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My surgery/hospital cost breakdown for the curious



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The last pending insurance claim for my surgery/hospital stay processed today, so I thought I'd give the cost breakdown for anyone who is interested.

Context: I live in Illinois and had my surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., through the Washington University WLS program. My primary surgeon was Dr. Arghavan Salles, though Dr. Christopher Eagon assisted. My surgery was on Feb. 15, and I went home on the afternoon of Feb. 17. My insurance is the Health Alliance POS 6300 Elite Silver CS plan, purchased through the Illinois Health Marketplace. I have a $1,000 deductible.

Laparscopic gastric bypass w/ Roux-en-Y: Billed = $5,100, My cost = $145.97 (I believe this is for Dr. Salles)
Laparscopic gastric bypass w/ Roux-en-Y: Billed = $2,550, My cost = $29.19 (I believe this is for Dr. Eagon)
Anesthesia gastric restrictive for morbid obesity: Billed = $3,360.00, My cost - $1,013.22 (includes $1,000 deductible)
Anesthesia gastric restrictive for morbid obesity: Billed = $3,360.00, My cost - $63.22 (not sure why there are two anesthesia charges)
Contrast X-ray - Esophagus: Billed = $123, My cost =$0

Each of the above were individual claims. Then there's the big one, for the hospital stay, which breaks out as follows:

Room-board/semi: $2,210.00
Pharmacy: $439.90
Med-sur supplies: $10,306.95
Sterile supply: $472.50
Laboratory OR (Lab): $35.00
Lab/Chemistry: $244.00
Lab/Hematology: $81.00
DX X-ray: $448.00
OR services: $23,365.00
Anesthesia: $8,336.00
Occup Therp/Eval: $259.00
Drugs/detail code: $698.15
Drugs/self-admin: $8.00
Recovery room: $2,460.00
Educ/training: $110.00
O.R. procedures for obesity W/O.CC/MCC: $0.00
TOTAL billed = $49,473.50, My cost = $100.00

All told, I only have to pay $1,351.60 out of $63,966.50, or roughly 2.11 percent of the overall cost, and my portion includes the $1,000 deductible. Without that, I'd only be responsible for $351.60, or 0.55 percent of the overall cost.

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My total out of pocket cost was a $300.00 co-pay. Which I couldn't get my secondary insurance to cover.

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I am going through the same doctors as you are. My insurance changed on 5/1 and I am now waiting for insurance approval. I now have a $2500 out of pocket max but I have a 10% surgical co-pay that I have to pay on top of the OPM. I'm afraid of what I will have to pay.

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My out of pocket cost was $1,150 and total chat for gastric sleeve was $26,574

HW: 256
SW: 238(4/25/18)
CW: 224
GW: 165

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Doesn't all this give you a Migraine? Its not my bill, but thinking of it all,Geesh! No wonder the insurance companies make such a profit, they charge high,⬆ pay low⬇. Dang their money grabbing hides.😝

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Mazel Tov Tanyamann32. Bariatric wise,definitely the Promised Land!😎

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I’m in St. Louis too, but I’m going down to Festus (Mercy-Jefferson) because my insurance covers it at 90% (opposed to its standard 80%) because that facility is considered a BCBS “Center if Excellence”. I am curious what my OOP will be at that coverage; my consult is in early July but I already have 4 of the 6 consecutive appointments and the psych apt done so fingers crossed that helps lol!

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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