Saving Up

[Jesser 295]

So, I bought me a little lock box the other day so I can start saving up for the surgery. Seems like its going to take forever, but every day I get a little closer! I live here in Texas, so my family feels more comfortable if I go to Dr. Alvarez. He seems like an awesome doctor and I've heard lots of great reviews on him, but it's going to take twice as long to come up with the money to go to him. I know surgery isn't something you should take lightly and I shouldn't just go to someone for the best deal or whatever. I've also read others who have went to doctors much cheaper in Tijuana and they are doing just fine. I just don't know what to do! Lol

[Lilee84 648]

Your insurance doesn't cover it?

[made2beme 119]

Not that I would encourage aquiring debt, but one option is to finance the cost of the surgery so you can have it sooner. I know for me, there was no way I was gonna wait longer than I had to. We didnt have the money, but my mother in law loaned it to me....so I do have to pay it back, but without interest of course.

I went to Garcia and had a great experience, he is typically $5,000 which includes 3 nights in the Marriot. Unless he is running a special like in August for 4,700. In the end, it is up to who you feel more comfortable with.....I honestly can say, even if I didnt go to a "less expensive" surgeon....I really dont think the amount of $ we pay has anything to do with the way we are cared for or the surgery itself.

Funny you should say your family feels safer going across the Tx. border. I live in Tx. also and I felt safer going across from Cali. The Tx. border seems to have more activity going on right now....but thats just me.

[Jesser 295]

Your insurance doesn't cover it?

No ma'am. I don't have insurance. My company offers it, but the deductible is insane, that's why I never enrolled in it. The deductible would be $5,000, so I'm just gonna self pay and go to Mexico! Lol

[Jesser 295]

Not that I would encourage aquiring debt' date=' but one option is to finance the cost of the surgery so you can have it sooner. I know for me, there was no way I was gonna wait longer than I had to. We didnt have the money, but my mother in law loaned it to me....so I do have to pay it back, but without interest of course.

I went to Garcia and had a great experience, he is typically 5,000 which includes 3 nights in the Marriot. Unless he is running a special like in August for 4,700. In the end, it is up to who you feel more comfortable with.....I honestly can say, even if I didnt go to a "less expensive" surgeon....I really dont think the amount of we pay has anything to do with the way we are cared for or the surgery itself.

Funny you should say your family feels safer going across the Tx. border. I live in Tx. also and I felt safer going across from Cali. The Tx. border seems to have more activity going on right now....but thats just me.[/quote']

I've read very good things about Dr. Garcia, and the thought has crossed my mind about just going with him or Dr. Lopez. The only thing that kind of scares me about him is the years of experience. I start thinking what if something bad happened to me during the surgery, would he be able to fix it? I stress myself out so bad over all of this I swear. Lol

[mufasas-mom 170]

$5000 deductible?? wth?? never heard of one so high...I thought mine was high at $750/per person/year - wow....I'm so thankful I have great coverage.

i will be starting the 'piggy bank' for plastics......that should take about 2 yrs....

[Jesser 295]

I'm a hairdresser, and I work for kind of a crappy company. Lol I'm going to look at individual plans here soon though. My son is on Medicaid, thank God for that or he wouldn't have insurance either. I'm a single Mom and I get no help at all from his "father"

[O.T.R. sleever 3,386]

5000 deductible?? wth?? never heard of one so high...I thought mine was high at 750/per person/year - wow....I'm so thankful I have great coverage.

i will be starting the 'piggy bank' for plastics......that should take about 2 yrs....

Yup it's a catastrophic policy. Many times this is really all the employer can afford to offer. Health insurance is super expensive, and unfortunately most people just don't realize how much it really costs because their employer covers te majority of the cost.

For example a policy that most people would consider "good" to cover my family is $850/mo whereas a high deductible policy is typically 1/2 that cost.

