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IGeneX is committed to providing doctors and patients with the most accurate and up-to-date information when assessing tick-borne testing. Please read the following questions regarding payment, insurance, our testing procedures, and more. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at 1-800-832-3200.

Home » Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

General

Yes. Many studies have shown tick-borne diseases are present across the world. IGeneX has detected patients from over 50 countries worldwide.

Yes and no. There are tick-borne diseases in every state, but not every tick-borne disease is in every state. Lyme disease, the most widespread TBD, is found in all 50 states, as is Babesia. Please refer to these tick-borne disease maps for more information.

Yes, all IGeneX tests undergo strict validation studies.

No, IGeneX only offers testing. However, we offer many helpful articles on treatments for tick-borne diseases.

IGeneX stores samples for two months from draw date, except for tests #488 and #489, which are three months from the draw date. Tick samples are stored for two months. FISH slides (Whole Blood) are stored for 30 days. IgXSpot and culture enhanced PCRs are not available for add-on requests.

Billing

  • IGeneX does not accept assignment from or submit claims to insurance companies except for patients who have Medicare – Medical (Part B) coverage.
  • Medicare Part B payments may be made directly to patients; patients will be responsible for reimbursing IGeneX for any payments they receive and for any services that are not covered by Medicare.
  • IGeneX will send you an itemized statement of charges. The statement lists the services you received, along with the amount charged, and the CPT (procedure) codes.

 

Each health insurance policy is different. To ensure that you will be reimbursed for services rendered at IGeneX, we recommend you contact your health insurance carrier for benefit-specific information in advance.

Please refer to the IGeneX price list for test descriptions and CPT (procedure) codes click here.

IGeneX has started to take test kit deposits in order to streamline the ordering and processing of both your test kits as well as your samples. This deposit will be deducted from the total cost of test(s). In order to receive credit for the deposit against the cost of testing, please use the original test requisition form received with the kit. (Copies will not be accepted)

Test Kit Deposit Refund Policy
The $20 test kit deposit is non-refundable under the following conditions:

  1. Unused Test Kit
  2. Expired Test Kit
  3. Test(s) Cancellation

Additional insurance billing information is needed. Please fax a copy of front and back of your Primary Healthcare Insurance card to (650) 424-1196 or mail to the address below:

IGeneX, Inc.
Attn: Billing Department
556 Gibraltar Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035

You may receive an IGeneX patient statement for a variety of reasons, for example:

  • The service you received may not be covered by your Medicare or Medicare (Senior) Advantage Plan for the following reasons:
    1. This is a non-covered service because it is a routine/preventive exam or a diagnosis/screening procedure done in conjunction with a routine preventive exam
    2. Procedure is not deemed medical necessity
    3. Payment is denied when performed/billed by this type of provider
    4. The referring provider is not eligible to refer the service billed
    5. Expenses incurred prior to coverage
  • You may have a copayment, coinsurance or deductible for your services rendered at IGeneX

 

Please make payment to IGeneX using one of the following methods:

  • Contact IGeneX Billing Department at (800) 832-3200, Option 4.
  • Mail your payment to the address shown on your statement. Please remember to attach the stub from your invoice when mailing in your payment. If pay by check, please make check payable to IGeneX, Inc.

 

IGeneX will accept patients with Medicare Part B (Medical) Coverage. To ensure coverage on your services rendered at IGeneX, your ordering/referring physician must also be eligible to refer Medicare patients. Your ordering/referring physician must meet the following three requirements:

  • Have an individual National Provider Identifier (NPI)
  • Be enrolled in PECOS with either an “approved” or an “opt-out” status.
  • Be of a specialty type that is eligible to order/refer

 

IGeneX, also accepts most Medicare Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plans offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare. Some Medicare Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) Plans may allow you to receive some out-of-network services.

To ensure benefit coverage, please contact your Medicare insurance company for benefit-specific information.

Please refer to IGeneX Payment and Billing policies for details click here .

Testing Basics

Band 31 is very specific for Lyme disease. If positive and the patient is experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease, many doctors may feel treatment is warranted.

An IgXSpot test is an enzyme-linked immunospot assay that detects human T cells reactive to borrelia/pathogen-specific antigens in vitro. It is best used in early and late stage disease.

Lyme disease, Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma

IFA indirectly detects pathogen-specific IgG or IgM antibodies in patient serum. If pathogen-specific antibodies are present in the human serum, fixed pathogen on the slide will fluoresce bright green when viewed with a fluorescent microscope.

Sample Collection

The tubes included are as follows:

Serum – Red/Gray top tube (tiger top) with gel separator
Whole Blood – Lavender top EDTA with anticoagulant
Whole Blood – Green Top Sodium Heparin

Please see the full list of contents in the Blood Collection Kit.

Most tests require a blood draw. Please see the Test Directory to learn about the sample requirement for each test.

There are no prerequisites to urine sample collection by IGeneX. However, some healthcare providers are proponents of urine antibiotic challenges prior to sample collection. Please consult with your doctor for further details.

There are many phlebotomy locations and mobile phlebotomists across the country who can draw your blood for a fee. Many hospitals will also draw blood. Please see our Blood Draw Locator for a list of more than 1000 blood draw options.

There are no required prerequisites for a blood draw for IGeneX testing.

Lyme Disease

Yes, a proper diet can reduce Lyme symptoms and lead to recovery. Please see this article for more information on proper dieting when battling Lyme disease.

Yes, Lyme disease presents differently in women, and some studies have shown that women test positive for Lyme in a greater percentage than men. Lyme can also impact reproductive health. Please see this article for more about women and Lyme.

There are approximately 476,000 cases of Lyme disease per year according to the CDC.

Lyme Disease Treatments

Talking to a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) can be helpful for treatment advice. IGeneX offers tips and insights on treatments for Lyme disease and the co-infections in our Tick Talk blog.

IGeneX has a few Tick Talk articles that discuss treatment options including natural remedies and pharmaceuticals. The CDC website is also a good place to learn more about Lyme disease treatments. Talking to your doctor is the best approach, as your doctor can take your entire clinical history into account before prescribing treatment.

Tick Borne Relapsing Fever

ImmunoBlots, PCR, BCA, and cePCR. See features and pricing in the IGeneX Test Directory.

Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, which is similar to Lyme disease, is widely considered to have been discovered in the early 1900 in Uganda. Since then, many strains of TBRF, such as B. miyamotoi, have been discovered all across the world from hard tick and soft ticks.

Both Lyme and TBRF are caused by Borrelia. These diseases also share common symptoms, making them difficult to diagnose clinically. Testing for both is generally recommended.

Culture Testing

Culturing takes 14 days. After the culture is completed, we perform PCR testing, which takes another few days. So a full culture enhanced PCR test will take approximately three weeks.

Lyme disease, Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, Bartonella, Babesia, Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma.

In culturing, a clinical sample from the body (e.g. blood) is incubated in media. During this incubation period, micro-organisms in the sample grow and multiply. The sample is then tested by PCR to identify the pathogens.

Ehrlichia

IFA, PCR, and cePCR. See features and pricing in the IGeneX Test Directory.

The first case of human ehrlichiosis was described in 1986 when a patient became ill with fever, hypotension, confusion, acute renal failure, coagulopathy, and gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The etiologic agent was identified as Ehrlichia chaffeensis. Learn more about Ehrlichia.

Anaplasma

IFA, PCR, and cePCR. See features and pricing in the IGeneX Test Directory.

The human disease was first identified in 1990, although the pathogen was defined as a veterinary agent in 1932. Learn more about Anaplasma pathogens and testing options.

Babesia

ImmunoBlots, IFA, FISH, PCR, and cePCR. See features and pricing in the IGeneX Test Directory.

The first Babesia species was discovered in 1888 by Victor Babes, a Romanian pathologist in whose honor the organisms were subsequently named. Learn more about the spread of Babesia, its symptoms, and how to test for it.

Bartonella

Yes. Cat Scratch Fever is caused by Bartonella henselae, and is known as such, as cats are known to spread the disease.

ImmunoBlots, IgXSpot, IFA, FISH, PCR, and cePCR. See features and pricing in the IGeneX Test Directory.

Bartonella was first identified in 1905 during an outbreak among workers building a railway in Peru. It is named after Peruvian scientist Alberto Leonardo Barton. Over the past 100+ years, many Bartonella pathogens have been discovered throughout the world.

Rickettsia

IFA, PCR, cePCR. See features and pricing in the IGeneX Test Directory.

Howard Ricketts (1871–1910), an associate professor of pathology at the University of Chicago in 1902, was the first to identify and study R. rickettsii. Rickettsia has evolved over the years and is sometimes referred to as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Ticks

The obvious difference is that hard ticks have a hard shell, and soft ticks have a soft shell. The more significant difference relates to the diseases each tick carries. Hard ticks can carry any tick-borne disease, whereas soft ticks mostly carry Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever pathogens. Learn more about tick basics.

Ticks are eight-legged creatures without wings or antennae that feed on host animals’ blood in order to survive to the next stage in their life cycle.

No, ticks do not fly. Ticks belong to the arachnid class – the same class as spiders.

Along with other arachnids, as well as insects, myriapods (centipedes and millipedes), and crustaceans, ticks belong to the larger group known as arthropods – invertebrates with exoskeletons, segmented bodies, and paired jointed appendages.

Most ticks feed on mammals, though some ticks can feed on reptiles such as lizards at young stages.

As mentioned above, some ticks prefer to feed on a different type of host at each stage. For example, the Eastern blacklegged tick (a.k.a. deer tick) typically feeds on something small such as a bird or rodent at the larval stage; mammals such as dogs or humans at the nymphal stage; and larger mammals such as deer or moose at the adult stage.

There are many tick-borne diseases in the U.S. besides Lyme disease. Many types of ticks, including blacklegged ticks, can spread more than one type of disease. Below are the most common diseases spread by certain types of ticks:

  • Eastern blacklegged tick/deer tick: Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, Powassan disease
  • Western blacklegged tick: Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever
  • American dog tick: Rickettsiosis, commonly called Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
  • Brown dog tick: Canine and human Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (at multiple life stages), canine Ehrlichiosis (at nymphal and adult stages), canine Babesiosis (at nymphal and adult stages)
  • Gulf Coast tick: Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, a form of spotted fever (at adult stage)
  • Lone star tick: Ehrlichiosis, Tularemia, Heartland Virus, STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness)
  • Rocky Mountain wood tick: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, Tularemia
  • Soft ticks: Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever

For more information on ticks that cause Lyme and other diseases, check out the blog A Closer Look at the Different Types of Ticks.