# Sleep study at sleep clinic - terribly expensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 27, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401 "2016-03-27T22:11:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/1 "2016-03-27T22:11:36Z")
I’m considering visiting a sleep clinic for my big sleep issues - but have no idea of cost. Would it take several nights and be horrifically expensive? (Assume that insurance won’t cover) ---
**Author:** ![pidgeon92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@pidgeon92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pidgeon92)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/2 "2016-03-27T22:30:14Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’m considering visiting a sleep clinic for my big sleep issues - but have no idea of cost. Would it take several nights and be horrifically expensive? (Assume that insurance won’t cover) It’s one night. I believe the cost is about $2500 if not covered by insurance. I had mine about ten years ago, and United Healthcare covered all of the costs. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/3 "2016-03-28T00:42:41Z")
Some clinics will give you an O2 monitor to wear when you sleep. It is usually free. This will indicate if you are O2 deficient while sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/4 "2016-03-28T00:51:53Z")
Ask your doctor what the costs are up front. There are overnight studies and there are studies where you take the machine home with you. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/5 "2016-03-28T06:05:04Z")
“Sleep Study” can be any one of a number of tests. Mine was last year at a clinic set up to process UC patients like cattle - very efficient money-sucking operation. One night, hooked to about a dozen wires + band around bottom of rib cage (diaphragm muscle). I was allowed to use my own meds and was awakened once to be fitted with the CPAP permanently attached to nightstand. A quick check of my medical records indicates at least one bill for the night was $500.00. My Medicare Part B + Plan F back-stop policy covered 100%, so I may not have kept all records. Find out exactly WHAT test are indicated, and call the proposed clinic. As a matter of practice, it seems that “Sleep Studies” are done by stand-alone businesses - your PCP is not involved - it is just like a prescription - the MD orders it but an entirely different company actually sells you the pills. (no, I do NOT want to hear about Pharmacies which are run by the Doctor’s Office (actually, the corporation running the MD’s office)). ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/6 "2016-03-28T09:52:45Z")
I inquired about the costs of having one done years ago but couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone about whether it would be cheap or _very_ expensive so I didn’t do it. If not covered by insurance, it was a couple of thousand dollars. I was on her Blues plan but HQ for her (large) company was in Chicago, so policy was from BC/BS of Illinois & the sleep study lab was in physically located in the hospital near me. There was an argument to be made that I would be an overnight patient in the hospital, which would have made it about $60 cost to me; there was also an argument that it was an outpatient procedure, just one done overnight & therefore it wasn’t covered. The sleep lab stated we know what we charge but can’t tell you what your insurance will cover. BC/BS-IL stated that it was handled by BC/BS in my state & therefore didn’t know how much would be covered. BC/BS-my state said they’re essentially forwarding onto BC/BS-IL for final payment & couldn’t tell me either. :smack: End result is I never did get it done, but then the (supposed) snoring didn’t bother _me_ while I was sleeping, either. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/7 "2016-03-28T15:02:10Z")
If it’s covered by your insurance, it can be fairly inexpensive, but that depends on your copays and deductibles and etc etc… You can also ask them about doing a sleep study at home - they don’t want to, because it’s less money for them (sleep studies are very lucrative business) but it’s a lot cheaper, and the results for many issues are just as valid if you do the study right. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/8 "2016-03-28T15:38:46Z")
Mine was covered by insurance. But it was a lot of money. I remember in particular the doc who glanced over the EKG charts charged something like $400 for a few minutes of work. If you’re paying for it yourself, you have to make triply sure that no other doc gets in on the thing without your _prior_ permission. Some docs browse around looking for something and ask some intern “Mind if I take a look at that?” and then charge for a consultation. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/9 "2016-03-30T01:58:52Z")
As to what is involved in a sleep study, here’s a thread I wrote describing a [Sleep Study](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=231134) I had in 2003. I had another a couple of years ago at a different hospital in New York with a facility where they had rooms for the patients that were very similar to hotel rooms – with none of the computers or other monitoring equipment visible to the patients – and where the techs came into the room to hook the sensors up to you. Other than that, it was a very similar experience. As to the cost, I believe that my insurance covered it, perhaps excluding the co-pay. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleep-study-at-sleep-clinic-terribly-expensive/750401/10 "2016-03-30T02:34:57Z")
> [@My night at Bellevue -- or people get paid to watch me snore.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-night-at-bellevue-or-people-get-paid-to-watch-me-snore/220790/12): > > As to the CPAP machine, since I’m not in a relationship right now, I was thinking of how whether there would be some suave way a New York bachelor could address the issue with a young woman with whom he was about to share overnight lodgings for the first time. Fortunately, that does not seem to be an issue I’ll be facing right now. :: drops dead laughing :: Hands off, ladies. He’s been married for almost 10 years now. (But not to me. That would just be gross. And illegal.)