Function Health is a health technology platform co-founded by Dr. Mark Hyman and Jonathan Swerdlin in 2022 that provides over 100 advanced lab tests annually for $499 — without requiring a doctor’s referral. It uses Quest Diagnostics for blood draws and delivers results through a personalized health dashboard with clinician notes and action plans.
The membership includes two testing rounds per year: an initial panel of 100 or more biomarkers covering heart health, hormones, thyroid, cancer risk markers, and biological age, followed by a mid-year retest of 60 or more markers to track changes. Clinicians review every result and flag issues. Users receive a personalized protocol for instant action. The platform does not offer medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment — it provides data and interpretation, not care.
This review covers what Function Health tests, how accurate and useful the data is, what real users report, how it compares to alternatives, and who should buy a membership versus who should skip it.
What Is Function Health?
Function Health is a health technology company that gives consumers direct access to 100-plus advanced lab tests annually for $499, bypassing the traditional doctor-referral system and delivering results through a personalized web and mobile dashboard with clinician interpretation. It partners with Quest Diagnostics for blood draws at thousands of locations nationwide.
The company was co-founded by Dr. Mark Hyman, former director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, and Jonathan Swerdlin. Its advisory board includes Dr. JoAnn E. Manson from Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Andrew Huberman, a neurobiology professor at Stanford. The platform bills itself as the fastest-growing health platform in the U.S. and has backing from investors including Matt Damon, Zac Efron, Pedro Pascal, and Jay Shetty.
Function Health’s stated mission is to help people live 100 healthy years through proactive, data-driven health management. The core idea is P4 medicine: predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory — catching health issues before they become crises.
How Does Function Health Work?
Function Health works by connecting members to Quest Diagnostics locations for blood draws, running 100 or more biomarker tests on the sample, then delivering results to a clean web dashboard with clinician notes explaining each result and a personalized action plan. No doctor’s referral is needed to get started.
The process is straightforward. Members join, receive instructions to fast before their draw, visit a nearby Quest Diagnostics location, and wait for results. Results typically arrive faster than standard doctor-ordered labs. The dashboard breaks each biomarker into visual categories — in range, borderline, or out of range — with explanations and action steps.
A mid-year retest follows the initial panel, covering 60-plus biomarkers to show how lifestyle changes have shifted key numbers. Testing is available twice per year as standard, with on-demand additional tests purchasable as add-ons.
How It Works:
- Join Function Health and pay the $499 annual membership fee.
- Receive fasting instructions and schedule a blood draw at a nearby Quest Diagnostics location.
- Results arrive on the Function Health dashboard, reviewed and annotated by clinicians.
- Review your personalized action plan covering foods, supplements, and lifestyle adjustments.
- Return for mid-year retesting to track changes across 60-plus biomarkers.
Who Founded Function Health?
Function Health was co-founded in 2022 by Dr. Mark Hyman and Jonathan Swerdlin, with Dr. Hyman serving as Chief Medical Officer and Swerdlin leading product design and UX strategy. Dr. Hyman built the Cleveland Clinic’s Functional Medicine program and has been a leading advocate for proactive, root-cause medicine for decades.
The scientific advisory board includes Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, Chief of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, and Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neurobiology professor. This institutional backing distinguishes Function Health from general wellness platforms with less credentialed leadership.
What Does Function Health Test?
Function Health tests 100 or more biomarkers in the initial annual panel, covering hormones and thyroid, heart and metabolic health, cancer risk markers, aging indicators, mental health and focus markers, immune function, and nutritional deficiencies. The mid-year retest covers 60 or more of those same markers.
Key advanced markers include apolipoprotein B (ApoB), lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a), LDL particle size, ferritin, iron binding capacity, and homocysteine — tests that standard annual physicals rarely include. Function Health’s full panel also covers MTHFR methylation markers, which can affect nutrient metabolism and cardiovascular risk.
What Gets Tested:
- Hormones and thyroid (testosterone, estrogen, TSH, free T3/T4)
- Heart and metabolic health (ApoB, Lp(a), LDL particle size, insulin, HbA1c)
- Cancer risk markers (including the Galleri multi-cancer early detection test as add-on)
- Aging and biological age indicators
- Mental health and focus markers (cortisol, DHEA, B vitamins)
- Nutritional markers (vitamin D, ferritin, iron, zinc, magnesium)
- Immune function (white blood cell subtypes, basophils, eosinophils)
Does Function Health Include Advanced Heart Health Tests?
Yes. Function Health includes advanced cardiovascular markers like apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein(a), and LDL particle patterns that standard physician-ordered annual panels typically omit — markers that predict future heart disease risk more accurately than basic LDL and total cholesterol alone.
Dr. Mark Hyman specifically calls out this gap in traditional care. Standard panels check LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol. Function Health goes further: ApoB measures the number of atherogenic particles directly, while Lp(a) identifies a genetically elevated cardiovascular risk factor that affects roughly 1 in 5 people and is invisible on standard cholesterol panels.
Does Function Health Test for Cancer?
Function Health offers the Galleri multi-cancer early detection test as an add-on, which screens for DNA signals from more than 50 cancer types using a single blood draw — though the positive predictive value of 38-44% means fewer than half of positive results are confirmed cancers on follow-up diagnostic testing.
The standard membership does not include cancer screening in the base $499 price. Galleri and other advanced cancer add-ons raise the total cost substantially — reviewers note add-ons like autoimmunity, Lyme, and advanced cancer screenings can push the total bill past $1,000. The base panel does include some cancer-adjacent markers like PSA and CEA.
How Much Does Function Health Cost?
Function Health costs $499 per year (approximately $42 per month) for the core membership, which includes 100-plus biomarkers tested twice per year, clinician notes, and the personalized action plan dashboard. The membership is HSA and FSA eligible.
The $499 base price is what most reviewers call the ‘sweet spot.’ Add-on tests — including autoimmunity panels, Lyme disease testing, and the Galleri cancer screening — are priced separately and can raise the annual total well past $1,000. Function Health does not work with insurance, though some biomarkers in the standard panel may be independently covered by a member’s insurance plan if ordered separately by a doctor.
Pricing Breakdown:
| Item | Cost |
| Annual membership (160+ tests, 2x/year) | $499/year ($42/month) |
| Add-on panels (autoimmunity, Lyme, etc.) | Varies — can add $200-$500+ |
| Galleri multi-cancer screening (add-on) | Priced separately |
| MRI / CT scans (Function Scans) | Members-only pricing, varies |
| Comparable lab tests without Function | Estimated $10,000-$15,000 retail |
Does Function Health Work With Insurance?
No. Function Health operates entirely outside the insurance system, meaning the $499 membership fee and all add-on costs are paid out of pocket — though the membership is HSA and FSA eligible, which allows pre-tax dollars to cover the cost.
The trade-off is transparency. Because Function bypasses insurance, pricing is clear upfront with no surprise bills. The downside is that some standard biomarkers in the panel — like basic lipids and thyroid — would be covered by insurance if ordered through a primary care physician. Self-directed users are effectively paying for convenience, access to advanced markers, and the dashboard experience.
What Do Function Health Reviews Say?
Function Health reviews are broadly positive: users consistently praise the comprehensiveness of the biomarker panel, the quality of the dashboard, and the access to advanced markers like ApoB and Lp(a) — while critics point to information overload, lack of ongoing coaching, and the potential for anxiety-inducing results without sufficient clinical context.
The app holds over 14,000 ratings on the Apple App Store. Verified user quotes include: ‘This is the best healthcare purchase I have made in the last 20 years.’ ‘Function blows my mind — the experience, price, and clinician notes are all phenomenal.’ One member with PCOS and IBS credited the platform with providing answers they had not found after years of standard care.
What Are the Positive Experiences With Function Health?
Positive reviews most frequently highlight the discovery of previously unknown health issues, the motivating effect of having personal data, the convenience of Quest Diagnostics locations, and the quality of the clinician notes that explain what results actually mean.
One TIME magazine writer described feeling ‘more empowered regarding my health than ever before’ after receiving results. A Gene Food founder gave the platform an A- and called it ‘an excellent company.’ Users report catching elevated ApoB, high Lp(a), metabolic dysfunction, and nutrient deficiencies they had no idea about — all without waiting for a doctor’s referral or insurance approval.
What Are the Common Complaints About Function Health?
The most consistent complaints are information overload from 100-plus data points without sufficient guidance to interpret them, expensive add-ons that can more than double the base cost, the absence of ongoing coaching, and the potential for test results to cause anxiety without adequate clinical context.
Dr. Baljash Cheema at Northwestern University noted that some biomarkers in the panel — like basophil count fluctuations — are too esoteric for most physicians to act on meaningfully. One reviewer concluded: ‘Function Health is just an expensive way to tell yourself eat healthy and exercise more.’ The platform does not offer medical advice, which leaves users to bring results to their own doctors for action.
Pros:
- 100-plus advanced biomarkers for $499 — no doctor referral needed
- Includes ApoB, Lp(a), and advanced cardiac markers standard panels miss
- Clean, well-designed dashboard with clinician notes on every result
- Twice-yearly testing tracks changes over time
- HSA/FSA eligible — pre-tax dollars apply
- Integrates with Apple Health, Oura, Fitbit, and Garmin
Cons:
- No medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment — data only
- Add-ons can push total annual cost past $1,000
- No insurance coverage — full out-of-pocket cost
- Information overload risk for users without health background
- No ongoing coaching or personalized follow-through support
- Not available in New York and New Jersey for standard membership
How Does Function Health Compare to Alternatives?
Function Health leads the direct-to-consumer lab testing market on breadth of biomarkers and dashboard quality, but trails physician-led platforms on medical guidance, personalization depth, and ongoing coaching — a distinction that matters depending on whether you want data or a treatment partner.
Competitors like Superpower, InsideTracker, and Lifeforce offer similar blood testing but with different tradeoffs. Function wins on price for the volume of tests included. Physician-led platforms like SeeBeyond Medicine offer 90-minute initial consultations, ongoing care teams, and treatment plans — but at substantially higher cost and without Function’s 100-plus marker breadth at that price point.
Platform Comparison:
| Platform | Annual Cost | Biomarkers | Medical Guidance | Coaching |
| Function Health | $499 | 100+ | Clinician notes only | No |
| InsideTracker | $589-$699 | 40-43 | Algorithm-based | No |
| Lifeforce | $549+ | 40+ | Physician consult included | Partial |
| Superpower | $499+ | 100+ | Physician review included | Yes |
Is Function Health Better Than a Standard Annual Physical?
Function Health tests significantly more biomarkers than a standard annual physical — including advanced cardiovascular markers, methylation indicators, and cancer-adjacent tests that primary care physicians rarely order without specific clinical justification. The standard physical is not a true competitor.
The gap is real and documented. Standard panels check basic lipid panels, blood glucose, and common thyroid markers. Function Health adds ApoB, Lp(a), LDL particle size, ferritin, iron binding capacity, MTHFR, homocysteine, and dozens of other markers. For health-conscious users who want the full picture of what standard care misses, Function Health fills a genuine gap.
What Are the Side Effects of Too Much Health Data?
The main risk of Function Health is not physical — it is psychological: receiving 100-plus data points with out-of-range flags can cause significant anxiety, particularly for users who lack the clinical context to interpret borderline results or understand normal biological variation.
Multiple reviewers and physicians have noted this risk. Reddit threads contain users ‘very concerned’ about Function results that turn out to be clinically insignificant. Dr. Richard Bruno at the American College of Preventive Medicine described patients arriving with ‘pages-thick labs’ wanting interpretation of slightly abnormal values — like a sodium level that was off because of a heavy workout. Function Health’s own dashboard acknowledges this tension between empowerment and anxiety.
Who Should Avoid Function Health?
