Common questions

No. Zaro is a direct-to-consumer testing service. You order online and go directly to the lab, with no physician referral or prior authorization.

Bring a valid photo ID and follow the instructions in your Zaro portal. Your lab order is generated after payment, email verification, and completion of the required patient details. Most draws take 5 to 10 minutes.

Yes, we recommend fasting for at least 8 to 10 hours before your draw for accurate glucose, insulin, and lipid results. Water and black coffee are fine.

You can visit a compatible Quest Diagnostics patient service center. Labcorp and BioReference are coming soon. New York and New Jersey are coming soon, and Rhode Island is not currently supported. We confirm nearby availability before payment.

Results are typically ready within 5 to 7 business days from your blood draw. Some specialized markers may take slightly longer.

The Zaro app explains each result in plain language, including what levels are optimal, what yours means, and when to consult a physician. We always recommend speaking with your doctor about any values of concern.

Yes. You can export your full results as a PDF and share them directly with any healthcare provider.

The Zaro Score is a 0 to 100 composite built from up to 7 health domains: metabolic function, cardiovascular markers, inflammation, hormones, nutrient status, organ health, and longevity indicators. It gives you a single number to track your overall biological health over time.

We recommend running a panel every 3 to 6 months, especially when you are making changes to diet, supplements, exercise, or sleep. Annual testing is a good baseline, but more frequent panels let you see whether your actions are actually moving your numbers.

Surface is our foundational panel covering the most important metabolic, lipid, and inflammatory markers. A strong starting point for most people. Signal adds depth with hormones, thyroid function, and key micronutrients. Source is our most comprehensive panel, including advanced cardiovascular risk markers, longevity biomarkers, and a full hormone profile.

During checkout, simply enter your FSA or HSA card like any other payment card. Zaro qualifies as an eligible FSA/HSA expense.

If you have not yet scheduled your blood draw, you can request a refund within 30 days of purchase minus a processing fee. Once a lab order has been generated and a draw has occurred, we are unable to issue a refund as the lab costs have already been incurred.

Insurance only pays for lab testing that's deemed medically necessary to diagnose or treat a specific, existing condition. Comprehensive biomarker tracking for longevity and performance falls under elective wellness testing, which insurers generally exclude from coverage.

Insurance usually limits testing to a narrow baseline (like standard cholesterol or HbA1c) unless you already have symptoms. Zaro's Signal and Source panels add markers insurers rarely approve without a formal diagnosis: advanced cardiovascular markers (ApoB, Lp(a), NMR lipid particle fractionation), early metabolic and inflammation signals (fasting insulin, hs-CRP), and full hormone panels (testosterone, estradiol, DHEA-S, LH, FSH) plus the Omega-3 Index.

An annual physical is reactive: it looks for disease that's already there. Zaro is proactive: it looks for early aging and risk signals years earlier. Three upgrades an insurance physical doesn't give you: markers like ApoB and Lp(a) that reveal real cardiovascular risk even when standard cholesterol looks normal; fasting insulin, which can catch metabolic decline up to a decade before it shows up in glucose or HbA1c; and an optimal-range 0–100 Zaro Score with trends tracked over time, instead of just a binary "normal" flag.

An insurance-covered annual physical is often advertised as $0 out of pocket, but real costs can climb quickly if you haven't met your deductible, or if your blood is drawn at a hospital-affiliated clinic, which often adds facility fees. Independent cash-pay lab testing is typically more affordable than what you'd actually pay through insurance billing without full coverage, especially compared to hospital rates.

If you tried to order Zaro's advanced markers, like ApoB, fasting insulin, or a full hormone panel, individually through a doctor without an existing diagnosis, insurance would likely deny coverage, leaving you paying diagnostic cash rates that can total $400–800+ per round. Bundling them into flat-rate tiers brings the effective cost per marker down, even though the sticker price is higher than a "free" physical.

Yes. Your data is encrypted at rest and in transit and is never sold to third parties or shared with insurers. You own your results. You can export or delete your data at any time from the Zaro app.

Yes. We do not sell or share your health data with third parties for advertising. Sensitive clinical data, including lab orders, results, and wearable biometrics, is handled under a HIPAA Authorization framework covering you, Zaro, and clinical partners like Quest Diagnostics. Your account and lab orders are also protected by secure email identity verification.

Zaro is available in many US states through our Quest Diagnostics network. New York and New Jersey are coming soon, and Rhode Island is not currently supported. We confirm compatible nearby testing using your ZIP code before payment.

Absolutely. Many Zaro members use their results alongside care from their existing physician. Your Zaro panel results can be exported as a PDF and shared with any provider, and many physicians appreciate having detailed baseline data before a visit.

All samples are currently processed at CLIA-certified Quest Diagnostics facilities using the same clinical-grade instruments used in hospital settings. Labcorp and BioReference are coming soon. New York and New Jersey are not available yet, and lab availability is confirmed using your testing ZIP code during checkout.

A few deliberate reasons: we're capital-efficient rather than funded by a massive ad budget; unlike pure software, every signup requires real lab logistics, so mass-market ads don't scale profitably yet; we grow through targeted partnerships, like corporate wellness perks and referrals from trainers and functional medicine practitioners, rather than broad consumer advertising; and since testing requires a nearby partner lab, national ads would mostly reach people outside our current service areas, so growth stays concentrated around specific launch markets for now.