[makemyownluck 785]

Even if you did get individual insurance right now

1) you might not even get approved for a policy if your current BMI is too high. Either you'd be denied or you'd have to pay extra. AND

2) you'd more than likely have a pre-existing condition clause that would exclude coverage for any medical conditions you already have (including obesity). So, you could potentially be upcharged 150% on your premium and STILL not get covered for what you need.

Isn't insurance awesome? :\

I actually have decent group insurance, but who knows how long it will take to get approved... I can't seem to get answers. Almost makes me want to take a trip and self-pay anyway!!

I'll most likely go to Mexico for plastic surgery when the time comes. As long as you do the research, I don't think the quality of the care you will get is any different.

Good luck to you!!

[allnewme 262]

Our insurance has a $5000.00 dedutible for any hospital stay. Also, I went to Dr. Alvarez for my sleeve surgery on August 2. He is an amazing surgeon. I understand that there are less expensive Dr's in Mexico but he truly is a wonderful surgeon. I woke up in No pain and have felt really great since my surgery. They take really good care of you and you are in a hospital the whole time. They transport you there and back so everything is taken care of. You even get your after care meds. There is a Dr. Alvarez board on this forum if you want other testimonies.

[made2beme 119]

Yes, the choice is definitely with who you feel most comfortable with. I can say yes, Dr. Garcia may not have the same years of experience as some...but it is also not like he has only been doing it for 6 months. He is actually a teacher at a local University also and has been the speaker at several Bariatric seminars (as I am sure others have). Not trying to convince you on Dr. Garcia....but just take into consideration everything youve read and heard....evaluate based on your personal convictions and chose the one that you have peace about.

By the way on the personal individual insurance policies, you will most likely NEVER EVER find one that covers any type of bariatric surgery. It seems that its only the corp plans that do. I have an individual plan that is killing my pocketbook and covers hardly nothing, but I do it for my kids.

[CaliKat 153]

Good for you for taking control of your health. Wish I was in Texas to get some hair TLC and hook you up with a big tip!

Sounds like you may be someone who gets an IRS refund- money back- perhaps if you can bank $2500 by February and get a $2500 return early next year.... you can have the sleeve in 6 months!

[Wheetsin 714]

I'm going to piggyback on this a bit. DH and I are almost debt free (we built a house two years ago on a 15 yr mortgage and have about 9 years of it left, so we aren't completely there yet, but that's the only debt we have) - it's important to me, and I don't want to "encourage" debt in anyone. I'm not bragging, I say this to show it's something I really strive for, and don't contradict it lightly. But sometimes it's worth it. If it came down to something that could make potentially the single biggest difference in my life or quality of life, I think it's worth it. Would some method of financing be an option for you? You're squirreling money away, so I assume you have some amount of disposable income each week/month/whatever. Could you, for example, get a low interest credit card and apply that same money toward the mo'ly payment? (Don't feel like I'm asking you to share your personal financial information -- you don't have to answer these questions -- just evaluate whether or not they would be options for you). Anyone in your family you could borrow money from? Are you a student? Have you looked into any of the companies that specialize in financing medical procedures? Etc. "Where there's a will, there's a way" is usually true, but sometimes you have to get REALLY creative.

I'm not even advocating THIS particular procedure. But getting weight under control is definitely one of the better life changing things we can do.

Not that I would encourage aquiring debt, but one option is to finance the cost of the surgery so you can have it sooner. I know for me, there was no way I was gonna wait longer than I had to. We didnt have the money, but my mother in law loaned it to me....so I do have to pay it back, but without interest of course.

[amykins 202]

Jesser, I'm in your shoes. I've been saving for this since January. I could have had the surgery a few months ago with a cheaper surgeon, and I'm sure everything would have been fine. My heart told me to go with Dr Aceves so I waited a few more months to get the surgeon I wanted. I know this will sound weird, but once I started actively saving, extra money started coming in. And it all went to my savings. I thought it would take a year to save enough and was planning to have it done over Christmas break. I was able to save the money in 8 months. You can do it too!

[diedie 64]

I paid 4500 for my surgery in mexico and im doing extremely well. I would do ut again in a heartbeat