Cost of Vitamin draws

Most people do.  And most people have no major issues.  Also HSA may cover your cost of vitamins - but yiu need to verify that.  Due to isdues i have i need yearly MRI, plus iron infusions every 2 years or so...plus blood work...etc etc...that adds up ..

just an FYI: even though people are generally healthier and see the doctor less frequently after losing weight, you may also want to consider the possibility of medical costs for issues that affect people further out like problems from adhesions and kidney stones. The costs for diagnostic tests for both of those things, not to mention treatments that may involve surgery for the adhesions and ultrasound blasting or stent removal for kidney stones, can be significant.

Unfortunately, kidney stones are relatively common after RNY and can happen at any point in time (more likely as time passes); adhesions apparently usually rear their ugly heads in the first 2 years after surgery, though.

Lora

If you going to pay out of pocket, probably something like $800.  Depends on what all you get drawn, of course.

Fortunately, my insurance covers my lab work 100%. However, I've noticed that my lab bills my insurance something like $1950.00 so it would hrt like HELL if they didn't pay.

I was a beta tester for WellnessFX which might be an option for you. It was great. You can bring the results in to your Dr or they have phone consultations with their people. I brought them in to my Dr when I saw my iron & ferritin was low... ended up getting 2 infusions. Lab work is so important. Easy to resolve when you catch stuff early. Anyway this was the write up about my experience: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2014/03/post- weight-loss-surgery-lab-work.html

I just looked at the site and was amazed.  What I paid $1000 for out of pocket is $185 on their site. 

This is a wonderful option for people who are paying out of pocket.

This is great information. I think there is another lab locally that does this as well. I think consumer choice and shopiing around is the basis of an HSA and High Deductable insurance plan. Now I need to get a quote for myself. Thank you very much for your help. 

You may want to check this one out http://www.hsacenter.com/index.html.

Given that you had surgery, I would not NOT have an insurance plan and only go the HSA route. There could be unforseen healthcare issues that could drain you. Instead of looking at the upside of insurance...look at the downside of NOT having it.

HSA do not use negotiated rates. FYI when you go to the doctor, you pay the copay and the doctor and insurance company negotiate the rate down for what insurance will cover. You go to a doctor without insurance and just HSA, you are paying the full cost. IN ADDITION, there are maximums of what you can contribute to a HSA. I believe mine at work is 5,000. And, the rules state if you dont use it you lose it. Usually you are funding the account via payroll deductions which you decide during open enrollment,. You cannot usually change these mid-year. Just some things to keep in mind.

Thanks for this information, Shelly!

Sure thing. I had no insurance for awhile so I'd have to pay initial Dr. visit for lab work request, lab work itself, and then another visit to have them read... it was $$$. I loved that this option was out there... you pick what labs you want done: the basics or the whole nine, bring the request to your regular local lab (Quest or whatever), results are posted online and then if the #'s are not in range (clearly explained and they even have an App to keep track of them with definitions, really very cool) you can bring to your PCP or surgeon and deal with anything.

Glad it might help. Hope all is well.