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Natalina

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Natalina    1

Natalina
Posted

So... am I the only one and am I overreacting. I'm terrified that I will be asked to pay an amount of money the day of surgery that I cant afford and end up not being able to have surgery

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Natalina    1

Natalina
Posted

My insurance covers 90% but we haven't gotten me over cost yet bc he said it depends on my status of my insurance at the time of surgery which I did not have a date yet. Still trying to get these clearances out of the way

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gemigirl    134

gemigirl
Posted

The hospital called me to pre-register and at that time reviewed my co-pay and what I would be responsible for as I hadn't reached my insurance's max out of pocket yet. I would suggest reaching out to them beforehand and asking them what to bring for payment the day of surgery. They will have almost always verified that your insurance is covering you for the procedure.

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redfire_angel75    62

redfire_angel75
Posted

I would check into any financial aid the hospital.might offer. I'm employed through the health system that is doing my surgery and we have a big enough system (OhioHealth) that our insurance is really reasonable. After our $1,200 copay/out of pocket the surgery is $6,000. I just found out 2 weeks ago if I sign up for financial aid 100% of my surgery will be paid. I'd try it, what do you have to lose?

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redfire_angel75    62

redfire_angel75
Posted

I would check into any financial aid the hospital.might offer. I'm employed through the health system that is doing my surgery and we have a big enough system (OhioHealth) that our insurance is really reasonable. After our $1,200 copay/out of pocket the surgery is an additional $6,000 with 80/20 coverage after that. I just found out 2 weeks ago if I sign up for financial aid 100% of my surgery will be paid. I'd try it, what do you have to lose?

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blizair09    3,250

blizair09
Posted

Trust me, the doctor is going to make sure that he/she has secured his/her money long before you get that far along. I only had about $1400 left to hit my out-of-pocket max, and I had to pay a $700 "down payment" to the doctor before they would even schedule the surgery.

I decided a long time ago that WLS is just as much of (if not more) a profit-driven business as it is a results-driven healthcare endeavor.

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KristenLe    5,979

KristenLe
Posted

@@Natalina If you have insurance covering most of it (and a prior authorization) - do not worry! They aren't going to refuse surgery if you can't pay at the time of check-in. Simply tell them you don't have the $$ - and weren't aware you would have to pay. Most people don't bring anything with them to the hospital besides an ID and insurance card. If they want $ ahead of time -they'll call and let you know.

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laceemouse    631

laceemouse
Posted (edited)

So... am I the only one and am I overreacting. I'm terrified that I will be asked to pay an amount of money the day of surgery that I cant afford and end up not being able to have surgery

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I have never heard of an elective procedure where they did not tell you beforehand how much you are going to have to pay. Most hospitals are going to do pre-check-in verification of insurance. They will know how much your insurance will pay and how much you are responsible for before they even admit you. With my surgeon you can back out up to 24 hours before the surgery. My guess is many people chicken out but I would guess that some people back out, or postpone, due to not having the funds for their co-pay yet. That being said most hospitals offer credit to help you pay the rest, you would just be paying back with interest.

A co-pay is still going to be cheaper than going to Mexico.

Edited by laceemouse

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Go To Topic Listing PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

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      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

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      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
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    • ChunkCat

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      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
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