstream can result from overusing common antacid products.
• Amylase Test – Performed on urine samples, the amylase test can reveal damage to the pancreas and/or salivary glands.
• Thyroid Panel – This test can reveal problems with the thyroid gland, including hypothyroidism (low levels of hormones produced by the thyroid glands). The thyroid is the “control center” of the body’s metabolic function, and can play a key role in difficulty losing weight.
• Transthyretin – Also referred to sometimes as prealbumin test, this can reveal certain deficiencies in the liver and the thyroid glands, as well as some forms of malnutrition.

It is also recommended that anyone visiting a diet lab get a standard check-up where vital signs are measured. These include blood pressure, pulse rate, and your temperature. Abnormal vital signs may indicate a fever, inflammation, dehydration and issues relating to blood pressure .

How Much Do Tests at a Diet Lab Cost?

Every diet lab charges different prices for their services. The tests listed above require just a small blood sample and/or urine sample but many diet labs send their blood work and/or urinalysis work to a third-party laboratory. In some cases, these tests may be covered by existing health insurance. Always check with your insurance provider for the exact details about which tests have partial or complete coverage.

Interpreting Your Diet Lab Results

The internet is replete with advice about how to interpret the results of your diet lab work but only a medical professional or nutritionist can give you an accurate diagnosis of the current state of your health. Working with the results of your diet lab tests, you and your nutritionist or healthcare professional can then develop a diet and exercise routine to help you succeed in losing weight and enjoying a healthier life.

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Government Insurance

Depending on who you are, where you live, your status, and income, you may be eligible for government insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, refers to a kind of regulated marketplace where insurance plans are sold to the general public. For most people today, insurance coverage is now mandatory, and the Obamacare plans are what people must choose if they are not otherwise covered by another plan.

The federal government also offers three other insurance-type plans for eligible people: Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.

Medicare has been around since 1966, and is a form of insurance offered to anyone over the age of 65. Although Medicare is administered through the government, the actual coverage is provided through a network of about 30 private companies. Medicare is further subdivided into four categories: A, B, C, and D, which refer to which kinds of healthcare are provided.

Medicaid is a form of government health insurance that is available for people with very low incomes, or who qualify due to other circumstances like disabilities or being a pregnant woman. Unlike Medicare, Medicaid is jointly administered and funded by both the federal government and the state government where the person resides.

CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Plan) is a form of insurance coverage offered to otherwise uninsured children, and to families with otherwise uninsured children. Formerly administered at the state level, since 1997, CHIP is now a jointly operated federal and state program similar to Medicaid.

There are strict rules about when, and for how long, a person can enroll in or be eligible for government insurance plans.

Commercial Insurance

Any kind of insurance coverage not offered or administered by the government is a form of commercial insurance. Private, for-profit companies sell these plans to eligible customers for a monthly fee known as a premium. Generally speaking, most commercial insurance plans fall into the following categories:

• HMO – Healthcare is coordinated through a primary care physician, and treatment centers and providers are grouped into a network.
• PPO – The customer chooses where to get treatment, with treatment inside the network being significantly cheaper than treatment received outside the network.
• EPO – The customer chooses where to get treatment, but usually has to pay full price (out of pocket) for any treatment received outside the coverage network.

Most commercial insurance plans can be bought at any time, and a person can opt out of continuing coverage whenever they want.

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What is Health Insurance Coinsurance?

Depending on your health insurance, you may be required to pay some of the costs of any treatment you receive. Depending on how you pay, and when, there are different terms:

• Deductible – This is how much you have to pay before your insurance “kicks in”. If your deductible is $500, and the cost of treatment is $800, you would pay $500 while your insurance company would pay $300. But if the cost of your treatment is $300, you’d have to pay for all of that yourself.
• Copay – This is when you have to pay a set fee for certain services. If your copay for medication is $20, and your medication costs $100, you’d pay $20 and your insurance company would pay $80. If your medication costs $22, you’d pay $20 and your insurance company would pay $2.
• Coinsurance – After the threshold for the deductible has been met, coinsurance is what percentage you have to pay of the rest of the costs for treatment.

Imagine a plan like this: your deductible is $500, and your coinsurance plan is 10%. You go see a doctor and the total bill is $1000.

$500 – you pay as the deductible, leaving a remainder of $500. Since your coinsurance plan is set at 10%, you pay 10% of the remaining costs ($500), which is $50. Therefore, in this example, your total cost would be $550 while your insurance company would pay the remaining $450.

The easiest way to think of coinsurance is that you are responsible for paying a percentage of the total costs, in effectively “insuring yourself” together with (co-) the insurance company.

Many insurance plans have different coinsurance rules depending on whether you receive treatment inside the coverage network or outside. Therefore, a doctor’s visit inside your network might have a coinsurance percentage at the lower rate, while a visit to a specialist outside the network carries a higher coinsurance percentage.

Pros and Cons of Coinsurance

The overwhelming benefit of coinsurance plans is that they usually carry lower monthly premiums. The downside is that you will always be responsible for a percentage of your treatments, which can sometimes be exorbitantly expensive.

Benefits:

• Lower monthly premiums
• Lower deductibles (sometimes)
• Sometimes more treatment options and specialist care is offered

Risks:

• Coverage outside the network has a higher coinsurance percentage rate
• You will have to pay a percentage of potentially very expensive treatment
• In some circumstances, you may be paying more of the total costs than your insurance company

It’s important to always carefully read and understand the details of any insurance plan before enrolling.

