laurette

Nope. Perfectly legal and not at all uncommon. Search these boards and you will find many who have done this when WLS was specifically excluded by their insurance. It is a "self pay" option that some doctors make available as an adjunct to hernia repair. Nothing illegal about it at all. The insurance is not billed for the WLS. The surgeon and hospital bill the patient directly at a vastly reduced rate. Some doctors in the U.S. actually advertise this as an option. Whether a person can take advantage depends on whether their insurance will cover the hernia repair, whether the surgeon is considered in network, etc. I paid full price for the WLS then my surgeon billed insurance for the hiatal hernia on top of that. Wish I would have visited this site prior to surgery, I would have shopped around a bit more.