Function Health is not the right choice for people who are anxious about health data, those who need medical guidance rather than raw test results, users who expect the platform to replace their primary care physician, or residents of New York and New Jersey where the standard membership is unavailable.
People with complex medical histories who require active clinical interpretation — not just flagged biomarkers — will get more value from physician-led platforms. Dr. Cheema at Northwestern raises a valid point: some of the most esoteric biomarkers in the panel, like basophil count shifts, may not be actionable even for experienced physicians. Users who will spiral on ambiguous data should think carefully before signing up.
Is Function Health Legitimate?
Yes. Function Health is a legitimate health technology company operating with licensed physicians on its advisory board, Quest Diagnostics as its lab partner, SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA-aligned data security, and hundreds of thousands of tested members as of 2026.
The platform is transparent about its limitations. Every page of Function Health’s website includes the disclaimer that it does not offer medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is a data platform, not a healthcare provider. That distinction is honest and legally clear. For what it claims to be — a direct-access lab testing platform — it delivers reliably.
Is Function Health FDA Approved?
Function Health itself is not FDA approved as a medical device or service because it is a health technology platform rather than a medical provider — but it partners with Quest Diagnostics, a CLIA-certified laboratory operating under full federal regulation, for all blood processing and testing.
The distinction matters. The lab work itself meets federal quality standards. Function Health’s role is access, dashboard design, and clinician note delivery — not laboratory services. This setup means the test results are clinically valid even though Function Health as a company is not an FDA-regulated medical entity.
Where Can You Access Function Health?
Function Health is available through its website at functionhealth.com, with blood draws conducted at Quest Diagnostics locations across the United States — excluding standard memberships in New York and New Jersey, where regulatory restrictions apply.
The platform is accessible via web browser and through iOS and Android apps. The mobile app mirrors the web dashboard, showing biomarker trends over time and pushing notifications when new results are ready. Function Health also integrates with Apple Health, Oura, Fitbit, and Garmin for consolidated health data tracking.
Does Function Health Offer Discount Codes?
Function Health periodically offers promotional pricing — the base first-year membership has been listed at $365 in some promotions — though standard pricing is $499 per year and promotions do not apply to add-on tests or Function Scans.
The membership is HSA and FSA eligible, which is the most consistent way to reduce effective out-of-pocket cost. Using pre-tax health savings account dollars lowers the real cost by the member’s marginal tax rate. For someone in the 24% federal tax bracket, the $499 membership effectively costs around $379 (approximately £300) after the tax advantage.
Is Function Health Worth It?
Function Health is worth it for health-conscious, data-oriented individuals who want access to advanced biomarkers that standard care does not provide, are comfortable interpreting data without direct medical guidance, and will act on the personalized action plan the platform delivers.
The honest caveat: Function Health is a motivational and informational tool, not a medical service. One reviewer summarized it well — it is worth asking yourself whether you are the type of person who will be motivated by this data before purchasing. For the right user, $499 is exceptional value for 100-plus advanced tests. For the wrong user, it is an expensive anxiety trigger.
Who Should Use Function Health?
Function Health is best suited for biohackers and health optimization enthusiasts, people who have hit the limits of standard annual physicals, users who suspect underlying issues that basic labs have not caught, and employees at companies offering Function Health as a workplace benefit.
People already managing conditions like PCOS, metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular risk, or chronic fatigue get the most value — the advanced markers fill genuine diagnostic gaps. Users motivated by data who will review their action plan, adjust their diet and supplements, and return for mid-year retesting to close the feedback loop extract the platform’s full value.
Who Should Look at Alternatives?
Alternatives are a better fit for people who need active physician interpretation of results, want ongoing coaching to implement recommendations, require insurance coverage to make lab testing affordable, or prefer a platform that combines testing with direct medical treatment rather than data-only delivery.
Physician-led programs like Lifeforce or Superpower cost more but include real physician consultation and coaching. For users who need a health partner rather than a health dashboard, those platforms close the gap between data and action that Function Health intentionally leaves open. The choice is between self-directed intelligence and guided health management.