Question:
Calling all posties! How much did YOU pay?
I am pre-op and I am trying to get a general idea of the costs I will endure. I am having Lap RNY and my pathetic insurance only pays 70/30. I know how much my surgeon charges, but I would like to get a rough estimate about the hospital. Please correct me if I am wrong, but the only two bills I should have are from the hospital itself and the anthesiologist, correct? If you had Lap RNY, what were your costs? I know it will vary from person to person depending on how long they were in the hospital and such. I just want to get some sort of average. Thank you in advance for your help! (Please email me if you would prefer- [email protected]) — karmiausnic (posted on June 20, 2002)
June 19, 2002
My daughter had no insurance and self-paid her lap RNY. Our surgeon has
one all-inclusive fee (surgeon, assistant, anesthesia, and all hospital
costs) of $18,700. If the surgeon does not have this type of contractual
relationship with the hospital, you may find that there could be additional
bills from pathology (if tissue samples are submitted for analysis),
radiology (for reading your X-Rays), cardiology (for interpreting your
EKG), etc. The business manager in your surgeon's office should be able to
give you some idea of the total cost, or if your surgeon offers a support
group for his WLS patients, you might be able to discuss the financial end
of this surgery at one of the meetings. Good luck!
— Diana T.
June 19, 2002
I had LAP RNY and was in the hospital 2 days. The hospital bill was
$22,500.00. The anesthesia bill was $1200.00. My surgeon's bill was
$3000.00. Those were the only bills I received.
— Patty H.
June 19, 2002
My hospital bill was $14,900 or so. I also had $1,495 for anesthesiology,
about $200 for pathology and I got a bill yesterday from my surgeon at
almost 3 months post-op concerning my 1-month post-op visit. That was $50
and it appears they have $7,800 in pending insurance claims. I called my
insurance company last night and they don't have the claim listed yet so
I'm calling the doctor's office today to ask what is the hold-up. I want
to know what my final liability is. My insurance also only pays 70/30 or
so I was told. So far, I have only had to pay the $200 deductible and they
paid everything else in full. That is why I am so anxious to find out
about the surgeons' bills and when they are planning on submitting them for
payment. I think 3 months is long enough to know just what they want to
charge. Also, nearly $8000 is not bad for 2 hours worth. I had surgery on
a Friday and never saw my actual surgeon again until Monday morning before
I was being discharged. The rest of the time, I saw med students who were
working under him as we have a university hospital.
— Tparker
June 19, 2002
This question has been asked many many times. you may want to check the
library for more answers. Surgeon fees approx 5k, Hospital 45k, anest
900. Open Rny, 3 day stay, no complications.
— RebeccaP
June 20, 2002
I feel great now.. If I ever make it through these insurance hoola hoops, I
will only have to pay $100.. that is my hospitalization co-pay, surgery has
no co-pay [paid 100%], and all of the tests are no co-pay.. the only thing
I will have to pay for is $15 office visits... Then I have supplimental
insurance [AFLAC].. that pays me $100 for the surgery and $100 per day that
I am in the hospital... So what I am saying is that sometimes you have to
go through hell to meet an insurance company's requirements, but it seems
in my case that aside from the obvious benifits of surgery, it will be
entirely worth it....
— Angela G.
June 20, 2002
My insurance covered 80/20 but most insurances have a maximum out of pocket
expense(at least mine did) With my insurance it is 1500 a year so with all
my pre ops and other various doctor visits by the time I had my surgery in
Nov. I only had 500$ left that is how much I gave to the hospital. My
bills for 4 days for lap RnY were over 30,000. It mwould be worth looking
into if you have a maximum out of pocket payment because that is the actual
amount you should have to pay if your insurance covers the surgery. Good
Luck!
— Rachel M.
June 20, 2002
I would have been jumping for joy if I had coverage that handled at 70/30 -
I paid for mine full price and the bills just keep on coming. I paid
$15,000.00 upfront to the hospital which was suppose to take care of a
"normal" (no complications) 2 day stay in the hospital. I was in
for the "normal" time and was still charged an additional
$4,500.00. The "staples and reload on staples" was $4,700.00 all
by itself. When questioned, the hospital said it was write. I also had to
pay my surgeon and his assistant $4,800.00. I also had a $1,700.00 charge
to my anesthesiologist. But wait - that's not all even though I thought
so. Then comes pathology reports. When you take the esophogus swallow
test shortly after surgery - someone has to read that as well - another
$800.00 bill. I've got blood work that had to be ran which wasn't included
- another $200.00. Not to mention all of the medicines/vitamin regimen
that I had to get to start my post-op stuff with - another $200.00+ ~ it's
spendy, spendy, spendy but I am getting my life back and me or my family
couldn't find a price tag to put on my life. I'd do it again in a
heartbeat.
Good luck to you and be thankful you've got some of this covered - it's a
lot better than nothing, I promise. :)
Lisa J. (formerly L.J. <-- I've come out of the closet) :::woohoo:::
— Lisa J.
June 20, 2002
hey there....i just got the hospital bill 2day (pending insurance) and the
total was $29,769.59 ... also my anthesia bill was 3,900 ...have yet to
receive the surgeon's bill ... but all are pending insurance payment :-)
— hrussinko
June 20, 2002
Thank you everyone for your comments!! I found out today that I will only
have to pay $100 to $200 upfront to the hospital, so that's good for me. I
already knew that I would have to pay a little less than $700 to my surgeon
upfront. All in all, I know I should be grateful that I have any coverage-
I only wish that I had a max out-of-pocket limit, which I don't. After
$10,000 it pays 80/20 and after 15,000 it pays 100%. So I guess that'll be
helpful. I'm just a worry wart- especially when it comes to bills! Thanks
again!!!
— karmiausnic
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