well im not covered by my insurance for vsg so will have to be paying for it myself and was wondering if anyone knew of a finance company with 0% interest? im already going to have to pay a arm and a leg so dont want to have to pay interest also..

thx

I went through my credit union and got the loan for 2.5% (which is pretty near 0%) lol. . . good luck, but i don't think there is a place which gives 0% interest. . they have to make money somehow??

here is a related question from me...I know my insurance doesn't cover bariatric surgery, so I will most likely be paying for the VSG myself...I have saved enough to pay for it; however, a concern I have is the chance of complications...I have heard that if you self-pay for the VSC surgery, that if you have complications as a result, the insurance company won't cover the cost of care that ensue from the complications...extended hospital stays, rehab and additional surgeries could add up to way over twice what the initial surgery costs...supposedly there are insurance companies that you can obtain a policy from that will cover the costs of care if the surgery has complications for up to one year post-surgery....has anybody heard of this or know of someone who has utilized it? any feedback will be helpful

Hello,

I am in the same boat but I called my insurance company to ask if I have complications after surgery and need to go to the ER to have treatment will it be covered. She had me on hold for over 10 minutes but when she cam back she said if I goto the ER then anything done through there is covered. This may be something to ask your insurance company.

Wow. Y'all have pointed out some interesting things here. I'm wondering if my quoted price is less than non self payers.....huummm....and yes care credit is only for 18 months then like 26% or fixed for 14.99%. I wish this was covered because my health is at stake ...I hate this

thanks for the advice, angeleyes...that is something I will talk with my insurance company about

judysart: I hear ya...what makes me so angry is that it is proven that the long-term costs of treating complications from diabetes, for example, far exceed the cost of the WLS...I don't understand why insurance companies don't recognize this

It's a credit card company. That's how they make money. People pay late....late penalty. People can't pay back within the interest-free period....interest starts. I'm willing to be that most people are not able to pay back within the interest-free period. And' date=' I'm pretty certain the interest is sky high.

Not be a downer but I've looked up this GE capital company and they don't have the best reviews in terms of customer relations.

And yes, surgeons will charge cash patients less. Here, the bariatric surgeons are on television all the time giving their "special cash price."[/quote']

Care credit charges the surgeon's office around 13% of the charge to finance you interest free for 18 months - so your Surgeons office has to agree to accept it. I work with them at my office. It is crazy expensive for us to offer.

so GatorTime....if I paid my surgeon up front cash, he should be able to offier me a 10% discount and still make more profit than if I financed through CreditCare and he got charged 13%....right?

That is an excellent question, in my office we do not "upcharge" people that pay with credit, therefore we do not give cash discounts.

If you are going in to the surgeon's office - I would go about it this way...

1. Ask what the cost of the surgery is, personal pay.

2. If you are asked how you intend to pay - I would straight up ask why that matters. At that point they should disclose to you if they charge people that pay with care credit more.

3. Technically, you cannot charge people that pay with credit MORE. You can charge people that pay with cash LESS.

Care Credit is something the surgeon has to agree to take, it is not like a regular credit card you can just swipe.

Sometimes Care Credit offers a special discount on financing. Right now they are running a special on the 18 month rate (at least they are in my office...) so you may find that surgeons offer different rates at different times of the year.

Good luck!!!

Sherrie

I agree. You'll pay it back with money that has already been taxed, thereby taxing yourself twice.

I think going to Mexico is the best value, but that decision is up to each individual person.

401k contributions are PRETAX not post.. and you don't get taxed or penalized on a 401k LOAN.. You only get penalized on a 401k hardship/early withdrawal... Hardship or early withdrawals are not repaid but are counted as income. 401k loans are not... Been there done that, more than once.. repaid myself at a higher rate of interest... tied up the money so they couldn't play with it on the stock market (which is what they do)...

It might not be for everyone... BUT not everyone knows this option is out there and they should....

401k contributions are PRETAX not post.. and you don't get taxed or penalized on a 401k LOAN.. You only get penalized on a 401k hardship/early withdrawal... Hardship or early withdrawals are not repaid but are counted as income. 401k loans are not... Been there done that, more than once.. repaid myself at a higher rate of interest... tied up the money so they couldn't play with it on the stock market (which is what they do)...

It might not be for everyone... BUT not everyone knows this option is out there and they should....

One more thing to note with a 401k loan is if you leave employment the remaining balance of the loan has to be repaid within 30-60 days, depending on the plan regulations set by your employer. If not repaid then the loan is considered a withdrawal by the IRS and you'll be subject to tax on it AND if you're under 59 1/2, a penalty as well...

Sooo if you're not too secure in your job (and who is in this economy?!), this is something to consider before taking a loan...

I got a personal loan through my credit union for 17,000 at an interest rate of 6.0 and I had 36 months to pay it off. The monthly payments were under 500/month. I was able to pay it off before the 3 years was up. I would consider this an option if I had to self-pay.

One more thing to note with a 401k loan is if you leave employment the remaining balance of the loan has to be repaid within 30-60 days, depending on the plan regulations set by your employer. If not repaid then the loan is considered a withdrawal by the IRS and you'll be subject to tax on it AND if you're under 59 1/2, a penalty as well...

Sooo if you're not too secure in your job (and who is in this economy?!), this is something to consider before taking a loan...

Yep, which is exactly what happened to me... I took the money and lost my job a few weeks later... I used the money for my surgery and will get to deduct a chunk of it as a result... :-)