lapband cost

Wondering what anyone's surgery cost was?  I stayed overnight in the hospital.  I guess seeing the advertisements that float on here for banding in $6000-8000, I figured it would be maybe a few thousand more.  I almost fell over when I opened the bill from the hospital and it was $54,000!  Then a separate bill from anethesia (spelled wrong), another few grand.  Now thankfully, I have insurance and not paying myself.  But I still can't believe it was that much.  I've called the hospital and told them I wanted to see an itemized bill.  Is this in the same ballpark with what others have seen?

Now you know why insurance costs are so high! I'm not a lapbander and insurance covered my RNY so I have no idea how much it was. I did have knee replacement(s) in 2000 and 2001 and I know each one was over $125,000 - talk about feeling like the bionic woman! Hospital costs are unbelievable - guess just feel lucky you had the insurance.

Maybe in those ads you're seeing the $6000-$8000 is just the surgeon's cost? Then you have to add anesthesia (VERY EXPENSIVE - they make more than doctors) - all the hospital costs and everything else they add on. Honestly $54,000 doesn't surprise me.

$54000 doesn't surprise me at all!

The thing with the 6-8k advertisements...when people are paying out of pocket and stuff like that, surgeons/hospitals make "deals" with the patient and things like that.  Plus, like Kathy said, there are probably other fees such as anesthesia and things like that which would need to be paid.

From working in hospitals this is what I have found.  Insurances give hospitals a certain percentage of $$ for certain things, based on what THEY feel was necessary for the patient.  Let's say for example, that a hospital orders a specific test and they bill the insurance one grand for that test.  Well, if the insurance company doesn't feel that test is necessary, they don't pay for it.  So the hospital is basically out that money.  HOWEVER...what they do is they "up" the prices on other things to help recoop that money.  For example, one of the hospitals I work in charges for pulse ox monitoring (the thing they put on your finger when they are doing your v/s)  Now, this piece of equipment is reusable, and does not require any special things or anything like that.  We charge $58 for that.  That price, in my opinion, is just ridiculous for a 3 second thing.  But, insurance covers it as it is a "standard of care" so we charge for it so we get what $$ we can out of them.

It's just a big business game which is killing America.

And why insurance is soooo needed for everyone!

I was fully insured and my itemized bill from Barix was over $56K plus anesthesia and other stuff. I'm think the $6000-$8000 in the surgeons fee (which is what it also was at Barix) and all the other charges (OR, anesthesia, hospital stay) is what adds up.

well worth it in my book and EVER so grateful I had good health insurance.

Just wanted to say that the prices you saw are from the doctors operating in Mexcio mainly,. I just had my VSG in Mexico and I paid $9750. It was a whole lot less that if I had it in the US and believe the service and care that I got was probably a whole lot better too.