Did You Receive A Cologuard Kit That You Did Not Order?

How It Begins

Did you receive a Cologuard test from Exact Sciences Laboratories that you didn’t order? More importantly, did you get one that your doctor or primary care physician didn’t order for you? If so, you’re not alone.

It may first start with a phone call with a number that you don’t recognize. So, you don’t answer the phone – with all the scams going around, this is commonly recommended phone practice nowadays . The caller then leaves a message indicating that your doctor has ordered a Cologuard that will be shipped to you.

When the package arrives during the next week, you might check with your doctor, who probably knows nothing about this order. This is what happened to my wife. Then I received the same phone message and expect to receive my kit

soon.

Who Is Receiving These Kits?

What’s going on? Apparently there are quite a few people this is happening to. Read about it at the Better Business Bureau website here.

Actually, the more important concern of many of these individuals is “How did they get my phone number and address? And who knows what other information about me they have? Who gave my information to them if my doctor didn’t?” There are definitely some privacy issues here
Note that I am not trying to disparage the value of the kit and any medical benefits from it. Nor do I want to be critical of any cancer screening methods. Just the way Exact Sciences Laboratories may be going about getting customers.

Why Are They Sending Them Out?

I seriously doubt it’s the same marketing plan razor companies had many years ago – give away the razors for free because you make the money selling people the blades. Actually, printer manufacturers do the same thing. They sell you a printer almost at cost because they know the money is in selling you ink over and over later on.

But an unsolicited colon cancer stool test is something that goes beyond just the individual receiving the product. And many people are upset with Exact Sciences as you’ll notice If you read the stories at the BBB website. Some of these folks had recent colonoscopies, which I’ve been told by my physician, are good for ten years.

According to ESL’s response to the BBB, “Currently, the test can only be ordered for individuals with a prescription from a physician.” Obviously, this is not the case. They also mention that nobody should be billed anything if the kit is not used. These tests are valued at about $600 and anyone thinking of using it had better see if it is covered by their insurance first.

Your Insurance May Not Cover Everything

it is very possible that – even if the test is covered – medical insurance may not cover for the follow up recommended colonoscopy should the test show positive (even a false positive). In other words, if a colonoscopy is done first for diagnostic purposes it may be covered. If a stool test is done first for diagnostic purposes, insurance may not cover for the colonoscopy afterwards. You need to check with your health care providers before doing any of these. Your providers might not even want to cover Cologuard.

What To Do First

So, if a Cologuard is shipped to you and you don’t know why or didn’t order it, what should you do? Well first of all, don’t use it without checking with your primary care doctor. My medical provider uses the OC-Plus system and that’s what my medical plan pays for – even though it may not be the best type of cancer screening out there.

The Difference Between Both Test Types

The OC-Plus system checks for blood in the stool in order to determine if further testing is needed. There is another very similar product called FIT.

As we all know there are no other ways to get blood in the digestive system besides having cancer – or is there? My new electric toothbrush warned that there could be gum bleeding when first used. Flossing or professional teeth cleaning causes blood. How about accidentally biting the tongue? Certain foods can falsely simulate this. There are no warning about these or any any other concerns on the test instructions. I’ve heard that this test is much less expensive than the Cologuard one – a reason why some health groups and insurances recommend them instead. Usually this test is recommended on a yearly basis.

Cologuard uses DNA to check for colon cancer and recommends doing at three year intervals. Of course, they get false positives or negatives from time to time also. Now, I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you which is best for you. But that’s the point here – check with your physician before doing any testing – even for a colonoscopy (which could be considered as a third type of screening test). Don’t assume that just because a kit was shipped to you, that your physician wants you to use it. Ask first.

If You Don’t Use The Kit, Then What?

So what do you do with the kit if your doctor didn’t prescribe it?

You can send it back if you’d like to. Exact Sciences will handle the postage.

You don’t have to send it back though. According to the FTC if you receive something you haven’t ordered you can just keep it. You will not be charged for anything. Read about this FTC policy here.

Your Thoughts

Do you agree or disagree with any of my suggestions? Is there anything I’ve missed. Would you like to add a point for everyone? Please, comment below with your opinion.

This consumer story kind of deviates from my usual posts about posters. However, if an issue arises in my life that could potentially be a concern for many others, I feel the need to share it. This is especially true if it affects senior citizens like yours truly.

As long as you’re here, why not check out some of my featured posters. If one of them resonates with you, click on it and go to the Desert Square store on ETSY to purchase it.

Check this post out – It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they’ve been fooled

This author does not endorse, recommend, or recommend against using any of the products in this post and is not receiving any money or compensation from any company or organization mentioned. He also encourages everyone to follow their doctor’s recommendations.

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