I'm going to be a self-pay and have saved enough for the costs quoted at the introductory session and in my first one on one. It was supposed to be $16,500 with $1,000 due for the preliminary appointment and the other $15,500 due a few days before surgery. Fine, I have the money. (I don't do debt.) Today however I received a bill for $800 for the blood tests they had me do. There was no warning about this additional cost and while I realize that this may be a clerical error I am wondering if I should be expecting costs above and beyond the $16,500 and $250 per fill after three months (plus any medical tests/services after the three months.)

I find it worrisome that I was told that my out of pocket for the first three months would be one amount yet I am already paying more. Should I be worried or has someone else had to deal with this and it all worked out?

Thanks in advance!

SanDiego Susan- I had the procedure in Tijuana and it was $7900.00. I didn't have 1 complications and all arangements were taken care of.

Did you have bloodwork done through your surgeon's office? If so, I'd ask them if that is included in the amount you were quoted.

The amount of my surgery didn't include the pre-op work ups, those were done at my pcp's office. It also didn't include the $400 for the nutritionist and pscyh. appointments.

There was also some confusion when I went in the morning of surgery and the surgery center quoted me another $900 that I needed to pay them. Well, when all was said and done, it looks like I'm still only going to pay my doctor and the surgery center a combined total of what I had originally planned on. I purposely didn't bring it all up until after the insurance had processed the claim.

There are cheaper self-pay options. My surgeon in Denver is $9000 self pay. You'd have to get fills and aftercare in your location, probably, but you might look into other options.

Susan,

I was self pay at 16,500 also. I did not recieve any bills for blood work or anything..... I actually had to go through 3 or 4 different sessions of blood work and had to do my medical work up in his office twice. I was found to have Hyperparathyroidism and had to have surgery before I could have the band. Make sure and call the Drs office and ask.

By The Way..... the band is so worth self pay!!!!! you will not be sorry.

Lois

At the first meeting, we received a packet that shows the price breakdown for insurance and for self-pay (self-pay with him is $17,500). Looking at the self-pay breakdown, the only two things that I see that were not included in the price are the Upper GI done at the hospital and the bloodwork/EKG done at my doctors office.

Edited May 19, 200818 yr by Jodi_620

Can you give me the name of who you went to and where do you go now for fills and how much are they

I was self-pay because my insurance company specifically excludes weight loss surgery from coverage. I paid $16,300 for the surgery (which included the facility and the surgeon's fee) and $1,000 to the anesthesiologist.

My pre-op testing was ordered through my primary care physician and wasn't noted as being related to weight loss surgery, so my insurance covered it.

My insurance should cover the pre-op psychologist visit (she is used to working with my insurance company and says she knows how to code it so the insurance will pay) but I haven't gotten the insurance company's verdict on that yet, so if they don't pay it I'll have to put out another $250.

My doctor in Georgia is $17,650. That includes a year of fills and md visits.

Kim:thumbup:

My MD was in Tijuana Mexico and it was $7900.00, that included all preop testing (pulmonary funtion test, blood work and an EKG) and the hotel fee for the two nights. I was self pay an had it financed through efinancing. The MD's name is Dr Ortiz. Dr Ortiz and his staff were very professional and efficient.

How did you get his weight loss meter on your threads?

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I'm opting for self-pay also and will have my dr consult next Wed. Total Amt will be $9,900 (pre-op testing, surgery, 90 day post-op fills) for the Lap band. It's an incredibile deal I think! Without leaving the country. Shop around and you have to stay on top of things so that you don't get over charged.

SC Obesity Ctr/Riverside Surgical....$13950.00. Filter placement extra. Did not inclue bloodwork with PCP, nor psych eval. Does include surgeon, facility, anesthesia,pharmacy, hospital/nurse fees, etc during OR time. Also includes 4 fills within 12mos time. Before I paid, I got an itemized list of covered fees. Be sure you get this. Since i work for BCBS, I will warn, not all fees will cover the hospital charges, anesthesia, ect of not affiliated with your surgeon. Again, check your itemized list beforehand.

Dang--SOMEBODY is gettin' rich offa these things....:confused_smile: