$3k WOW! Never heard that before...

So today I called up Dr. Rabkin's and Dr. Keshishian offices. Asked my questions both were basicly identical except.... Dr. Keshishian requires 3k out of pocket money! Doesn't cover anything I would use and is not covered by insurance or put towards surgery. I have never heard this from any of the offices. I have heard of 500 or 300 towards informational classes but never just 3k. Dr. Keshishian is an amazing doctor but I was just so flabbergasted by the fee.

Has anyone come across this before?? Is this more comman than I am aware of??

They said the 3k would cover:
e-mailing doctor (ummm... I have to pay for that)
support groups (live to far away to go to any)
follow up appointment (my insurance covers those)
any medical problems after surgery (my insurance covers that)

So that 3k would honestly only go right to their pockets. That is a nice big tip! lol

Just something to think about, yes you have insurance NOW but one can never see what the future will bring.

Luckly my insurance is forever :) Been a federal employee long enough to keep my insurance even if I lose my job :)

Yes, there are some surgeons who do this.

I am of mixed opinions about this. What usually wins out for me is that I paid nearly $20K for my DS, so $3K looks like pocket change to me.

Yes, I totally agree EN. If I was paying already 20k, I wouldn't care at all either lol Not with that amount of money already going in. Whats another 3k! lol

I have been very blessed to have amazing insurance! I don't plan on paying over 5k, so when I compare the 3k ... it just looks so big! lol

I'm so glad you posted this! I was wondering the same thing about Dr. Kemmeter. I've heard some people say that you only have to buy the supplements there, while others are saying there is a huge "program fee". So I'm kind of curious how people chime in about this (as in did they have to pay an upfront fee or not).

I hope so to Barb, very interested to hear some experiences with different offices.

I had a $1000 surgical fee that was required up front at GHP. I can't recall what the fee was for, but I didn't hesitate to pay it in order to get the ball rolling. If they had asked for more I would have given it to them. Dr. Kemmeter is not just an amazing surgeon, he's an amazing person. His kindness, knowledge and sense of humor was worth the money.

 

I will be having my DS with Dr. Kemmeter, in about 6 weeks or so.  I just met with him yesterday, once I get the final approval which is supposed to take about 2 weeks, they will be scheduling my date. 
Anyway, I had to pay $70 at the visit with the internist appointment 2 weeks ago.  I will also have to pay $1,000 2 weeks prior to surgery.  This is the co-pay that my insurance requires for surgery, not a program fee.  I have Priority Health, I had already looked it up long before I met with the surgeon so there was no surprises. 
They so require that you buy their protein products from their store for the 2 weeks pre-op & 2 weeks post-op diet.  I haven't purchased those yet, but they gave me an estimate of about $325 depending on the products you choose. 

My doctors fee was $325.00.  No revision fee either.  Dr. Stewart is awesome!