Does Medicare Cover Urine Tests

Does Medicare Cover Urine Tests? 

When you think of Original Medicare, you may think of two different segments: Part A and Part B. Your personal Medicare eligibility is based upon your citizenship, age, and in certain cases, your disability. The majority of Medicare recipients don’t pay a premium for Medicare Part A coverage. Instead, the costs are covered by the taxes you paid throughout your working years.

Medicare Part B coverage establishes a standard monthly premium. Depending on circumstances, your premium can go up or down from the standard cost. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees is $148.50 for 2021. 

For Medicare recipients, Part A covers inpatient hospital care and care in skilled nursing facilities, excluding long-term or custodial care. Medicare Part A will also cover hospice care.

The Medicare benefits under Part B are:

• Outpatient care
• Home health services
• Doctor visits
• Durable medical equipment (DME)
• Lab tests

Laboratory testing and your Medicare benefits

Medicare Part B provides coverage for medically necessary clinical diagnostic laboratory tests that are ordered by a medical practitioner or physician. The test results from urinalysis, tissue specimens, blood tests and screening tests help doctors diagnose conditions and rule out serious potential medical issues.

There are usually not any out-of-pocket expenses for diagnostic tests. Your physician’s office insurance specialist or administrator simply submits a claim to Medicare for the service. The lab then submits their own separate claim for analyzing the test sample. They can do this because the insurance specialist shares your medical information with the lab so that they can file directly with Medicare.

The Reason for Urine Tests

Urine tests, otherwise known as urinalysis, are standard tests that patients typically undergo as a part of routine preventive examinations. Most annual checkups will include a urinalysis so that your doctor can screen you for, and diagnose or monitor certain diseases, such as:

• Diabetes
• Liver disorders
• Kidney disorders
• Urinary tract infections (UTIs)

The typical urine sample size is about one to two ounces.

Urine is produced by the kidneys, which has a regulatory function. This is why the contents of urine can help reveal important health markers for certain disorders. The job of your kidneys is to retain components that your body can reuse. The kidneys then set into motion the elimination of components that the body no longer needs.

Kidneys draw the waste out of your blood. Certain substances that shouldn’t typically show up in urine can be a sign of unusual elevations of substances in the body and blood. Urinalysis is one of the best ways to discover elements in urine that shouldn’t be there at all, or that are at irregular levels.

How to prepare for a urine test

Prior to providing a urine sample for your test, talk to your doctor about any medications or non-prescription supplements you’re currently taking. Also keep in mind that the initial morning urine void is normally a most concentrated sample and yields more accurate results.

However, if your urine test is required to address a potential medical issue (not a simple routine screening), confirm with your doctor the best time of the day for you to produce a sample. Their preference could depend on the findings they anticipate. In other words, make sure you allow your doctor to guide you for the most accurate test results.

If you want to learn more about the detection process involved with urine tests, why they’re ordered and how doctors interpret their results, check out Lab Tests Online. This is a program directly under the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC).