Lap band costs

Hi everyone
I'm currently on the road to deciding on weight loss surgery, I have a doc's appt. monday for a referral to St. Joes hospital in hamilton ON, but am considering the lap band as a preferred method.  What kind of total cost am I looking at, there seems to be a lot of different info out there.
Thanks ... Wendi

Hi Wendy,

Mine was covered by insurance, but a friend of mine wasn't.  So this is the information I have, but it is outdated.

My Blue Cross paid 23,000.00 5 years ago. 0 out of pocket
My friend: Paid Cash for gastic by pass 6 years ago and paid 20,700.00 out of pocket.

Hopefully someone out there will have some up to date figures for you.  Hope this helps.
Sandi

My total cost for everything was around 20 grand .  That includes all the blood work, EKG's they had to do , chest xrays , all that medical stuff.

It included the hospital stay , the lap band , paying the doctor . I get the first 10 fills free  which my doc only does them every 4-6 weeks and not before that .

After my free fills are done its about 75-100 per visit but after the first yr is over with you really should only have to see him twice a yr then or that is what my doc requires .

Also , if anything goes wrong the first yr, a flipped port, the band slipping or anything to do with the lap band he does the surgery again at his expense I dont have to pay for anything if it happens the first 12 months .

It was worth every penny I would do it again in a heartbeat even if something happened to my band today .

My insurance covered all but 1500.00 due to deductables . That was for pretesting and surgery. In addition each visit I did have a 15.00 or 20.00 co pay depending on the Dr I was seeing. Those add up as well. My ded. all started over recently and until I meet them for this year I pay about 160.00 for a fill . You have to count aftercare as well it is neccesary and can be expensive .The best way to find out what you will owe is to first call your ins and ask what they cover and what your part will be then get with the ins specialist at your surgeons office and ask what your part will be there. For me the surgeon billed me seperate from the hospital and  I was not expecting that.  To know for sure you need to know what your policy covers and what and how your surgeon bills. Then go from there.:)

Wendi,

I just got my EOB from my insurance and I think I have a grand total of around $60,000.  I only have a $850 deductible.  All I can say is thank God for my insurance or there is no way I could have it done.  I would love to have plastics done, the "girls" need to be put back where they started, after 3 kids they just arent the same, LOL, but there isn't anyway I could do it....  I had my surgery done at Geisinger in Danville, if that helps at all....

Good luck
Jamie

Hi

First, I wish you the best of luck on your surgery and journey.  As cost is concerned, I had to pay a $500 deductable and then I had to cover $2,500 as part of my "out of pocket expenses" as per my Insurance Plan. 

Good luck!

My doctor recognizes that many of us do not have insurance that will cover this.  He and the hospital have a total package price of $10,500 for surgery---I received $1,000 back from that for having a same day surgery with no complications.  The sleeve was $20,500 self pay and RNY was $27,500.  They charge $80 for fills after the first 90days.  A friend just had a RNY at a surgery center about 50 miles from our area and paid $15,000 for RNY so it can vary. 

Good luck---I am down 57# since my mid December surgery---half way to my goal of 150#
it works if you do exactly what they tell you to do.
Harmony

You will need to check with your insurance and find out first if it's covered and second what is your max out of pocket expense. My surgery total was around 40,000.00 that included doctor and anesthesia I had to pay my 500.00 deductible and my 5,000.00  max out of  pocket expense. I had free fills for the first 3 months then had to pay copay. Good luck hope all goes well for you

I had Lap-Band surgery in August of 2010 and I was self-pay as my insurance wouldn't even look at it and I paid, in Colorado, a total of 10,000.00 for the surgery (included overnight stay for 3 days, and all pre and post visits for 3 months) However, my insurance did pay for some of my blood work.  I am past my 3 months so now I pay for fills - 86.00 a visit.  This does not include the expense of all the NEW CLOTHES I have had to buy because I have lost so much weight so fast...
When I was shopping for the right WLS, price was a consideration, but also the versatility and longevity of the results.  Lap-Band won for me, but I did research gastric and the price was 13, 595.00.. Same doc in Denver, CO. Best of luck to you!