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When it comes to choosing health insurance plans, one of the most important things to consider is the deductible. With any insurance policy, a deductible is the amount you must pay out of pocket before the insurance provider will pay for anything. While not every insurance plan includes deductibles, more than 80% of them do, so knowing which one is right for you is important. Many insurance plans are categorized by having a low deductible, meaning you only pay a little before the insurer begins to play, or a high deductible, which can be quite substantial. But because the premiums (costs) of high deductible insurance plans are lower, it can be a wise choice for some people.

The Benefits of a High Deductible Plan

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What is HMO insurance?

Starting in the 1970s, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) began offering health coverage based on an in-house network of providers.

Essentially, what makes an HMO unique is that you start by choosing a primary care physician (PCP), usually a general practitioner. Everything else, outside of emergencies, goes through that doctor. For instance, if you develop a rash, first you visit your PCP and then get a referral to an in-network dermatologist.

With most HMO plans, health services for women such as a visit to the obstetrician or gynecologist is also provided without first needing to get a referral from your PCP.

HMO plans are usually the most comprehensive insurance plans today, as your doctor has a wider range of care specialists to which you can be referred for treatment. In general, HMO plans have a higher premium than EPO or PPO plans, but are quite popular because all of your healthcare is coordinated through a single individual.

Approximately 40% of insurance plans today are HMOs.

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Dates

Although the changes will take place effective for 2016, there are a number of important dates that start in 2015.

• November 1, 2015 – The beginning of Open Enrollment for 2016. Coverage will begin on January 1, 2016.
• December 15, 2015 – The last day to enroll or change your plan for coverage beginning on January 1, 2016.
• January 1, 2016 – Coverage begins for people who enrolled or changed their plans between Nov 1 and Dec 15, 2015
• December 16, 2015 – Any enrollment or changes will take effect February 1, 2016
• January 15, 2016 – The last day to enroll or change a plan, with coverage beginning on February 1, 2016
• January 16-January 31, 2016 – Enrollments or changes in this period will take effect beginning on March 1, 2016
• January 31, 2016 – The last day of Open Enrollment for coverage in the year 2016.

Anyone who fails to enroll by January 31 will be ineligible for coverage unless they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

Note: There are no restrictions as to when you can enroll in Medicaid or CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). Applications are accepted at any time.

Special Enrollment Period

People who have undergone certain major life changes may be eligible to enroll in Obamacare outside of the normal enrollment periods. A Special Enrollment Period gives you 60 days from the event in which to enroll or change your plan.

You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period:

• If you get married
• When you have a baby
• If you lose a member of your household
• If you gain a member in your household
• You lost your health coverage

Note: you must report these life changes to the Marketplace to qualify for a Special Enrollment Period

Note: if you get hired on at a new job, you have 30 days to enroll in a plan.

Non-Enrollment Penalties

If you do not have any health coverage for 2016, you will be required to pay a fee to the government. This is determined by whichever of the following is the highest:

Either:

1. 2.5% of your yearly household income (as long as you exceed the filing threshold, which is about $10,000 per individual adult); OR
2. $695 per adult, or $347.50 per child under the age of 18.

The maximum fine assessed will be:

1. The national average premium for a Bronze plan; OR
2. $2,085 per family

Note: certain hardship exemptions exist for people who don’t have health insurance. These include:

• Being homeless
• Being evicted from your home in the past 6 months
• Receiving a shut-off notice from a utility company
• Being the victim of domestic violence
• The death of a close family member
• Surviving a fire, flood, or disaster that caused substantial damage to your property
• A bankruptcy in the past 6 months
• Unpaid medical expenses from the previous 24 months that resulted in substantial debt
• Increased necessary expenses for providing care for a family member
• Your state failed to expand eligibility for Medicaid, and you were determined ineligible for Medicaid
• Your individual insurance plan was cancelled

Note: hardship exemptions are temporary, and usually only cover the month previous to, the month after, and the duration of the hardship. You must contact the Marketplace in order to qualify for a hardship exemption.

Being Unemployed

No one is automatically exempted from the requirement to obtain health insurance just because they are unemployed. If you are unemployed but do not obtain health insurance, you will be fined.

However, certain people with low (or no) income may qualify for an exemption.

Catastrophic Coverage

If you successfully qualify for a hardship exemption, you will be able to obtain a catastrophic coverage plan regardless of your age or income. This will protect you from certain medical costs. If you qualify for a hardship exemption, you’ll be given an Exemption Certificate Number (ECN) to use when buying the plan from an insurance company.

Premium Prices

Currently, 37 states are participating in the federal Obamacare Marketplace. While prices vary from state to state, the latest figures estimate that premium prices will rise 7.5% across the board for the year 2016.

The changes, however, vary widely from certain states and metropolitan areas. Recently published figures show that residents and Oklahoma and Montana will see their premiums rise as much as 35%, while residents of Indiana will benefit from a 13% drop in prices.

Many of the other 13 states rely on separate ACA insurance marketplaces, with premiums expected to rise a modest 2% on average.

Government press releases emphasize that approximately 90% of people enrolling in an Obamacare plan are eligible for tax credits, which will reduce their total cost.

Mandatory Employer Participation in Obamacare

After being delayed for years, the Employer Shared Responsibility provision of Obamacare will finally take effect in 2016. The regulations require that any company with 50 or more full-time employees must offer their workers and dependent children affordable insurance coverage or face substantial financial penalties.

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