I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times - has anyone self paid for their surgery?
I self payed at the cleveland clinic 5 years ago and ended up around 25k. They had some payment plans available but I'm thinking if I was doing it again I would certainly consider Mexico since a lot of people have had good outcomes there (Doc dependent of course). I had saved over 6+ years with that thought in mind and in hindsight I would have been better off getting the surgery earlier since it has worked out so well for me.
I hope you find a good solution for you.
Pete
HW 552 CW 198 SW 464 4/15/13 - Lap DS by Dr. Philip Schauer - Cleveland Clinic.
I self paid, and did the 25k amount. I took out a medical loan and claimed it on my taxes as a medical expense, which pretty much got me almost the full amount back in a refund and I was able to pay off the entire loan. I paid with my Amex card and got a crap ton of miles (which I immediately paid off with the loan amount). Maybe talk to your accountant to see what's possible.
I was self pay here in the US. There are plenty of good reasons to self pay, but for what it's worth, here is mine:
My insurance company was willing to pay IF I went through a 3 month supervised diet plan under the surgeon's supervision. However, when I went to the surgeon, I told him I didn't believe I had 3 months left to live.
Long story short, I was right. The day after my Lap DS, the nurse came around to get me up and moving. I felt pretty well. In fact, I didn't feel the pain from the surgery so many people experience. So we are walking the hospital corridor in this very small surgical center on a Saturday morning, and just as I passed in front of the nurse's station, I had a massive heart attack (my 4th) -- the blockage was in my the left anterior descending (LAD) artery. They call this the Widow Maker. It left me with Congestive Heart Failure.
PLEASE NOTE: THE DS DID NOT CAUSE MY HEART DISEASE OR MY HEART ATTACK, BUT MY OBESITY PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN IT!
Lots of ifs in the equation. If I had the heart attack before the surgery, no responsible surgeon would have touched me, or, at least, they would not have done a DS. If I had been at home or out somewhere, I would not have time to make it to the hospital. Probably would not have lived long enough for the ambulance to arrive. This same blockage killed my brother instantly just a year before. If I had been in my hospital room, I may not have even had time for the nurses to respond to my call light. As it happened, I had a cracker jack team of physicians and nurses who were at that nurses's station and they were on me immediately. I was transported to a larger hospital with a cath lab, and here I am.
As I said, I do have CHF, but I am active, take my meds and feel very well. I have paid off the $25K. My insurance covered the heart attack expenses.
You do what you need to do. Trust your judgment. Good luck.
I was self pay here in the US. There are plenty of good reasons to self pay, but for what it's worth, here is mine:
My insurance company was willing to pay IF I went through a 3 month supervised diet plan under the surgeon's supervision. However, when I went to the surgeon, I told him I didn't believe I had 3 months left to live.
Long story short, I was right. The day after my Lap DS, the nurse came around to get me up and moving. I felt pretty well. In fact, I didn't feel the pain from the surgery so many people experience. So we are walking the hospital corridor in this very small surgical center on a Saturday morning, and just as I passed in front of the nurse's station, I had a massive heart attack (my 4th) -- the blockage was in my the left anterior descending (LAD) artery. They call this the Widow Maker. It left me with Congestive Heart Failure.
PLEASE NOTE: THE DS DID NOT CAUSE MY HEART DISEASE OR MY HEART ATTACK, BUT MY OBESITY PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN IT!
Lots of ifs in the equation. If I had the heart attack before the surgery, no responsible surgeon would have touched me, or, at least, they would not have done a DS. If I had been at home or out somewhere, I would not have time to make it to the hospital. Probably would not have lived long enough for the ambulance to arrive. This same blockage killed my brother instantly just a year before. If I had been in my hospital room, I may not have even had time for the nurses to respond to my call light. As it happened, I had a cracker jack team of physicians and nurses who were at that nurses's station and they were on me immediately. I was transported to a larger hospital with a cath lab, and here I am.
As I said, I do have CHF, but I am active, take my meds and feel very well. I have paid off the $25K. My insurance covered the heart attack expenses.
You do what you need to do. Trust your judgment. Good luck.
