If you get your lapband at Cedar Sinai....best be prepared to fight the system!

[Ddem 0]

Hi Ddem,

I am new to this journey and just learned about the out of pocket costs that are not sent to insurance, do you mind sharing if & what your Doctors costs were? I was shocked when I got a call yesterday for $4500 plus my coinsurance etc bring me to $7000. Any help would be great thank you for any guidance. Are you still pleased with everything and your process?

Hi,

Sorry I have been away for a while. I am sure by now you have had a few fills/adjustments and have found out that the care girls and the accounting department has no clue what they are doing. The surgery went well. Dr. Khalili was wonderful. BUT...I am so tired of fighting every time I get a fill for the care girls to do the paperwork right! They NEVER get it right. I spend hours on the phone each time to straighten things out when they send me that $4000.00 bill for a effen fill! I am SO very tired of it that I haven't been back after my third fill and I am still fighting with them to get the last fill bill straightened out. I have a PPO and there shouldn't be any problem, but every time I call my insurance company, the tell me that once again, they failed to send in the proper codes and my claim is denied ....again! Then I spend a week and a half getting it all figured out and yelling until they send in the proper codes and descriptions - resulting in my insurance making the payment. I just couldn't stand it anymore. This last time, I cannot even get ahold of the care girl - or the department. I don't know WHO I am supposed to get ahold of now to get it cleared up now. Like I said, I haven't been back for a fill since October. And I am never going back there again! Hope you are having a lot better luck then I did.

ddem

Edited February 1, 2009 by Ddem

[Ddem 0]

I just wanted to make a comment: Even with all the problems with accounting, I am still happy that I got the band and still happy with the Dr. who did the surgery. Some people have paid out of pocket for their surgeries and I am glad that I didn't have to. GOOO BANNND!

[frenchvanilla 0]

I had my surgery wit hDr.khalili June of 2008, i never have any problems with the care people,or billing,guess i am lucky everything has been great for me at Cedars

[Headhunter 6]

Hi, FrenchVanilla!

Glad to see you’re doin’ well!

Hi, Ddem;

Sorry you’ve experienced some difficulty with Cedars-Sinai, or “Cedars-Cyanide” as it’s come to be known in my family.

I glad that (other than Ddem’s billing and insurance issues) you’ve both had good experiences at Cedars. I, on the other hand did NOT have a good experience with Cedars or, in particular, “Dr.” Kahlili. He performed (in my opinion) an absolute hack job on me, and when he was made aware of the problems, he pretty much refused to step up and deal with them until I started yelling “lawsuit”. THEN he responded, but did so very reluctantly, and with a nasty attitude. I have nothing but total contempt for him and the labyrinth that is the Cedars-Sinai organization. The experience cost me my health and several years of my life.

I am aware that surgeons are human, and they can make a mistake. We all go into surgery being aware of that. But, you are able to see what a Doctor is really made of when he DOES make a mistake and how he deals with the results. In MY case, he acted like I didn’t exist, and when I forced a confrontation, he behaved like a two-year old. I wouldn’t trust a hangnail to that guy. Again, I’m glad you both had good surgical experiences with Kahlili, but you need to be EXTRA grateful that nothing went wrong…..you would have been left out in the cold.

With regard to Ddem’s experience with the Cedars business offices, etc…..well, that, I found, is ALSO to be expected from them. They are a Monolith. They are entirely useless. They seem to live on this reputation of being the “Hospital of the Stars”, but if you reside on any social strata that is LESS than that of celebrity/film producer/etc, then you might as well go to County General for your needs.

Just MY opinions……but I’m certain that anyone who has lived through what I have would feel the same about them.

Bottom line, though, is that you both are doing great, and I am thrilled about that!:w00t:

HH

[YouChutUp 0]

I hate Cedars! I have had problems with them since day 1!! It took me almost 6 months just to get the surgery done...It should have taken half of that, at the most! But the care coordinators are complete morons!! And all the complaining in the world doesn't help. I'm in the process of writing a letter to Cedars and my insurance provider, detailing the experience; which has been riddled with incompetence, from the get-go. And, I am going to post it on every lapband site I can find! That's how much I can't stand the facility. The doctor, competent, but if he doesn't have the team to support the service.

If you’re getting it done here, get ready to be treated like cattle, because that’s what you’ll feel like. It just seems like a greedy doctor trying to get as many patients, in and out, as possible.

Good Luck! And if you can, get out and go somewhere else! You can find great lapband doctors all over Los Angeles!