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Life Line Screening Review
4.6 Overall Rating
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Life Line Screening offers 27 affordable preventive health screenings to help people understand their risk for many chronic, debilitating diseases, including heart disease and stroke. We use a combination of ultrasound, limited EKG, finger-stick blood tests, and a take-home test. The company currently screens approximately 750,000 people each year, helping over 62,000 people identify non-symptomatic health risks in 2017 alone. Most of Life Line Screening’s biometric screenings are for people age 50 and over, or age 40 and over with risk factors*.
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About Life Line Screening
Life Line Screening offers 27 affordable preventive health screenings to help people understand their risk for many chronic, debilitating diseases, including heart disease and stroke. We use a combination of ultrasound, limited EKG, finger-stick blood tests, and a take-home test. The company currently screens approximately 750,000 people each year, helping over 62,000 people identify non-symptomatic health risks in 2017 alone. Most of Life Line Screening’s biometric screenings are for people age 50 and over, or age 40 and over with risk factors*.
Government research supports preventive health screenings to improve health outcomes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that over 100,000 lives could be saved each year if all U.S. citizens received preventive screenings. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends specific annual health screenings for men and women over the age of 50, many of which are offered by Life Line Screening.
Since launching in 1993, Life Line Screening is committed to serving residents of the United States with preventive health screenings. Twenty years of studies confirmed the accuracy and validity of Life Line Screening’s preventive health screenings, including those from the University of Florida (1998) Cleveland Clinic (2002), and a report by the World Congress of the International Union of Angiology (2014). Life Line Screening has its own Scientific Advisory Network, comprised of physicians, surgeons, and professors of medicine and surgery who serve as research leaders and guides in the field of preventive health screenings.
Recently, Life Line Screening began serving Medicare beneficiaries with access to advanced care planning services and annual wellness visits by licensed Nurse practitioners. Life Line Screening also offers in-home lab test kits.
Since Life Line Screening serves between 50,000 and 60,000 consumers each month, the company assists medical research centers and universities by recruiting consumers for clinical trials. At this time, Life Line Screening has partnered with more than 60 clinical trials in the areas of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis, among others.
Pros
- Detects risk for chronic health conditions before symptoms appear, and while customers can take preventive action
- Convenient, non-invasive, and affordable
Cons
- Asymptomatic screening is not covered by private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid
How do Life Line Screenings Work?
Life Line conducts health screenings in locations like community and senior centers, places of worship, civic buildings, and some businesses host screenings. These screening events go on all around the country, in 48 states.
To find events near you, start by entering your ZIP code on Life Line Screening’s website, then click the Schedule a Screening button and provide your age, height, weight, and answer a few health risk-related questions. Choose from the list of recommended preventive health screening packages shown on the website. Finally, purchase your health screenings and schedule an appointment on the site or by calling Life Line’s toll-free number.
At your screening, fully certified ultrasound technologists complete the health screenings. Life Line Screening sends results within two to three weeks via U.S. Mail, but some may be available immediately. You may also receive recommendations for further testing with your doctor, depending on your health screening results. State-licensed, board-certified physicians review all screening results after processing in a laboratory certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s CLIA regulations.
Available Tests from Life Line Screening
Life Line Screening preventive health screenings encompass five categories:
- Heart Disease and Stroke
- Liver, Kidney and Diabetes
- Cancer
- Bone and Joint
- Wellness Panels
Consumers can learn about each health screening within a category on Life Line Screening’s website, including information regarding risk factors for a disease, the effect on the body if a condition is left undetected, the body part screened for testing and the recommended age to have a health screening performed.
| Screening Test | Your Risk Factors |
|---|---|
| Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Age 50+ | Genetics, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, male gender, obesity, smoking |
| Atrial Fibrillation Age 40+ | Coronary artery disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, sleep apnea, smoking |
| Carotid Artery Disease Age: 50+ or 40+ with at least two risk factors | Diabetes, family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking |
| Chronic Kidney Disease Age: 60+ or 50+ with risk factors | Diabetes, family history, genetics, high blood pressure, race/ethnicity |
| Colorectal Cancer Age 45+ | Inflammatory bowel disease, family history, low fiber diet, obesity, smoking |
| High Cholesterol/Lipid Panel Age: Varies based on risk factors | Diabetes, family history, high-fat diet, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking |
| Osteoporosis Age: 50+ or 40+ with risk factors | Low-calcium diet, physical inactivity, race/ethnicity, small frame, smoking |
| Peripheral Arterial Disease Age: 50+ | Diabetes, family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking |
| Type 2 Diabetes Age: 45+ | Family history, high blood pressure, obesity, physical inactivity, race/ethnicity |
Most Frequently Purchased Preventive Health Screenings
How Much Do Life Line Screening Preventive Health Screenings Cost?
Most health screening packages start at $149. An example of a $149 health screening package is purchasing five health screenings, four to check for stroke and vascular disease with one test for osteoporosis. A $228 package might include those five health screenings plus a comprehensive health assessment to identify risk factors for six chronic conditions.
Another option is Life Line Screening’s Wellness Gold Membership for $19.95 per month. This membership includes six standard health screenings performed annually in addition to any other vascular screenings deemed necessary by Life Line Screening ultrasound technologists.
Wellness Gold Membership benefits include:
- One-on-one nurse consultations
- Laboratory analysis up to $100 annually
- Two free carotid artery screenings
- VIP status with priority customer service via phone and at screening events
Life Line Screening Customer Support
Customer support representatives at Life Line Screening by telephone Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The website has an information reference section access by clicking Help to see answers to over 40 commonly asked questions about screenings, screening results, payment and billing, disease information, and the company itself. Life Line’s site also provides direct links to the company’s social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.
Life Line Screening Complaints
Life Line Screening has an “A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau. Accredited by the BBB since October 1996, the company has an overall rating from consumers of 2.5 out of 5 stars. Many of the complaints revolve around unwanted marketing via mail or telemarketing, and some had issues with appointments or billing and collections. Life Line Screening addressed each complaint to solve the problem to the consumer’s satisfaction. Reviews on Life Line’s Facebook page ranked the company 3.6 out of 5 stars with 387 reviews.
Life Line Screening FAQs
Life Line Screening partners with community organizations to offer health screenings, so the company doesn’t have the expense of clinics or offices around the country. Life Line can pass on the savings of having such low overhead to consumers.
All Life Line Screening ultrasound technologists complete formal ultrasound programs and clinical rotations. Some technicians also complete other specialized training.
Consider your risk factors, such as family history of diseases, and previous health screening results to determine the frequency of testing. Many Life Line customers have health screenings completed every year at around the time they have their annual physical.
Most doctors will not order preventive health screenings based on risk factors alone because most insurance companies won’t authorize or pay for the screenings. However, you should show your doctor the results from your Life Line Screening test if it reveals a potential health problem. Your doctor can order further tests or treatment at that point, and insurance should cover the cost.
Screening results let you know if you have a health condition, but do not determine the severity. If your results are outside the normal range, you should see your doctor for comprehensive testing.
Conclusion
Life Line Screening preventive health screenings are a convenient, non-invasive, and affordable way to identify risk for potential health issues even before you experience any symptoms. Understanding what your body is NOT telling you enables you to be proactive about your health and work with your doctor to put together an action plan to prevent disease.