How Does Anyone Know What To Do??

[Apple1 2,572]

11 hours ago, Taylor5 said:

I don't know, I guess I'm going to sleep on it. I will probably look into Mexico more - maybe I will end up going there...But I can't see any of my current doctors being helpful with that. They will probably say I'm making a mistake, so getting help from them may be hard. Thanks so much for listening though. I just don't know who else to talk to. No one in my circle really needs to lose weight, much less go to this extreme. They just won't get it. It's a really lonely place to be sometimes...

Honestly Mexico sounds much more scary then it really is. Talk to Bariactric Pal. The whole process was so easy and they take great care of you from the minute you get to San Diego and the entire time you are under their care. The have a brand new hospital that they just built and I haven't heard of any complaints. You can Skype with Dr. Illan and they usually get back to you within 24 hrs when you fill out the online health form. I think this could work for you, but I don't have any back pain that was keeping me from flying. I hope you get this figured out and pray for a good solution for you.

[Taylor5 98]

@GassyGurl,

I've been in touch with Dr. Wizman's office. They said he is $10,600 for the sleeve plus $2,100 for BLIS. I feel that's a fair price, but when I asked if I would have to fly back to Florida for complications, the office staff didn't know anything about how BLIS works. I assume I would, my understanding is it's the surgeon who is insured, you are "extending" your contract with them, so to speak, using BLIS. But if it's an emergency, like a blood clot or leak, do you really have time to fly to Florida? Not that I wouldn't love to stay there for 3 months, but I wouldn't be saving enough money to make that possible!!

No, I didn't contact my insurance co myself to ask about complications. So far I am taking Drs office word, plus on Ins website, when I look on my profile and my covered/non-covered services, what counts toward co-insurance, etc., it says that anything I pay toward services that are non-covered under my plan do not count toward co-ins or deductible (I don't have a deductible, but I guess for those who do). Just the way everything's worded makes it seem very negative. Like some, I'm a little afraid to call and ask and "tip them off" that I'm having the surgery bc if they don't know maybe they would cover some things just thinking it is basic health care related. But you're right, in the end I will probably have to call anyway!

Surgery at my local hospital was quoted to me as $16,880 for Surg/Anesth/Hosp, but now they are saying they need to recheck cost of hosp & anesth and nut will be an extra $800, plus the co-pays for the other stuff (END co-pay will run me $100). It's adding up higher every day...

[Taylor5 98]

4 hours ago, Berry78 said:

My primary doc likes referring patients for bariatrics. She was nervous about Mexico, but did everything she could to help, not hinder. I should mention she is my NEW primary doc. My last one was going to do everything she could to stop me. Bye bye doc!

My family doc likes to refer for everything - I swear they won't even look at a mole anymore! It's like I can count on them for a respiratory infection or UTI, other than that, expect a referral. I see more specialists...it's crazy. I do see my primary on Monday to discuss all of this. My 1st plan is to get her on board w/surgery to begin with - I don't see why she won't be, especially with all my back problems - but I've only been seeing her for a couple yrs (prev long time pcp retired) and we've not discussed my weight that much. Once I have her on board maybe I can go back and say local place isn't working out, if I went to MX would you help w/pre-op testing and post-op follow-up? But I have a strong suspicion going out of country will make her uneasy. She could surprise me though.

@Apple1I'm going to talk to my husband about MX and the Bariatric Pal set up. It could end up being my best option if my doc will help with follow-up/aftercare.

I live in SE PA, between Reading & Philly. We just moved closer to Reading, so I'm hoping to fly out of Allentown as I think it will be less congested than Philly and hopefully have shorter lines.

I really appreciate the help everyone is providing. It's amazing to have people to talk to who really get how I feel : )

[Taylor5 98]

3 hours ago, Apple203 said:

On the positive side, we have a good understanding of our baseline health going into surgery.

@Apple203 that is for sure!! We are self-informed gurus!

[Berry78 4,261]

40 minutes ago, Taylor5 said:

$16,880

41 minutes ago, Taylor5 said:

$10,600 for the sleeve plus $2,100

I paid $5000 for surgery, including plane tickets (which were about $700), and souvenirs. The prices have gone up a little, but I feel confident you'll get it done for $6000-ish, all in, by going to Mexico (unless you have special considerations that I didn't have). There are several good programs, though I can't vouch for any except the one I used. I had the same surgeon as Apple1.

I asked Dr. Illan's coordinator if I had a problem for which I could make it back to Mexico, would he help me with it, and he said yes. Fortunately, I haven't had any problems. The good thing about our health care system is if you have a medical emergency.. you go, get it fixed, then figure out how to pay later. Really takes a lot of this financial stress off, especially when you are trying to recover from surgery. Have a plan, but try not to stress over it. (And do some due diligence before you pay 2k for an insurance policy that may not help you anyway.)

[Taylor5 98]

7 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

(And do some due diligence before you pay 2k for an insurance policy that may not help you anyway.)

Fair point...

[GassyGurl 428]

I seriously considered MX. But we would have needed an extra night beforehand, and after because of flight schedules. So that added a few more hundred, which is what made FL attractive. The costs of FL and MX were within a thousand for me. But, for you, the cost savings seems substantial enough to seriously consider. You should be able to join any support group later on, and like others said, use your pcp for routine care. there are Medical Tourism insurance polices that cover complications. They don't work like health insurance. Say you buy $1000k coverage for 60 days. If you have complications at home, get treatment, then they reimburse up to your policy amount. Premiums vary based on amount and time frame. I think global protection systems is the name of one company.

[GassyGurl 428]

One more thing. If you go to the ASMBS (American society for metabolic and Bariatric surgeons) or something close to that, they have a physician finder. One of the search criteria is to find doctors who will care for other doctors patients. In my area both large practices will treat other patients. For me, that was a huge piece of mind before having surgery.

[Taylor5 98]

@GassyGurl, thank you so much! That is a LOT of good info I did not know. Especially that there was a way to maybe find a local doc willing to see me for follow-up. Not sure if I mentioned it, but my local hospital/surgeon said you have to be at least 90 days out before they consider seeing another surgeon's patient. I will look into all of this asap, I really appreciate it!

[Taylor5 98]

@Lovergurl, do you mind if I ask about pricing at OCC? We have decided to look into a few places in MX . I will look into them more thoroughly this week, but a few didn't have prices listed so I thought I would reach out and see if you or anyone else was comfortable discussing pricing for the sleeve?

Thank you!

[Taylor5 98]

On 10/21/2017 at 11:34 AM, GassyGurl said:

I think global protection systems is the name of one company.

I have filled out an application and am waiting to hear back from them, so thank you for that tip!

On 10/21/2017 at 1:26 PM, GassyGurl said:

If you go to the ASMBS (American society for metabolic and Bariatric surgeons) or something close to that, they have a physician finder. One of the search criteria is to find doctors who will care for other doctors patients.

Have also used this and found one provider who may work out for after care/follow-ups. He is about an hour from me, but better than nothing : )

(Other providers were listed but have since moved to different locations and one seems to have retired, which is a real bummer since he was the closest).

Thank you again as this information is really helpful to my overall decision making process

[BDME 138]

Wow. I didn’t know insurance companies just didn’t cover it at all. That sucks.

[Taylor5 98]

47 minutes ago, BDME said:

Wow. I didn’t know insurance companies just didn’t cover it at all. That sucks.

Yes, in my state it is particularly difficult unless you are on Medicare, Medicaid, or work for a large company who chooses to cover the procedure for all of their employees. As an individual or small business, you cannot purchase an insurance plan that covers it anymore. But they will pay for you to keep getting sicker, which makes no sense...