share your self pay price
The folks that had their operations in Mexico got it quite cheap because they also had a kidney removed & sold while they were not looking...just kidding. 
So what i found out when I was shopping around is you have to make sure people are giving you the right numbers to do a real apples-to-apples quote.
For example, my Dr. in Houston was about $9k...but...then you add about $5k for the hospital stay.....and.....several hundered $ for anesthesia .... and ....blood tests, x-rays etc. depending on what your doctor wants you to do pre and post op.
So if you ask me how much my Dr. was, then i will tell you $9k.
If you ask me how much my surgery was, I will tell you $16k
If you ask me how much the whole thing was I will probably say $18k - $19k (I have a high deductable insurance plan so I had to pay out of pocket for a lot of the bloodwork).
So what i found out when I was shopping around is you have to make sure people are giving you the right numbers to do a real apples-to-apples quote.
For example, my Dr. in Houston was about $9k...but...then you add about $5k for the hospital stay.....and.....several hundered $ for anesthesia .... and ....blood tests, x-rays etc. depending on what your doctor wants you to do pre and post op.
So if you ask me how much my Dr. was, then i will tell you $9k.
If you ask me how much my surgery was, I will tell you $16k
If you ask me how much the whole thing was I will probably say $18k - $19k (I have a high deductable insurance plan so I had to pay out of pocket for a lot of the bloodwork).
She's absolutely right. You need to find out not just the price but what it covers as some cover more than others.
Mine was 16980 and that included the surgery, hospitalization, anesthesiologist, 2 years of after-care including access to a nutritionist and therapist and, if there were complications, any additional work by my surgeon (but not any additional hospitalization, tests, etc.)
Most MX surgeons cover complications in their fees, but it's rare in the US. OTOH, if you have to fly hundres of miles to see your surgeon, you probably won't be going to him for a complication. It depends on how close you are to MX whether that makes a difference.
The MX fee also covers some of the pre-op testing. However, my insurance paid for all my pre-op testing even though they wouldn't pay for my surgery.
The other big difference is aftercare. Some don't include any, some include one year, some include years.
Finally, you can't really go entirely on price. This is your life you are talking about. Do you really want to go to an inexperienced surgeon or one with a higher than average complication rate because you are going to save a few thousand bucks? I sure didn't!
Mine was 16980 and that included the surgery, hospitalization, anesthesiologist, 2 years of after-care including access to a nutritionist and therapist and, if there were complications, any additional work by my surgeon (but not any additional hospitalization, tests, etc.)
Most MX surgeons cover complications in their fees, but it's rare in the US. OTOH, if you have to fly hundres of miles to see your surgeon, you probably won't be going to him for a complication. It depends on how close you are to MX whether that makes a difference.
The MX fee also covers some of the pre-op testing. However, my insurance paid for all my pre-op testing even though they wouldn't pay for my surgery.
The other big difference is aftercare. Some don't include any, some include one year, some include years.
Finally, you can't really go entirely on price. This is your life you are talking about. Do you really want to go to an inexperienced surgeon or one with a higher than average complication rate because you are going to save a few thousand bucks? I sure didn't!
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