Hello, I am currently in Diagnostic limbo.. my initial MG panel came back negative, but now we are going to run a Musk panel, especially since I have the characteristic tongue of Musk+MG.. I have read on here that having Athena labs run the tests seems to be most sensitive, my neuromuscular dr said that he would gladly run it with that lab, however it may end up being very expensive (my insurance covers out of network labs, but not as much as in network of course). Does anyone have experience with Athena labs, their insurance not covereing it and having the MG or MUSK panel run with them- his nurse made it sound like it was going to be extremely expensive, but we really need answers and it would be nice to have more faith in the lab running the tests!!!

Hi, I work in a hospital Lab so I am familiar with Athena in that it is a specialty laboratory. We stopped sending samples to them because of the billing issues. Yes, they are very expensive due to the proprietary nature of some of their tests.

Just to clarify... the vast majority of labs that your blood work is sent to will give you a quality result. All labs must undergo rigorous inspections and quality issues will shut down a lab faster than anything. You can be confident that even if your doctor does not send the test to Athena, you will get a quality result. I'm not sure if your doc is looking for a test that is ONLY done at Athena, but there are plenty of other labs that will provide comprehensive testing for MG. We use ARUP lab in Utah as a reference lab and they are very good, but others are excellent as well.
Good luck.

Hi! I had a MUSK test done through Athena. Athena Diagnostics has a patient protection program for patients whose insurance does not contract with the lab. I used this plan to cover the cost of the MUSK testing. I think it turned out to be about $120 for my cost. They also billed my insurance and they covered at a non-network cost, but I didn't have to pay any additional costs. I also had a mitochondrial test done by Athena, that wasn't available at any other lab. I also used the patient protection plan for this. I think the patient is responsible for 20% of the cost of the test or $500, whichever is less. If you want more information about this plan it's available on their website. Plus your neurologist's office should be able to provide information about it. I hope this information helps you. I didn't feel the cost I paid for the MUSK test was out of line.

Cate

Thank yall both so much, I REALLY appreciate yalls time to reply!
Violet, thank you that is good to know!!! I worried after the lab that my insurance is contracted through made some mistakes and lost some samples etc.. and then my ANA test that was done through there lab (though it was about 4 months ago was vastly different than the one I had last week at the univerisity) however My symptoms have dramatically worsened, so it could just be in relation to that for the ANA...

Catie- thank you.. We talked to our insurance and Athena labs.. they are saying they are the ONLY ones that run the Musk test.. that they have a patent on it.. I would think Mayo would also run it, but maybe they send it out to athena too?? I talked to my insurance lab as well, and they confirmed they send it out to Athena.. THANK YOU for the info regarding the payment help, that will defintely come in handy!!!! The musk test is NOT cheap at all, but we need to find an answer for all of this maddness!!!
SPeaking of the mitochondrial testing- can yall tell me anything more about mitochondrial disorder? Is there a serum lab instead of muscle biopsy that can test for it? All I can find online is when it affects newborns/kids etc.. Someone had told me to look into that as it would not show up on EMG (i haven't had a SFEMG yet though). THank you!

I don't know much about mitochondrial disorders--only that there are a lot of different ones. They were testing me for Chronic Progressive External Ophthalmoplegia (CPEO), which affects the eyes and may affect other systems. Previously the diagnosis could only be confirmed by muscle biopsy. The blood test for the disorder has been around for only a year. I think Athena is the only lab in the country that performs the testing. My results were helpful with planning my course of treatment since my MG presentation has been a bit atypical. You're welcome to PM me if you have more questions.

I hope you're able to find answers soon.
Cate

thank you so much catie!! I will ask them about that tomorrow (i'm in the hospital doing a trial of IVIG) .. they sent the Musk test and a lot of others out today. Thank you!!