Alberta Health Insurance Plan paid for part of my Mexico DS

I had the DS done in Mexico in August. Best decision I ever made. It cost me $13,500 plus travel costs. I was willing to suck this up because getting this surgery was so important and I have no regrets at all.

While I was at home recovering I was informed by my disability insurance that they were denying my claim because they considered the procedure "elective" since I went out of country to have it done. Never mind that you can't even get this surgery in Alberta and the provinces that do offer it don't accept out-of-province patients unless they are self pay, and even then there are really long wait times. I hadn't really budgeted for a month of lost income, so this was a blow. Especially since I have been having to buy so many new clothes (although shrinking out of clothes doesn't suck at all). 

Well, the disability lady was nice enough to suggest that I submit a claim to Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan because if they cover it I can appeal my disability claim and there is a good chance it will get approved. I hadn't even thought about trying to get money back from the government. Well, I submitted the claim towards the end of November and got a cheque for $2200 yesterday. Between this and the income tax refund I will get for having so many medical expenses last year I may end up having about a third to a half of it paid for me. Not to mention that I might be able to recuperate the lost income I had not been anticipating.

I am not sure whether ACHIP would cover any expenses for procedures offered in Alberta (like the sleeve or the RNY) but for those of you who ended up traveling and were self-pay, it is worth a try.

 

What hoops did you have to jump through to get Alberta Health to pay for part of your DS?

I've heard I can also use it as a tax deduction if I get a letter from my doctor - do you know much about that?

I had the lapband in 2009 and had no trouble getting the money back on my taxes. You can even claim travel for you and your spouse. Originally I didn't realize that you can claim expenses for a travel companion, but when they audited me (they seem to audit me every year for something or other although I have never once owed them another penny) I added these expenses and they ended up owing me money. I don't think I did anything special, just filled out the right form on my income tax.

Getting the money from ACHIP also wasn't that difficult. If you go to their website there are forms for out of country claims. The only thing I had to do was go back to my surgeon and get a more detailed and itemized bill, since you need a breakdown of costs and you need to keep hospital and doctor's fees separate. Then I just sent it all in and crossed my fingers.

Give it a go, it just might work for you.

Did you need an itemised receipt for taxes as well? It sounds like need to contact Dr Aceves office for a more detailed receipt.

My husband is considering being sleeved as well, although he wouldn't qualify here. He has severe sleep apnea and takes 3 drugs to (try to) control his blood pressure, but he's "only" 50# overweight.

I'm not sure what kind of receipt you will need for taxes. Probably not as detailed as for Alberta health, just a description of what each thing cost. I'm sure Nina will help you out.

Can you guys help me? I am trying to figure out how to fill out the form.

There is a practioner section and then hospital section.

Did you put it all under hospital?

My receipt includes dietician consult, ekg/lab work, cardiologist evaluation, surgeons fee, anesthesiologist fee, operating room and hospital fees.

I am not sure what goes where and I don't want to wait two months to get just get denied.

Ask for a more detailed receipt that shows the surgeon's fees separately from hospital fees and says how many days you were admitted to hospital. Alberta Health pays $100 for each day in hospital and whatever rate they decide on for the surgeon and I think that's it. (I could be wrong - I often am)

It isn't going to cover everything by a long shot, but it's money you don't have now and the rest (including flights for yourself and your support person) is tax deductible.

Hello, we're you able to get an itemized statement on the fee breakdown? If possible, can I see it? I'm having a hard time getting one from my patient coordinator. Which I think is BS!