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So I recently found out that my insurance does not cover any sort of weight management issues (jerks!), including bariatric surgery. I am still very interested in having the Lap Band procedure, and am considering doing the self pay option (even though it's SO expensive!!) I live in Stamford, CT, and have been working with the Stamford hospital (a great team) but I have been informed that the self pay cost is $16, 500, and since my insurance doesn't cover the surgery, they also recommend taking out a separate insurance policy for $1,500 in the event of surgery complications, which comes to a grand total of $18,000. I have read a few other forums from people in the southern US and western US that have done self pay for about $8000-$9000. I live in a suburb of NYC, so everything is typically more expensive than in other areas of the country, but the difference in price ($10,000!!!) seems astronomical. For this reason, I am considering trying to find a hospital in another part of the country that will allow me to have the surgery there. Does anyone have any experience with this? I don't know if this is even possible. The thought seems crazy, because I know the LB surgery requires a lot of maintenance, not to mention pre-surgery interviews / checkups / etc, but I just can't seem to justify the difference in price. Would getting on a plane a few days after surgery to fly home be completely out of the question?? Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!!