Cost of surgery.

Carol, I am a Wish Center post-op patient. The up front money the Wish Center requires before surgery depends on the kind of surgery you are having. I had Open RNY in March of this year. I had to pay the Wish Center $2,000 before surgery. At that time if you were having laprascopic surgery, the upfront cost to the Wish Center was $3,000. They are now doing the lap band, but I don't know what those costs are. In addition, Town and Country Hospital required that your out-of-pocket be paid on the day of surgery. My out-of-pocket is $3,000, I had already met $700 so we had to pay $2,300. Last month we got $300 of that back. Town and Country is not the only hospital now requiring patients having elective surgery, even if medically necessary, to pay the out-of-pocket fees up front. There was an article in Sunday's paper about that. The Wish Center really wants their patients to be successful so work with you to get you to surgery. Although I did not have to use it, they do have a finance plan to help those that need it. If you are self-pay, the cost is not as great as if you have insurance. The other piece that is important to know is that if you are not self-pay, you are responsible for any costs not paid by your insurance company, even those that are above usual and customary charges. I highly recommend the team at the Wish Center. Dr. Dietrick is a wonderful surgeon. You can call any member of the team at any time that you have questions. Their team members include a psychologist, nutritionist, exercise psysiologist, medicial assistant and the surgeon. Good luck to you! Jan