I'm just wondering what everyone had to pay out of pocket or if insurance covered or what. The hospital I decided has their own dietician for the program and a psychologist they recommend patients to. NEITHER of them take any insurance at all and each charge $175. I'm a bit annoyed over this. Of course I am going to do it because I have to and it is for my health. It's just frustrating as money is really tight right now.

So just wanted to know if this is the norm. If it is then I won't be quite as annoyed lol.

My insurance covered everything! The psych I had to see separately but the dietician is a part of my surgeons practice.

I had a forty dollar co pay for the psych that was part of the practice. And the nutritionist was $100 but I owed $70 after insurance. I have a high deductible plan and hadn't met it yet.

My Psych was covered by insurance, my nutritionalist wasn't. I had money in my health care reserve account to cover though.

Good luck on your journey!

Thanks. So now I'm still annoyed. I guess I will see if I can get any type of reimbursement from my insurance co. Even if they give me 1/2 back, I'd be happy.

I just wonder why neither one of them take insurance? It just makes me feel like WLS patients are taken advantage of a bit. Like they know how desperate we are so they can set their fees and not have to worry about all the insurance hassle. Grrr.

Im In NY and having my sleeve at NYU and i had to pay $250 each for both the nutritionist and psychologist

My psychiatric exam was covered, as well as the counselor sessions. My nutritionist visits, which were through the hospital, were not covered by my insurance. I did get a cash discount for those. I think I paid a few hundred for those total.

I had to pay for things that the insurance required, but didn't cover. I don't think that is right, but I feel fortunate that the surgery was covered at all, considering it wasn't until 2011.

Can you go for a psych eval with a provider on your insurance panel? What about finding a nutritionist on your insurance panel? Ask your surgeon's office or doc if you can use someone outside their practice. It could save you some $$.

Thanks for the replies.

Wow $250! Well, everything is more $ in NYC. That makes me feel a little better anyway.

I did ask my surgeon about using my own psychiatrist. He said technically I could however their psych. knows the program well and knows exactly what to write for the insurance. They do request I use their nutritionist.

Besides any fee for the surgery I may owe, this is the only thing I have to pay for so I guess I'll just suck it up. They do move quickly and I will hopefully be having surgery next month.

personally i think the whole physc thing is a crock!!! its not like i didnt know anything about this surgery before i talked to them!!!

personally i think the whole physc thing is a crock!!! its not like i didnt know anything about this surgery before i talked to them!!!

Ha! I know what you mean. But it's also a liability issue I would imagine. I'd also guess that there are some people that get the surgery without doing a whole lot of research.

i'm self pay and i had to pay 300 in total.

personally i think the whole physc thing is a crock!!! its not like i didnt know anything about this surgery before i talked to them!!!

You would be amazed at how many people don't know about the surgery and how absolutely necessary a psych consult can be. My aunt was turned down for the surgery because of her psych consult. She could not grasp the reality that she wouldn't be able to chow down on chinese food after the surgery. Yes, there are those people out there. Just like with the NUT. I have been through several programs and in group nutrition meetings, people keep asking "yes, but when can I have pizza/cheesecake/ice cream/cake/etc after surgery?" It amazes me at how little people actually know about nutrition. They don't know how to read food labels, they don't know how to measure a portion or even add up calories. I was beating my head against the table halfway through these meetings. While we may be a large amount of educated people on this subject (some of us could probably perform the surgery, given a scalpel! lol) there are twice as many out there that have ZERO clue what they're getting into.

I agree with circa. While weight loss surgery is certainly a money-making industry, there are a lot of people who have no idea what they are doing regarding the surgery, who live in denial of how they got in the situation they are in, and let's face it, not everyone out there is a rocket scientist.

No surgeon wants to have a failure like a death or complications on his/her record, or that malpractice suit to defend.

Many overweight people have psychological reasons for overeating, and I think those need to be addressed. I appreciate the psychiatric component of the prerequisites. I have found the extensive presurgical process to be extremely helpful. I read some of the situations posted around the internet by people who have had this surgery and I think to myself that these people must have not had a very good preparation, if they are having certain issues and surprises.

You would be amazed at how many people don't know about the surgery and how absolutely necessary a psych consult can be. My aunt was turned down for the surgery because of her psych consult. She could not grasp the reality that she wouldn't be able to chow down on chinese food after the surgery. Yes, there are those people out there. Just like with the NUT. I have been through several programs and in group nutrition meetings, people keep asking "yes, but when can I have pizza/cheesecake/ice cream/cake/etc after surgery?" It amazes me at how little people actually know about nutrition. They don't know how to read food labels, they don't know how to measure a portion or even add up calories. I was beating my head against the table halfway through these meetings. While we may be a large amount of educated people on this subject (some of us could probably perform the surgery, given a scalpel! lol) there are twice as many out there that have ZERO clue what they're getting into.

I can only imagine! People like this though SHOULD be denied, at least initially. How could anyone jump to surgery if they haven't tried portion control and educating themselves on nutrition? That is just baffling to me. I do understand the necessity of meeting with both the nutritionist and psychologist though it is more necessary for some than others.

I even see some posts from post op people saying what/how much they eat and it worries me to be honest. I think some aftercare might be a good thing too. For me, I am going to pursue some therapy for a while to address my emotional eating issues. I want to give myself the best chance at success. But I still know better than to want to run out and eat Chinese or pizza after surgery!

exactly - you know that this IS an issue - there are some very delusional people that don't think there is a problem with it.