MsDownToMe

I am 3 weeks post op. I had no gas pain, but a lot of abdominal pain from the incisions. Mainly on my left side-and it still hurts. I started off on the morphine pump in the hospital, which I used as I needed to. After that I was on the liquid Lortab which I continued at home, but now I only take Tylenol every once in a while (usually at night) for the pain/burning on my left side. I think it has taken me a while longer to get rid of this left side pain because I have a one year old that I have to lift. All in all, I did regret my surgery for the first couple of days just because of how sore I was, but now I have NO regrets. In my opinion temporary discomfort is so worth it when you see that scale moving down, down, down!

I just joined today!! Please feel free to add me :-) I am MsDown2Me

A duh...

It does sound like a mistake in the doctors office, but that technically you do owe that amount. First thing I would do would be to call the insurance company and find out what the costs were, what they paid, and what the insurance company says that you owe the doctor. If it is indeed $1340 then I would call the doctors office and tell them that this was not explained correctly, you were told you were paid in full and therefore don't feel like you should have to pay for there mistake. Then I would negotiate a settlement with them. If they do accept other insurances in network, then why should you pay out of pocket more than an insurance company would pay them for something else. That has always pissed me off. They will charge $100 for whatever - Joe's insurance pays them $10 and they accept that in network, but you are out of network so you have to pay the full $100 for the same service that Joe got for $10. Threaten to not pay and let it go to a collection company, they will for sure settle with you because if it goes to collection the doctor will have to pay the collection company a portion of whatever they collect.
I recently did that with my original bariatric surgeon. He was out of network, but he does take plenty of other insurance in network. I got a bill for $1400 for 3 visits - 1 consultation with the doctor (all of 15 minutes) and two visits with a Physicians Assistant or Nurse (not sure which) where they weighed me and I left. This was worth $1400???? I ended up negotiating it down to what the insurance company would have paid and the whole thing cost me $260. Try that.

May you could add an option for none as most people do not gain weight. I have gained none. It does fluctuate 2 pounds close to the mentrual period as normal but it goes away in a couple of days.

Eight ounces is WAY too much. I suspect your reading is as inaccurate as your writing.

Report this matter to your State Insurance Commissioner--They will get to the bottom of this matter!

It sounds like the doctor's office is at fault. If the doctor is in-network he/she should have a contract or some other documentation to prove this. It doesn't take a phone call to find that out. Regardless of what they were told your co-pay would be, can they prove to you that they are in-network? Something smells fishy there!