cost of my RNY-

[itsmekarenlee 129]

$58,000

Do you know what yours was? (I don't want to know what you personally paid just the overall cost of your surgery.)

I was just shocked when I saw the bill, especially when we were told about $29,000 and we'll "get what we paid for" which I absolutely did not. :/ It's sickening.

[terry1118 1,274]

I never look at what something would have cost me, and I don't look at gross pay on my paycheck. There are some things I don't want to know... :-p

[revision in TX 38]

Almost 2 years later, I am actually suing my surgeon for "double-dipping".

I paid as a "self-pay" (ie 100%) then he billed a bunch of "medical" ( ah, cough-I call #&%$& - cough)to insurance and they actually paid him!! So, he got paid twice!! And, I had no unexpected or necessary procedures, nor did I have ANY complications.

They get away with it because, as long as the patient is not asked to pay anything beyond their co-pay and what insurance pays (for those with bariatric coverage), they don't really care HOW the doctor bills it to get it paid...so, of course, they take both payments.

Insurance can't help, because they can't tell the MD what codes to bill; Insurance Board doesn't care because they only regulate insurance; AMA doesn't care because no "malpractice" (as far as injury. My primary physician even said it was "illegal as hell" but not really surprised by it.

Funny...both the hospital AND anesthesiology wrote off everything except the amount I paid up front...yet the surgeon didn't.....HHHHHMMMMMMM.

The "average" self-pay price for a revision gastric bypass is about $23,000 in my region. I had two quotes, both right around that amount. My doc got closer to $35K...imagine that, on a quote/contract of $22K!!!

I guess it's largely because they are rich and "powerful" (ie, can afford an attorney/staff, etc) and we can't...the rich get richer, huh???

[itsmekarenlee 129]

How can we get an itemized report for each and every little thing that was paid for, do you know?

[itsmekarenlee 129]

Our deductible starts over next year and if every visit will cost us two to three hundred dollars EACH (for my husband as well) then I'm not going back.

[revision in TX 38]

The practice is REQUIRED to give you an itemized statement.

If you have insurance, the EOB may not have the CPT codes; if not, just call Customer Service and they will give you what was billed/paid.

[mondaylady 6]

I have had two office visits and asked for receipt each time.And plan on continuing to do so. I always ask whenever at a doc office"are you charging me if i asking you about this since not why i come in here?" if she says yes, i don't ask. They charge for everything and i want to know ahead of time.It my understanding the surgeon office does not handle anthesiologist or ? others. before they do anything to me I am asking if medicare and my insurance pays. Haha. imight be walking out of hosp. just kidding

[Pixers 26]

My surgery was around 35,000

[itsmekarenlee 129]

Dup. See below

Edited August 21, 2014 by itsmekarenlee

[itsmekarenlee 129]

Mondaylady, that's good that you ask because their receipts stink and don't tell you what you paid for. I advise writing on each receipt what the visit was for. I'm sure they charged my insurance for my post op visit with our dr yet he couldn't be bothered to come in and talk to me. The nutritionist went back and forth to him asking him the couple of questions I had for him. I was not happy with him. Again. He never examined me before surgery, right after surgery, nor at post op. Never even told me how my surgery went and refused to give me the only pain med that works on me and made me suffer and made me feel like I was a bother to him.

My family Dr called him to get blood work orders and told him I said I didn't want to see him again. At my husband's follow up appt from his pancreatitis and blood clot from surgery (can happen to 1:1000 of bariatric patients, not drs fault!) he asked me why and I told him these things. He apologized. I will give him another chance, though he doesn't know the other reasons. This is why I say to trust your gut. I didn't have s good feeling about him at orientation mtg but husband did so we stayed with him rather than checking other surgeons out. There was another situation where I feel he should have told us to take him to the ER when I called him with concern about my husband's condition but he just said for him to drink more. I should have trusted my gut then and took him to the ER anyway because he had that clot and pancreatitis. It was 4 days later at post op appt that he suffered before Dr told me to take him from his office to the ER. Jerk. I don't care for the office staff much either.

So Mondaylady, I just told you what I didn't want to tell you because he may be perfectly fine with you, I don't know. But please keep this between us and please don't let him know you know anything about this. We still have to see him.

[revision in TX 38]

Pixers...is that YOUR cost or billed charges, insurance paid or what? Did you have "extras"/compliations? Were you lap-band revision or "virgin" bypass? What geographic area do you live in? All of that changes the "significance" of your surgery costs.

[revision in TX 38]

Itsmekarenlee: Almost all surgeons include 1 year of post-op visits in the cost of surgery.

Probably so the MD doesn't have to "examine" you on each visit!!! When I went for my appts, there were usually an average of about 12-16 patients in the waiting room when I arrived for my post-op visits...for 2 MD's in the practice.

Obviously they are not planning to spend much time with each patient...and probably no time with some patients.

To me, it seems they "prey" on the stereotypical guilt and embarrassment that obese people feel - that if we draw attention to their behavior, it will sound like some "lazy, fat person" who just wants the "easy way out".

It's also rather pathetic that there is such a vast difference in the costs of surgery - for the same procedure - almost like shopping for an auto...haggling until they get the sale! No wonder our healthcare system is in the mess it is!!!

[Pixers 26]

Pixers...is that YOUR cost or billed charges, insurance paid or what? Did you have "extras"/compliations? Were you lap-band revision or "virgin" bypass? What geographic area do you live in? All of that changes the "significance" of your surgery costs.

That was the total charge. No revisions first WLS. It was just the surgery and everything associated with the hospital stay. I was there 4 nights instead of 2 because I had a bad reaction to morphine.

I am in Wisconsin and my cost after insurance is a little over 4000.

[revision in TX 38]

Thanks for the clarification!!!

[pik 262]

How can we get an itemized report for each and every little thing that was paid for, do you know?

I would call the billing dept at the hospital and go from there.