What Allergy Testing Costs in Des Moines Without Insurance

Try to find out what allergy testing costs in the Des Moines area. Go ahead and search for it. You'll get page after page explaining why allergy testing is valuable, and almost none that give you a number.

Call a clinic and ask directly, and you'll hear some version of "it depends on your plan," or "we'd have to run your benefits." That's technically true. It doesn't help you decide whether you can afford an appointment.

We publish our prices, so this post can just tell you what things cost and how the billing works. As far as we can tell, no other allergy practice in the Des Moines area publishes any prices at all.

Why nobody will quote you a price

Clinics aren't hiding something. In an insurance-billed practice the price genuinely isn't knowable up front, because what you pay depends on things nobody at the front desk can see.

• Your deductible, how much you've met, and your coinsurance after that.
• Whether the clinic is in network with your specific plan, which isn't the same as being in network with your insurance company.
• How many codes get billed, since the consultation, each testing panel and each procedure are usually billed separately.
• Whether the clinic sits inside a hospital system that adds a facility fee.

That's why one allergy visit can produce three or four separate bills over the following two months, and why "it depends" is the only honest answer a billing department can give.

How Allergenix is set up differently

Allergenix is a direct specialty care practice. Nothing is billed to insurance, by us or on your behalf. You pay the clinic directly, at a price published before you book. Three things follow from that.

The evaluation prices are bundled. One fee covers the consultation, the testing indicated that day, and a written plan you take home. There's no separate charge for having results explained, because reviewing them is part of the appointment rather than a second one.

There's no facility fee. We're an independent clinic, not a hospital outpatient department, so no building charge sits on top of the visit.

You know the number before you arrive. The full list lives on our pricing page and doesn't change based on what card you're carrying.

What each evaluation costs

Each bundled evaluation includes the consultation, the indicated testing and a written plan, scheduled for 45 to 60 minutes unless noted.

• Environmental Allergy Evaluation — $450.: Pollen, dust mite, mold and pet work-up.
• Asthma Evaluation & Phenotyping — $450.: Includes the full environmental evaluation, so you don't need both. Spirometry, FeNO and bronchodilator responsiveness at no charge.
• Food Allergy Evaluation — $425.: All indicated foods for one fee, including an anaphylaxis action plan.
• Antibiotic Allergy De-Labeling Program — $499.: Skin and oral challenge testing to remove unconfirmed antibiotic allergy labels. In person only.
• Chronic Hives & Swelling Evaluation — $400.: Work-up for recurrent hives and swelling.
• Eczema & Atopic Dermatitis Evaluation — $475.: Contact allergy is evaluated separately with patch testing.
• Allergic Contact Dermatitis Evaluation (Patch Testing) — $599.: Three visits over one week. In person only.
• Stinging Insect (Venom) Allergy Evaluation — $400.: Six venoms from a single blood draw.

You can also pay for pieces individually: a New Patient Consultation is $225, a follow-up visit is $175, environmental allergy skin testing alone is $225, a supervised oral food challenge is $399 for a four to five hour appointment, and delayed hypersensitivity patch testing for existing patients is $499. For most people the bundled evaluation costs less than assembling the same visit piece by piece.

Treatment costs, if you get that far

Treatment is a separate decision. These prices are flat, with follow-ups included and no per-injection or serum preparation fees.

• Sublingual immunotherapy (allergy drops under the tongue), environmental:: $1,900 per year, within a three to five year program.
• Food sublingual immunotherapy:: $1,600 per food, flat.
• Venom immunotherapy:: $2,500 per year, one fee however many venoms are treated.
• RapImmune:: $3,500 flat, one time, financing available. Three ultrasound-guided injections over about eight weeks, environmental allergens only.
• Biologic therapy coordination:: $800 per year flat, with the drug billed to your prescription benefit rather than by us.

One important note on RapImmune. The allergen extracts are FDA-approved, but injecting them into a lymph node is not an FDA-approved route and is used off-label, and the evidence base is smaller and more mixed than for longer-established routes such as sublingual drops. It's used for environmental allergens only, never for foods and never for insect venom. We'll walk through that trade-off with you rather than around it.

What isn't included

A few things sit outside the bundled prices, and we'd rather you hear it here than at checkout.

• Outside lab work and imaging.: Both are quoted separately before they're ordered.
• Medications.: Prescriptions go through your pharmacy benefit as usual.
• Specialized allergy testing.: Less common testing is priced on inquiry.

Two things cost nothing extra: telehealth visits are the same price as in person, and lung function testing including spirometry, FeNO and bronchodilator responsiveness carries no charge as part of your evaluation.

Paying with HSA or FSA funds

Allergy testing and treatment are medical care, so health savings account and flexible spending account funds can generally be used here. The IRS lists qualifying medical expenses in Publication 502, and we'll give you an itemized receipt with the codes your plan administrator needs.

If you have a high-deductible plan, this is worth doing the math on. Paying $450 from an HSA for a complete evaluation is often less than paying toward a deductible for a visit that generates several bills.

There's also a membership, if you use us often

The Allergenix Membership Program is $99 per month with no contract, built for people who need ongoing access rather than a single evaluation. If you leave and come back later, there's a $300 re-enrollment fee. It doesn't apply to patients on active immunotherapy, since those programs already include follow-up visits in the flat annual price.

Direct pay isn't right for everyone

This is the part most practices leave off a pricing page, so we'll say it plainly. If you have good coverage, a low deductible you've already met, and an in-network allergist with availability, you will probably pay less out of pocket there than you would here. That's a real comparison and you should make it.

Direct pay tends to make sense when you have a high-deductible plan you haven't met, when you want the total before you commit, when you've waited months for an appointment elsewhere, or when you've had a routine visit turn into a bill you didn't expect.

What we can promise is the number. Whether it's right for your situation is yours to decide.

Common questions about paying out of pocket

Can I submit your receipt to my insurance for reimbursement?

You can try, and some patients do get partial reimbursement under out-of-network benefits. We provide an itemized superbill with diagnosis and procedure codes on request. We can't predict what a plan will do with it, and we don't submit claims or handle appeals, so treat reimbursement as a possible bonus rather than part of your budget.

Do I pay the whole amount at the visit?

Payment is due at the time of service, and the bundled price is the full price for that evaluation. You won't get a bill in the mail weeks later for the same visit. Financing is available specifically for RapImmune, and you can ask the office about options if a treatment program is a stretch.

Does a telehealth visit cost less than coming in?

No, telehealth is the same price as an in-person visit, because it's the same physician time and the same written plan. What differs is what can be done. Skin testing, patch testing, oral challenges and lung function testing all require an in-office visit, so some evaluations are in person only.

Do I need a referral to be seen?

No referral is needed. Since we don't bill insurance, there's no plan requiring a gatekeeper visit before you can see a specialist. You can enroll as a new patient directly and schedule, which is usually a matter of days rather than months.

1. Internal Revenue Service — Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p502

Now that you have the numbers, you can decide rather than guess. Questions about which evaluation fits your situation are welcome before you book anything. Call Allergenix in West Des Moines at 515-644-8448. No referral is needed, and nothing is billed to insurance.