Cost?

[JJs_email 0]

Last week I attended a seminar about LAP-BAND® hosted by one of our local weight loss institutes. I was very exciting. They provided a lot of information including just a quick blurb about cost and that at the first visit the financial counselor would review your insurance one-on-one. That makes sense, everyone has different insurance. They did include that there would be: $500 – program enrollment (includes pre-authorization testing), $400 – psychiatric eval, and $1,000 for the three year nutritional/exercise program. That all seemed reasonable to me. I also knew that my insurance had a $1,000 access for bariatric surgery. When I got the appointment today they said it would be slightly over $8,000. In addition to the costs listed above they use a second surgeon who is out of network (out of everyone’s network) which is about $5,000 and some miscellaneous fees.

My husband has been active duty military for over 20 years and I have not seen a “civilian” doctor in a long time. I knew it would not be cheap but I was really surprised at the cost. Is this similar to what your fees were?

I know each insurance is different but I had serious culture shock! :scared2:I was going to use my insurance through work but now need to look into TriCare referrals.

[Melinco 1]

I'm totally self-pay and my costs were just under $15,000, which included $65 for evaluation with dietician, $275 for the psychologist, $5,000 for the surgeon, $7,500 for the surgery center, and $1,275 for the anesthesiologist. The $200 initial consultation fee was waived as I attended a seminar. My fills for the first year are free. After that they are $50.

I know that there is a surgeon in Denver CO who charges around $9500, but if you don't live near, then you'd have to find someone near you to do your fills.