Can health insurance plans integrate DAT services into health savings accounts?
If yes, how? Ellicott City, MD Bruce A. Friedman, M.D: DAT is so new that it is not yet on the radar screens of most of the health insurance plans. I believe that some of them will begin to offer DAT to their subscribers in the near future as a relatively low cost health maintenance benefit. However, they will need to move carefully in order to avoid a backlash from community physicians who may view DAT as a usurpation of their authority and responsibility. If the tests that are offered are relatively common and have value for disease surveillance, the majority of phycicians will hopefully view DAT as a benefit to the community. DAT integrates well with health savings accounts. A small number of dollars in the health savings account could be specifically earmarked yearly for DAT at specified labs with local drawing patient service centers offering the blood drawing services, with the specimens then transported to the performing labs. We serve a relatively older population who I think i
