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Entrepreneur helps usher in preventive health care

Carl Orth/SUNCOAST

Alexandra Weixler founded Affordable Lab Tests Now for direct access to health care tests in a walk-in, retail setting instead of visits to doctor offices.

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By CARL ORTH | The Suncoast News

Published: November 28, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - The national debate over paying for health care might be dragging on in Congress, but Alex Weixler has decided not to wait. Instead, she is rolling out some solutions of her own for the uninsured and underinsured.

The founder of Affordable Lab Tests Now, Weixler views the firm as a possible glimpse into preventive health care of the future. "We are the private sector stepping in," she said about the walk-in, retail setting for the testing facility.

The first location opened at 4140 U.S. 19 in September. The West Pasco Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting in early November.

In 2010, expansion plans call for four more locations, in Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Trinity and Spring Hill.

"No insurance, no problem," the Affordable Lab Tests Now Web site proclaims. Via the site, people have direct access to thousands of tests without a doctor's order.

Test results can remain anonymous. The firm is allied with many specialists who help interpret test results if necessary and, if needed, provide treatment.

Most importantly, clients can save money on blood work and other tests while getting early warnings about any potential problems, Weixler believes.

By contrast, a typical trip to the doctor could cost $100 for the first visit, $200 for the lab tests and another $100 for a follow-up visit, Weixler said, assuming the busy doctor has time to see additional patients.

"That's $400, that's why 80 percent of people are not going to get checked," Weixler commented.

Her own health problems several years ago provide a cautionary tale. For two years, she grappled with clinical depression, grasping at straws from traditional medicine.

Weixler said a simple blood test saved her life. Weixler felt empowered by taking charge of her own health, with or without insurance.

"I could have saved myself close to $100,000 had I just got a simple blood test done," Weixler reflected.

Even now Weixler only carries catastrophic medical insurance with a very high deductible. The policy still costs $240 a month.

"In the event that I'm hospitalized, I won't get bankrupted. I don't have health insurance, I have major medical insurance, that's what I have."

"That's what insurance has become these days, catastrophic," Weixler continued. "It doesn't help you stay healthy. It failed me. It completely failed me. Now I have my own lab and I can keep myself healthy."

Medical experts tell her that more than 75 percent of illnesses and human suffering is preventable.

A lifelong entrepreneur, she drew upon her fitness industry experience, which included operating Pilates exercise studios in New York and Palm Harbor.

Affordable Lab Tests Now offers some 14,000 tests that can flag potential health risks such as vitamin or nutrition deficiency, food allergies, anti-aging, cancer markers and infertility. Annual health tests for all ages are available, as well as obesity testing for children and adults.

Weixler has assembled a team that includes: Chief Operating Officer Debra Connelly; a client educator, Stephanie Moore; and an account representative, Rhiannon Isaacson. Dr. Mark Laflamme is medical director. Dr. Antoine Beserini, founder of PrimeCare 2000, serves as a consultant.

More information is available on the Affordable Lab Tests Now Web site or by calling 727-848-9800.

Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

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