Hi,

Did anyone have to get a special credit card or take out a loan to pay the 20% insurance didn't cover? I will have to pay it before they will do the surgery. I have to go to a center of excellence so I will owe $5,000 and do not have that kind of money since I am disabled and live on a small SSD check.

Thanks,

Oma

I would contact the facility directly and speak to their business office. They usually can make payment arrangements as long as it is not a "copay". For instance, if it were a deductible, they can usually work with you. Good luck!

My maximum out of pocket is $2000, so I will only owe 20% up to the $2000. They have not required me to pay it ahead of time & my surgery is in 4 days (whoa!). Usually hospitals will bill you.

Most hospitals will work out a payment plan. I was billed for most things, but the hospital wanted their portion up front. They would have allowed me to make payments if I couldn't have paid it then. I had a $3,000 deductible so I understand. It is a great investment!!!

I have had a lot of out of pocket expenses with this surgery. I have had to pay a 200.00 consult fee, plus I had to buy a lot of protein powders. I applied for a credit limit increase on my credit card and used that. Plus any other expenses that will come up. I know it is hard, I am a stay at home mom and my boyfriend is out of work right now. We don't have a lot of money and I am on Illinois Medicaid. My boyfriend and I both feel like it is worth the money, this is going to change my life for the best. In one or two years when I am healthy and thin, the money I spend now will be long forgotten. Good Luck hun, I can see how this could be stressful for you.

Try CareCredit. I have a out of pocket maximum of $2000 and I got approved for CareCredit for the $2000. I think there are other medical loans out there but I've only used CareCredit since it gave me the amount I needed. If you belong to a credit union you could do a pre-approved amount of credit up to the $5000 limit and say it's for surgery.

I have to go to a center of excellence so I will owe $5,000

I went to a center of excellence (my surgeon is a surgeon of excellence in a hospital of excellence) but I paid about $3000 out of pocket. I was asked to pay in advance but I also did not ask if I had other options.

Most of the money was for the hospital (my deductible/out of pocket) and $600 was for the bariatric office. Some bariatric offices have much higher fee than $600. Research that. You might save yourself a lot of money.