BILL ARRIVED

[knt4ever 137]

THE BILL ARRIVED

Sooooooo, I received my medical bill for the surgery, lab tests, and everything else. WOW. Luckily we have very good insurance!! I have Mutual Heath Services in Ohio.

I strategically had the surgery before the calendar year ended because I knew most my deductible and co-pays had been paid already. I was seeing my PCP almost every month for some sort of medical issue from the morbid obesity. Last year I went to the doctor more than the last 10 years combined. That was one of the factors that led me to the WLS, I was physically falling apart FAST.

Back to the BILL, here is how it broke down of who paid how much:

TOTAL CHARGE: $51,847.27

PPO DISCOUNT: $30,015.01

BENEFITS PAID: $21,519.83

AMOUNT I OWE: $312.43!!!!

I don't feel I could put a price on how much this WLS has helped improve my health but if I had to pay $51,000 it would be worth it!! I am down over 50lbs and 9 inches off belly. I don't have any more liver issues or sleep apnea. Blood pressure is perfect. Heart rate is normal. I just wanted to share the bill because I was wondering Pre-Op about this.

If anyone is interested and wants to see what I have been through I have updated my journey in a thread called, "Operation Operation".

Here is link:

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/290947-operation-operation/

Edited February 22, 2014 by knt4ever

[lynn2win 142]

Wow you saved a lot..I hope my surgery is not that much as I have a high deductible and co insurance...you are really lucky

[KristinaRnY 455]

So thankful for insurance. I have to pay 0$, not a copay or anything. 100% covered. I wouldn't be able to have this surgery without it!

[knt4ever 137]

You never know with insurance companies what they will pay and what they will not. I thought I had paid all out of pocket for year but I am not going to challenge it. I am afraid they will find more to bill me lol.

[terry1118 1,274]

Mine was $250 deductible. Thank goodness for insurance!!! Then I figured the deductible was already paid so I opted to have my gallbladder out in December. I don't expect to have more than four doctor's appointments total for this year - 2 post-op (9 month and 1 year) and 2 routine (endocrinologist, dermatologist). I was curious about the total cost. I'm also curious about cost to fix my saggy belly. I'm hoping for insurance-pay on that. :-)

[Cookiesgotthis 50]

I received a call from the hospital pre-op and the person doing my pre-admission over the phone said I would only have to pay $475. Well started getting the bill my surgery was over $120,000. Insurance life time is $16,000 for WLS. After discount they are billing me over $33,000. I was floored! I was offered to be able to get robot assisted surgery, more precise never did they tell me the special procedure had a much higher price that went along with it. The bills keep coming in too.

[sillyolme1 19]

Whhaaaaaat??? How is that..those "bills" possible?? I paid outta pocket and travelled from Canada to Mexico and total cost with spending was about $11K. Canad would have charged me about $20K Plus expenses. Im dhocked to read $51k and $100k...seriously for real??? Thats insane!!

[bellalulu 87]

Wow,.that sounds crazy. I think that someone is.supposed to go.over.all the costs with you. The hospital has to tell you upfront what they will cover and what you are responsible for... I'm sorry Cookie that you have to deal with this, maybe you should speak to the financial.dept.and maybe that can help you... Or get a lawyer. You have patient rights. Who does that? Bait and switch on major surgery such as yours... Good luck.

[ChristyAZ 87]

I have a $1000 bariatric surgical fee but thats it. My deductable has been met so I am pretty darn happy ......

[jkppt 76]

I just got my bill from the hospital. Band to bypass revision totaled 64000. Aetna contracts with the hospital which lowered it to 24000 but has a life time max of 10000 for any WLS. That left me with a bill for 14000. I called the billing office to see if they had some kind of payment plan they could put me on and they said I could pay 500 a month until it was paid. No interest or charges just the amount of the bill. I would not have known this without asking. It is crazy to me that the insurance would pay so little towards this but that is the era in which we live.

[RNBSN786 206]

My surgery cost $105,000 and I only had to pay $300 my deductible. The rest was covered by the insurance and this is for my gastric bypass. Thank God for my insurance or I would have been able to afford it.