Did you have Fee's or program costs for pre-op diet?

I completely agree

I found a seasoned surgeon closer to where I live ( 1.2 miles vs. 100miles) With this surgeon the only out of pocket is the psych evaluation & the Nutritionist (275 total) My post surgery classes are, to my knowledge, not an additional charge. Sadly my sisters prospective surgeon (who operated on my grandmother) charges an out of pocket $1,500 for 24 hour access to a physician post surgery, when I reported this to my sisters insurance company seeking answers (happens to be California's Medi-Cal) a fraud case was conducted for double billing.

also OMG Shelly, I squealed a little when I saw you replied to my post. I've been following your writings & recipes for three plus years, since the first day I started researching WLS. Your sense of humor keeps me more interested than any other wls blog out there THANK YOU

I had to pay a $100 program fee which covers the 15 required support groups plus any others I choose to attend, all of the many required nutrition classes, psych eval, free counseling & nutrition appointments for life, & all before & after surgeon visits. Every surgeon my insurance will cover is an Optum Center for Health and they all required a program fee & a pre-op liquid diet (my surgeon requires Optifast made by Nestle) which has to be purchased from them because it's a medically supervised diet. Depending on the products you choose, the Optifast is $400-$500 for the month but you can pay for it with your flexible spending healthcare money. The point of the liquid diet is to shrink your liver and make surgery safer for you and easier for the surgeon. Most overweight people have enlarged fatty livers that can get in the way.

I was worried abut an enlarged liver and although I am still 8 weeks out I started a two liquid shakes one meal diet and have dropped 14lbs.

When I had lap band surgery done five plus years ago I had to pay $900 program fee my Dr. That will do my sleeve surgery does not charge one.

I think this is becoming more and more of the norm.  When you are researching for a surgeon, ask this before you commit to the surgeon.  When you attend the free seminar this is a good time to ask about any fees and or requirements if you want surgery with that group.

Good Luck