No Bariatric benefits on Insurance? $4900 special

[skinnytiff 49]

If you have insurance, and your insurance won't cover bariatric surgery. Dr David Kim is doing a special for $4900. You have to go get checked for a Hiatal hernia which most all overweight people have. Then your General insurance pays for the test for that and the repair of it during WLS, and the bariatric cash price is 4900! Great deal!

[Paris38 2]

Hi,

What city and state is Dr. Kim in?

[Kindle 8,667]

Actually "most" overweight people do not have hiatal hernias. All stats I found when researching my surgery options indicated 40-50% of morbidly obese (BMI >40) patients have a hernia. Age was actually a much higher risk. (70%of people over 70). So unless you are over 70, you basically have a little less than a 50-50 chance of this insurance deal working out. I actually did not have a hernia when a I got my VSG, and neither did the other 4 people that had surgery the same day.

But hey, if you do have a hernia, it's a great way to save some money!

Edited August 3, 2014 by Kindle

[blondebomb 580]

Iv had hernia most my life. ..since childhood. .finally at 50 along with this surgery it's fixed! I was a tiny girl till 20s started having with each pregnancy. .after hysterectomy in my 30s I hit 200...rest is history. .lol..I was 109 when I first got married.

[woo woo 872]

Hi,

What city and state is Dr. Kim in?

He is in the Dallas, Texas area.

[skinnytiff 49]

Colleyville, TX

Hi,

What city and state is Dr. Kim in?

[JCP 619]

Wow! Do you have any idea how long this is good for? What about hospital costs though? That is the biggest portion of my surgery... 50K!!

Edited August 25, 2014 by JCP

[imsoglad56 402]

Wow! Do you have any idea how long this is good for? What about hospital costs though? That is the biggest portion of my surgery... 50K!!

JCP, I don't think it's a limited time thing with Dr. Kim. He calls it his "Making Bariatrics Affordable" program. Other doctors sometimes have similar programs. My doc, Dr. Jayaseelan, does this also. My surgery total cost, including hospital, is going to be less than $6,000 out of my pocket, because I do have a hiatal hernia. With the crazy way my insurance covers bariatrics, if I had it done under the bariatrics coverage of my plan, my out of pocket would have been more like twice that.

[skinnytiff 49]

I'm sorry Im just now getting back with you. They ended it this past Friday. I hope you were able to give them a call about it before it ended.

Wow! Do you have any idea how long this is good for? What about hospital costs though? That is the biggest portion of my surgery... 50K!!

[Stanhope 9]

many doctors do the "hernia repair" approach - this is how I had my surgery financed through True Results - also in Dallas (through Baylor Hospital). It is a good option for patients whose insurance excludes bariatric surgery, like mine did.

[pinkbunies 359]

I called Dr. Kim's office and the price is $10,900 without any insurance benefits. I know I don't have a hernia and I know my insurance policy won't cover anything related to this.

I found that they had a care credit link so I applied online for care credit and put $18,000 in for the total cost and it approved me for $18,000.00... so I guess that's a good thing.

I'm weighing the options between going to Dallas or Mexico. Mexico is coming out much cheaper, even with buying the airline tickets. It's a difference of around $7,000.

The place in Mexico said they can do next week. The place in Dallas told me 3 months or longer out.

[woo woo 872]

Did you try Dr Nicholson in Dallas? There are also a couple other docs in his practice.

Nicholson did mine 6 weeks ago, and I had literally a textbook perfect recovery. I attribute this to the skill of him and his team.

Same price as Kim.

http://www.nicholsonclinic.com/

[pinkbunies 359]

I'll give them a try tomorrow. I filled out their 16 pages of forms and sent them back today. I'd prefer not to spend $10,500 if I can avoid it.

[pinkbunies 359]

LOL I got the numbers wrong. $10,900 vs $10,500.

Well they both rejected me and said my BMI wasn't high enough. So I'm scheduled for surgery in Mexico this coming week.

It sucks that I Can't use care credit in Mexico, but its also half the cost.

[woo woo 872]

Next week? Wow fast. I'm hoping you have done a lot of research. This is a HUGE change.

I researched for a year and still am surprised by some things, for example by just how little I can eat. Make sure you really think about how irreversible this surgery really is....

That being said, it sounds like you have made up your mind, so I wish you the best of luck.