Hi everyone, have been watching for several months. I am not banded, just going through many months of research. I am self pay like many of you and am looking at going with a WLS center in Kansas City. My biggest worry is if I have a complication and I have no money to pay for further surgery, what will happen to me. I don't know if my ins. company would cover a complication. Def. will not cover WLS. Anyway just wondering if anyone out there has heard of this kind of a scenario. thanks.

In Australia, its common to pay your surgeon a once off fee, mine was AUD $3,000. That covers everything forever - every follow up, every fill and any revision surgery needed. What basically happens is that our public health system covers it but the surgeon only charges the scheduled fee, so it costs the patient nothing, he "bulk bills" medicare. Usually surgeons and specialists charge a gap well over the scheduled fee and this is our out of pocket expense.

I was self pay- and have had no complications. But my doctors office said that those few patients that have had complications - the insurance company has paid for them. Hope this helps!

If you have a complication the insurance companies WILL pay for it. They could not deny a legitimate complication. The same goes for elective cosmetic surgeries and procedures that are self pay.

If there is a complication and reason to remove the lap band the insurance company will even pay for that surgery but will not pay to have another one put in.