AUDIO: Dr. Underwood Discusses What Exams Are Covered By Insurance

Dr. Paul Underwood:
Yes, I haven’t really mentioned anything that would be experimental. If a person needs the examination then they should certainly have it recovered under most insurance plans. Likewise if a person doesn’t need a particular examination say an echocardiogram, the ultrasound of the heart. If the electrocardiogram is normal the person doesn’t have any symptoms than it’s … sometimes it’s difficult to justify performing some of these tests particularly the more invasive tests that have some potential risks involved with them. But for the introductory phases the examination, the electrocardiogram -- most insurance companies would want us to do that because it’s a very good screen for cardiac disease.

Paul L. Underwood Jr., M.D., is an interventional cardiologist in Phoenix, was the 10th president of the Atlanta-based Association of Black Cardiologists 2004-2006 (ABC), Inc.