1St Consult - Dr.'s Requirements For Self Pay - Wth?

[txdee 23]

I finally had my first consult! Have another one today also. Anyway, 1st doctor requires same extensive testing for me as a self-payer as he would as if I had insurance to pay for it. This is just standard operating procedure for him, but I really have no symptoms to warrant sleep study, EGD, visit with cardiologist, etc. I had talked to several doctor's offices who said such extensive tests not done in most cases with self payers. I know it is better to be safe than sorry, but all those tests evoke stress which isn't good either. What do YOU think??

[jaymzee 79]

My doctor requires all those things before surgery even if you have no symptoms and whether you have insurance or not, better safe then sorry.

[Candyman 38]

I say, go down to Mexico. The surgeons down there are just as competent if not more so then the ones up here. The money you save can go for your tests that your primary doctor wants you to do. I bet the doctor that's wants you to do that sleep study want you to use the one that he gets a kick back from.

[MyGastricSleeveLife 180]

I am self-pay and had to get all that done too. I didn't need a sleep study because I already have sleep apnea & use a CPAP machine. I did need blood work, EKG and pulmonary function test since I have asthma, and I needed clearance from my primary care doctor even though it's not going through insurance. My EKG was abnormal, so I had to see a cardiologist & he had me do a stress test just to make sure everything would be okay for surgery.

My surgeon's office offered to have me pay them $500 extra to have them pay for all those tests & blood work. However, as it ended up they only ended up paying for my blood work & everything else had to go through my insurance because of trying to get it done faster. Therefore, I ended up having to pay them $200 extra for my blood work and then I have to pay all the other things through my insurance.

Personally, I understand the other tests because they want to make sure I'm healthy enough to withstand the stress of surgery. However, I really think they should have a way to work all that into the price of the whole thing. My insurance is crappy and we'll have to pay a lot out of pocket for those tests we had to put through insurance. We're just going to take our time paying those off though. According to my surgeon's site, they don't include those things since each patient is different and some don't need the same tests done. I wish they would've been able to do everything through them for the $500 extra like we originally thought, but oh well. I'm just glad I got them all done now.

Again, for me, I'd rather have the peace of mind that I'm "okay" to have the surgery done in the first place.

[Forensikchic 528]

I was self pay and I only had to have an ekg and blood work. The cost was included in the total I was quoted. I had surgery one week after the seminar. I wrote three checks, one to the dr. one to the private hospital and one to the anesthesiologist. The testing was part of the hospital bill. I did not have to do a sleep study or visit a cardiologist. I only had to do bloodwork and an ekg which took 2 minutes.

[cassieh 136]

I was a self pay and was only required to have blood work, ekg, xray and see the NUT.