In July I attended a group information session at Marina Del Rey Hospital about the VSG. I sat in the dingy waiting room with several other people as Dr. Misra gave a brief overview of the surgery. What she presented was generic information readily available on here, YouTube, and other sites. I hadn't expected any time with the physician but dutifully came back when asked. I was weighed and then ushered into a small patient room. All the doctor did was say that my BMI was low for the surgery but I would possibly be a candidate. My total time in the building was under 16 minutes, and that included waiting for the session for the begin. I know this because of the cost of parking. Prior to the meeting I'd spoken with two members of the staff and was assured that the information session was free. I already knew that my current insurance plan wouldn't cover the surgery because I don't meet the qualifications. I was encouraged to come purely for informational purposes. My plan was to obtain information and then decide whether it was something I should begin to plan and save for if it was a viable option.

Today I received a $500 for that session and an insurance denial for it. I never thought it was going to be run through insurance since I'd been explicitly told it was complimentary. It's exorbitant to be charged that much anyway.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

goodness no...that's pretty steep for an information session...was it required by your insurance? I wonder why they billed your insurance if it were free...I would call the hospital and ask them why they billed your insurance...

That doesn't sound right. Definitely contact the surgeon's office and see if you can get to the bottom of it. Document everything.

For my program, I had a free information session (which I took online), but I did have a $500 program fee that I had to pay upfront once I decided to have surgery. It was explicitly stated that it wouldn't be covered by insurance. The fee was designed to cover all of the required educational seminars. My surgeon's office were very clear and open about that fee. So, if you were never told about the charge you definitely need to get some answers.

The informational seminar I attended was free of charge and there was no program fee attached to my program My only out of pocket expenses other than copays was the fee for the nutrition class and I was told at my first appointment that depending on my insurance I would have to pay for either the psych eval or the nutrition class and how much each one was.

Did you sign anything that requesting authorization to bill insurance? read over any paperwork they gave you carefully. Otherwise I would fight this bill and I would find another program.

I attended many seminars in Southern California. When I called Dr. Misra, i was told she was out of network, I have Blue Shield. I decided i was not going out of network, as 1 facility told me it was $19,000.00 and how would I like to pay for it. I told them why would I pay for it when I have insurance and will just find someone in network, and I did. I had the sleeve done 8/3 at Cedars Sinai by Dr. Burch. All the seminars I went to were free. I did not sign any papers and was not asked to. I hope you did not consent to anything in writing, but for sure you have to fight that bill. I have been a nurse over 30 years and the medical system is disgusting, and people that are not medical, I feel sorry for, no matter how smart you are. It is all about money, and that is not the way it should be, what happened to the doctors that really used to care about their patient's.

How did they get your insurance information in the first place?