FrustratedInLA

Hi recently had the realize band surgery. (Beginning of September) After tons of conversations with my doctors office with regards to cost and my worries that I wouldn't be able to afford it, I was given a quote of approx. $8000 for what my share would be after my insurance, which they verified. I was also aware that I was only to have one doctor, not 2. A couple of weeks after the surgery, I came to find out that my doctor had added the new doctor from his practice to my surgery and they billed me nearly $4000 for it, in addition to the $14,900 he charged. And to make matters worse, the surgical center they swear by, billed me $76,000. And just to really add insult to injury, my insurance now won't cover any of the costs. And to really drive it home, I haven't heard one word from my surgeons office since then.. I had to call them to schedule an appointment but then I received their bills. I'm so angry that I canceled the appointment. I was due for my first fill 2 weeks ago and all that I feel like right now is a cash cow. My e-mails with q's regarding the outrageous costs, are going unanswered. My bill is close to $100K. I don't know what to do. I'm not getting the use of the piece of plastic in me and eating more because of the stress I'm under. Sleeping is no longer really an option. I had to give up the lease on my car. I'm looking at a cheap, small studio apartment so that I can cut back on rent. But I feel totally helpless because of what I deem to be the intentional deception by my Dr. Now what do I do? :thumbup:

I'm new to this forum, so please bare with me! I've had my realize band surgery on September 16 and the surgery went great. I was in and out of the surgery center in less than 3 hours. My doctor was great before hand and for the surgery. But my troubles started after the surgery. During my initial conversation with my Dr, I expressed concerns with regards to the cost. I was told that they will go through the process of verifying my insurance. I received an approval letter within a week. During my discussion with my dr, they assured me that my out of pocket expense should be approx. $4000 but it might go up to as high as $8000. I was okay with that. After the surgery, I never heard a word from my doctor. Not even a follow-up the day after. I had to call them to schedule my first fill - which was supposed to have taken place last week. In the mean time, I received the bills for the surgery and came to find out that my insurance isn't paying for about 90% of it. My dr's fee alone was $14,900, but the unbeknownst to me, he added the new doctor at his practice to my surgery as well. I essentially hired one doctor and was given two, for an additional $4000. The insurance only paid $900 of that. Then the real shocker came. The surgery center , where I was for 3 hours, which includes before, during and after surgery, charged a whopping $76,000. And the insurance is covering none of it. And this surgery center is the same place where on the day of the surgery, my doctor had 8 patients lined up for surgery that day. Talk about a cattle call. But needless to say, his surgery coordinator assured me that this was the best location and that insurance will most certainly cover this particular location. I'm so angry with my Dr & his staff that I opted to cancel my fill appointment, out of fear that they will hit me with another astronomical bill. So, I guess my question is, what do you do if your insurance says yes before and then no after the procedure when it comes to claims. And also, how do you suggest I handle the situation with my doctors' office? I feel like they deceived me on purpose by not telling me exactly how much each service would have cost, especially since I asked so many times prior to the surgery. I'm so disappointed in the whole experience, I still have no fill and I'm on the fast track to being bankrupt with a $100K bill. Any advice and/or suggestions?!

Hello Everyone. Thank you so much all your reply's! I feel so much better knowing that I'm not alone in dealing with issues like this! Since my last post, insurance changed their mind and they will now pay $31,000 for the $76,000 Surgery Center Bill. That still leaves me with over $40K. But I requested an itemized bill from them. If they charged me $5000 for a plastic tube, then I want that plastic tube! But I'm ready for a fight. I already told them that I will not pay that. I also told my doctor that. The insurance paid $900 for the assistant surgeons $4000 bill. So my doctors office told me that I won't have to pay for the balance. How about that. But I got my gloves out of the closest, I dusted them off and I'm taking them for a trial run! I'm done with other people dictating my life and having fears run my life. I have my first fill appointment today with another doctor that I found, so I'm actually excited and scared at the same time! But thank you for all the support - I wish I'd found this board prior to my surgery!

Hello Everyone. Thank you so much all your reply's! I feel so much better knowing that I'm not alone in dealing with issues like this! Since my last post, insurance changed their mind and they will now pay $31,000 for the $76,000 Surgery Center Bill. That still leaves me with over $40K. But I requested an itemized bill from them. If they charged me $5000 for a plastic tube, then I want that plastic tube! But I'm ready for a fight. I already told them that I will not pay that. I also told my doctor that. The insurance paid $900 for the assistant surgeons $4000 bill. So my doctors office told me that I won't have to pay for the balance. How about that. But I got my gloves out of the closest, I dusted them off and I'm taking them for a trial run! I'm done with other people dictating my life and having fears run my life. I have my first fill appointment today with another doctor that I found, so I'm actually excited and scared at the same time! But thank you for all the support - I wish I'd found this board prior to my surgery!