Bariatric Fees if You Pay for It?

Those of you much more knowledgable in this please jump in with your information.I know that lap-band is not covered at all under our Manitoba Health, so that, for now, puts that option out of the running.

 I have read back as far as I can on this forum and from what I am reading, St.B is doing the two options for surgery paid for by Mb. Health. (this is where my acceptance letter came from in January of this year) Why have some people had surgery at the Victoria Hospital? Did you pay for it yourself..vsg or bariatric? And if you paid for it, how much was it and can you use it as a medical expense on your income tax? I spent alot of time online last night trying to find these answers both with RevCan and fees for bariatric surgery and couldn't find much.

Im kicking myself that I didnt see this pilot program earlier and feel I wasted 2011 not knowing. I am pretty sure I will be at least 2 yrs waiting and after reading about all of you, I drive myself crazy wanting it sooner. (not that I can afford it, but if tax wise its beneficial, maybe its something to look into?) Borrow the money and then get a good chunk of it back on income tax and that can go towards the loan? Thanks to anyone who has more info..

those of us that had surgery in manitoba had our surgery @ the vic as thats the hospital that is doing the program.we had to pay for meeting with dietian and shrink
they offer both vsg and rny.the surgery is completely covered by manitoba health.

I went to Mexico (just had surgery two weeks ago today) to a Bariatric Center of Excellence.  With fees and airfare, my costs were around $8000, but it could cost you more than that depending on the fee they quote and whether you get a seat sale (which I did).  Revenue Canada allows a health care deduction which is about 17% of costs, so it's not a huge amount.  However, you also will be eating so little that your grocery bill will be a fraction of what it is now.  You can have the surgery booked within three to four weeks there.

The surgeons have their clinic in St. Boniface. However, they do the actual surgeries at the Victoria Hospital. If you are accepted into the program then you can choose between the Gastric Sleeve or Roux-en-Y (gastric bypass) procedures. Both are 100% covered by Manitoba Health.

You will have to pay for the following out of pocket:
$200 - Nutritionist fee
$150 - Psychologist fee
$200 - pre-op diet meals
$50 - medications

If you do find a way to afford the lap-band surgery, that is great. However, I would research all three procedures and determine which is the best fit for you before you go ahead and make your final decision. Have your gp write you a letter to get into the St. Boniface program now though - the wait time is long.

Good luck!

Tanya

Okay, thanks so much for the help. I didn't realize that the surgeries were done at the Vic..I assumed St. B as the clinic is referred to as that.