Outrageous fill costs

[jenhay 1]

I had lapband surgery in July, 2008 and had my first fill in Oct and the second one in Dec and had another one scheduled for Feb which I have had to cancel because I have gotten the bill for the previous fills and my insurance is balking on paying the cost. I had everything pre- approved and went thru all the red tape and my insurance did pay for most of my surgery but it seems that none of my fills were included with the cost of my surgery. My Dr. charges $380.00 for a fill and there is a $450.00 Facility charge on top of that for a grand total of $830.00 per visit. I feel as if I have been left in limbo and can not take advantage of my lapband because I cannot afford the cost of the fills to get the restriction to make it all work. I have read on some threads that people are paying as little as $100.00 per fill and would pay that myself if necessary. I live in Western Kentucky and had my lapband in Evansville, IN and would appreciate any info on qualified fill Doctors within a 2 hr drive from me. Has anyone else had this problem? I went to a really good reputable weight loss center and just did not realize that the fill would be so expensive or is it my insurance they are trying to rip off? Jenhay

[RestlessMonkey 7]

My fills are $400 and that's what my insurance pays, just fyi! (well I have a 20% co pay until I reach a cap so I pay $80 and my ins 320)

[phyl808 1]

Wow, i thought that my fills that are 339 each are expensive. I know what you mean, its getting harder to afford to get another fill. My insurance only covered the surgery, no fills. Sad.

[HeatherO 7]

If insurance won't pay for the fills, perhaps you should ask for a self-pay rate for fills that is more affordable. it could be that they are just billing insurance for that high amount but it is much cheaper for a self pay.

If they won't accomodate you, I would definitely look elsewhere such as fill centers USA or just start calling around to local bariatric surgeons until you find something.

[Sommerbrez 2]

Got my first fill yesterday 3/18/09..Cost me 50 bucks, the fill cost itself was 450..Damn, thank goodness I have great insurance...

[wstorms 2]

I am yet to get a fill, but I have set up after care in Dallas and the doctor is going to charge me $250 a fill when I am ready.

[StephOnee 1]

this is something that i need to look into...i am schedualed for surgery for the 6th of april and my insurance is covering 90% of that cost, hopefully they cover fills as well! deff. something i need to look into

[StephOnee 1]

wstorms were you a self-pay?

[cattoy71 0]

Wow, the charges for your fills sound like what doctors charge for fills for patients that were banded elsewhere (i.e. Mexico).

You got some good advice about asking about self pay rates. You can often get a year or a series of fills for a fixed amount of money paid up front.

[jdrocks226 0]

my fills art 275$ and are covered by ins. i have not had to go to hosp. or have barium, except for right after sugery,but my ins. PPO Blue covered it all, don't know if there is a limit or not. i am 9 months out, and have reached goal. now to maintain. Judy

[tiffanye 0]

Can you dispute a claim that they don't pay. I know my insurance gives you six months to dispute something. I would try writing them a letter explaining that the fill is necessary for the band to work and they don't want to waste 20,000 on something that just sits inside you not helping at all. That is just silly on their end.

[olgi330 0]

I had lapband surgery in July, 2008 and had my first fill in Oct and the second one in Dec and had another one scheduled for Feb which I have had to cancel because I have gotten the bill for the previous fills and my insurance is balking on paying the cost. I had everything pre- approved and went thru all the red tape and my insurance did pay for most of my surgery but it seems that none of my fills were included with the cost of my surgery. My Dr. charges $380.00 for a fill and there is a $450.00 Facility charge on top of that for a grand total of $830.00 per visit. I feel as if I have been left in limbo and can not take advantage of my lapband because I cannot afford the cost of the fills to get the restriction to make it all work. I have read on some threads that people are paying as little as $100.00 per fill and would pay that myself if necessary. I live in Western Kentucky and had my lapband in Evansville, IN and would appreciate any info on qualified fill Doctors within a 2 hr drive from me. Has anyone else had this problem? I went to a really good reputable weight loss center and just did not realize that the fill would be so expensive or is it my insurance they are trying to rip off? Jenhay

You are being ripped off in every way! That price is outrageous...I pay $95 for each fill and the most expensive fill I've heard of in this are is $200 ( i live in NJ)

[jacobsmomyatta 0]

:bored:here in detroit fills are $150 which i thought was expensive. even to have some removed its the same! good luck finding someone cheaper!

[jenhay 1]

Hi All, Thanks for your input on the costs of fills. I have a friend who had the lap band in Louisville and all her fill for the first year were included in the cost. She was a self-pay and I thought that was why it was included. I did get a call from my insurance today and they told me that my adjustments WOULD BE COVERED! But I still am not happy with this particular weight loss clinic charging so much. I realize that the clinic is a part of the hospital and I have to see the dietician each time I go but that should not mean they should charge a $450.00 fee each time I go to get a fill. I do not have a problem with the $380.00 Dr. fee as I can see from everyones' different fee amounts that it is not totally outrageous on its own. But the bottom line is that my insurance is going to pay so I can make an appt. to get that long overdue fill. Again, thanks for all the information that you all shared. Jenhay

[Luanne 0]

Insurance pays for my adjustments at a large well known medical place but they are very cautious and I haven't had great success for getting good restriction, so decided to try Fill Center and even tho they don't take insurance they are more reasonable about trying different cc amounts till your satisfied.

The hardest part I've found is when you get adjusted and they stand and watch you drink Water and you have to decide how its going down. Its just water. When you leave and its 5 days later and your woofing down a sub sandwich and just paid out big bucks for restriction.

There should be a better way to get a good adjustment than just basing it on if you can drink water.

Anybody relate to what I'm talking about?