Self Pay RNY

Just wondering if anyone has had RNY as a self pay patient here in Missouri.  I am looking at several doctors in the St. Louis, metro area.  Most seem to be right around $25,000.00 give or take a couple of thousand.  My insurance has an exclusion for WLS and the company I work for happens to be self funded so I am out of luck on getting any help from them.  I am prepared to pay.  But it kills me to think I may be paying considerably more than the negotiated UCR charge my insurance would have had to pay.  I digress...  Anyway, any knowledge of self pay would be greatly appreciated.  My biggest concern financially is the possibility of complications and what insurance may or may not cover after the initial surgery.  Thanks for your thoughts.  Julie

i thought i was going to have to self pay when i had my surgery but didnt . I was going to go to Mexico since it was a whole lot cheaper . Dr. Jonya or something like that he has advertisement oh the page that flashes sometimes. Anyway welcome to the board and im sure there is someone on the boards that have self paid  Come back often.

Thanks Jan for the welcome.  I think this site is going to be a good friend to me.  By the way, you look wonderful.  I read most of the entries on your page.  I'm glad your knee is doing well.  My husband just turned 65 in January.  He had a right total knee in 2000 and then the left in 2005.   Then in June of 06 he got a staph infection that settled in the right knee and nearly killed him.  After about 7 surgeries and 25 days in the hospital over the course of about 11 months he is doing better.  But I tell you what, it really hit home how heavy I had gotten.  Taking care of him and lifting wheelchairs in and out of the car was difficult.  It was a real wake up call.  Time to get busy living or get busy dying.  I'm so excited that there's hope for me.  Thanks again.  Julie

Hi Julie.   I had RNY in February and was self-pay.    It sounds like our situations are very similar.  My husband's employer has self-funded insurance as well, and had an exclusion.   I used Dr. Wagner at St. Alexius in St. Louis.  Have you checked with them?  His practice is called Heart of America Bariatrics (www.hoab.org) but he also works with the New Start Program at St. Alexius.  I found the best interest rate at that time with Capital One Healthcare finance, at 9.99%.  My payment is $488 per month.  The totals I was charged for the surgery are as follows: $15,000 for the hospital, $6749.75 for the surgeon, and $750.00 for the anesthesia. As far as the concern of complications, I worried some about that, too.  But this was something I wanted very badly, so I took a leap of faith (and spent a lot of time in prayer).   I haven't had a single problem, and don't regret my decision for a moment.  However, you should consider what is best for you. I hope this helps.  By the way, I really like Dr. Wagner and think he did a wonderful job.   There are probably others who have had different surgeons whom are great too.    And I do think the prices are fairly similar between St. Alexius and DePaul, but I'm not sure about the other hospitals or programs in the St. Louis area. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks Amanda.  I actually went to one of Dr. Wagner's seminars last week.  I was impressed.  I'm trying to decide between he and Dr. de la Torre at DePaul.  Dr. de la Torre did my sister and 3 of my cousins.  Of course they all had insurance that covered their surgery.  So we'll see.  The prices you paid are exactly what Dr. Wagner's office quoted me yesterday.  They did say it would come to 25,000 with the pre op testing.  I'm sure that's probably reasonable.  I know this is the right decision and I believe that God will watch over me.  Thanks for the info and I'm glad you are doing well.  By the way, did Dr. Wagner require the psych eval?  In the packet I received it said they needed a letter from your primary care doc and a psych eval for insurance.  I just wasn't sure if those were just insurance requirements or program requirements.  I'd like to get the process started right away and want to have all my ducks in a row.  Thanks again.  If you think of anything that might be helpful, let me know. :) Julie

I had RNY and was self pay.  It was right at $25,000 until I had complications.  I went through the New Start Program at St. Alexius Hospital.  I had Dr. Follwell and Dr. Richardson.  My doctors and St. Alexius were wonderful.  I had to be a self pay because we did not have insurance at that time.  We now have insurance and I am very scared that the insurance is going to give me a hard time about paying for my liver specialist that I am going to because of the complications of the RNY surgery.  It all depends on if I had liver problems before the surgery or if the surgery caused the liver problems. Well, that is my delema.  Good luck to you.

Thanks for the info.  I've heard very good things about both of your doctors.  I hope all goes well with your liver specialist and insurance.  Do you know are liver problems commom?  I've heard about hernias and gallbladder, but I haven't known anyone who's had liver complications.  Thanks again.  Julie