Financial Burden

[hakauhi 0]

Did anyone have thoughts about how the lapband would cost them a lot of money to fill and maintain? I am thinking a lot about the financial burden it might be to have and maintain. This is probably the biggest reason for me having second thoughts about having the band. Does anyone else have this problem or is it not that costly to maintain because it sounds very costly to maintain and fill the lapband. Help?:confused2:

[GayleTX 1]

The two different ins. carriers I've had in the past 2 years have both paid for my fills....the first just pd it like an office call (80/20); the second is out of network, but they accept what the co. pays so it really has ended up costing less than the first one. Not all carriers are the same......check with yours or with the ins. clerk at the clinic you are considering.

[Northwest_Nance 0]

I was self-pay. The fee I paid included all fills and treatment for 13 months following surgery. After that fills are $150 each.

If you have insurance, I think your out of pocket costs are minimal. If you're self-pay, the biggest worry is post-surgery complications.

[NY2LAGirl 0]

I am self-pay and at the time of surgery if I paid an extra $1000.00 I would have fills for life. Figured it would pay for itself in the first year.

[Kalipso2 25]

i'm single, no kids and was self pay. i live paycheck to paycheck and yes, i was worried... i'm still worried. the first couple months are hard because your food bill doesn't really go down in price. that doesn't happen until you're restricted. my grocery bill is now cut in half. i still live paycheck to paycheck but i'm MUCH happier and self confident now!

[VegasGrace 1]

I was (and still am) poorer than poor. So poor I can't afford health insurance.

I did the research and surprisingly found a great doctor who only charged me $7000 and that included pre-op, surgi center, the appliance itself, anesthesiologist, etc.

I also found Fill Centers USA before I did this and found their fee to be great.

So, knowing it was going to cost me $8,000 out of pocket {surgery, fills, transportation to Mexico, etc} I decided I could do that.

But what if...what if something went wrong? A leak, slippage, etc....

I decided before I got the band that if that were to happen, I'd just have the band removed. Any local ER can do that...if you are having complications.

But luckily and with the skill of my surgeon, it's been a year. Fill Centers used the Inamed guidelines and didn't cheat me out of any fill. So it only took 2 fills to lose, and 2 to stop loosing.

But you have to decide for yourself. Get your ducks in a row and get your plan B and C ready.