Insurance, Cash Pay and Financing

by Regi Schindler, BLIS CEO/President

In addition to the summary data described on previous pages, BLIS will also provide a series of case studies in the form of a one paragraph summary of a case in which BLIS was involved. The first of these is presented below:

Case Study: BLIS0801

This case involves a 58 year old female patient with a Body Mass Index, (BMI) of 50.9. She had a Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass. Approximately six months later she required an operation to repair a Gastro-Gastric Fistula which resulted from a marginal ulcer at the site of her gastric pouch. During the course of her re-operation surgeons required an endoscopic procedure to diagnose her condition followed by surgical repair of the ulcerated pouch. The patient was in the hospital for three days. The bill submitted to BLIS for the hospital services totaled $46,601.00.

Case Study: BLIS0802

A 26 year old female patient with a Body Mass Index, (BMI) of 51.6 had a Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass. 94 days following surgery the patient was seen in the ER complaining of nausea and vomiting and treated with fluids. She returned to the ER 3 days later with a similar complaint during which an endoscopic procedure was performed with a diagnosis made of Stomal Stenosis, (narrowing of the outlet of the stomach pouch) and dilation for correction. The bill submitted to BLIS for the hospital services totaled $12,077.84 in addition to a bill from the anesthesiologist of $576.00.

Case Study: BLIS0803

This case involves a 31 year old female patient with a Body Mass Index, (BMI) of 67. She had a Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass. 28 days later the patient was admitted to the hospital due to Gastro-intestinal bleeding initially diagnosed in the ER. She was admitted into the intensive care unit for 48 hours. A colonoscopy was performed to determine the cause. Patient was transferred out of the ICU and remained in the hospital for two more days before being discharged in stable condition. The bill submitted to BLIS for the hospital services totaled $33,751. In addition there was an ER bill of $1,866, ambulance bill of $1,042, ER physician bill of $912 along with radiology, anesthesiology and pathology bills which brought the total billed charges to $40,819.

Case Study: BLIS0804

In this case a 63 year old male patient with a Body Mass Index, (BMI) of 40.91 had a Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band procedure performed, (device type was a LAP-BAND®). Approximately 4 months later the patient was diagnosed with a Slip. Due to scheduling issues on the part of the patient the surgical repair which involved the removal of the device and replacement with a new band was delayed approximately 3 months. During the subsequent re-operation a gastric perforation occurred which led to a 7 day hospital stay. The patient was discharged in stable condition however the band device was not replaced. The bill submitted to BLIS for the hospital services totaled $113,492. In addition the anesthesiology, radiology and other professional services totaled $20,030 for totaled billed charges of $133,522.

Case Study: BLIS0805

A 41 year old female patient with a Body Mass Index, (BMI) of 35.5, had a Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band procedure performed, (device type was a LAP-BAND®). 101 days following surgery the patient was diagnosed with a detached Port during a routine follow up visit with her BLIS surgeon. An inpatient surgical procedure was performed the same day in the hospital to reattach the port. The bill submitted to BLIS for the hospital services totaled $10,520. In addition the anesthesiology bill totaled $720.

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This information has been provided by BLIS, Inc. To learn more about BLIS solutions, visit http://www.bliscompany.com/.