Question....

My insurance says that it pretty much covers everything at 80%. So I know that I will be responsible for a small part of my RNY bill, has anyone else had to deal with this? Do they just bill me or will I need to have the money up front?  Just a little concerned about this one since nobody has mentioned it yet and I should be getting my date next week.

Obviously none of us knows the answer for sure, but my experience is that almost all hospitals are pretty damn persnickity about getting their money before they provide you with any non-emergency services. I guess they have to be that way with all the deadbeats out there. I'd make plans to have the money or to have the financing lined up to show them before I walked in the door.  My insurance paid 0%, so it was a nobrainer for me.

I don't know the answer, but it sounds like you have Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  It's good for being acceptable nearly everywhere, but that 20% can be a *****  I worked for the Fed govt and have a choice of several insurance plans.  So, I picked an HMO I can live with.  I also know most people working for private companies don't have the luxury that I have. Allowing people to join the various plans that are available to Federal workers and Congress would be the first step in Health Ins reform in this country as I see it. I'm sorry for getting off point in response to your post.

At about 40 grand my surgery would have cost me 8 grand but luckily my insurance only required a 500 dollar copay...my hospital billed me for it later....if you're worried about it I would just ask the hospital

Hey Ray we used to live in Gilbert Az before we moved to Oregon. I am sure missing some sun right now! It has been snowing for days now. I dont miss the dairy farms though....lol We lived near val vista and ray. Well just wanted to say hello. Derrick

You might want to shop around depending on the answer to your question.  Most 80/20 split policies have a yearly out of pocket limit, so you will be maxed out at 2500 dollars (for example) out of pocket, other poclices do not.  The best bet is to call your insurance company and find out what they mean by 80/20...if it means all the bills, just the doctors fees, etc.  Also as I said you might ant to shop around.  I know I had the DS in manhattan, my total hosptial bills (including surgeons fees) were over 125K ...manhattan is just expensive for everything.....you can have the DS in PA for about 20K whi*****ludes a 3 day hospital stay. 

Hey matt.... Scotty is Right....on the out of pocket yearly.... I had the 80/20 with an out of pocket at 2k, now remember, the hospital will charge you 20% of the contracted rate, not the street rate...the contracted rate is way less... I think I was save up about 1k....just to no be suprised...the hospital wil tell you, but they don;t look at it till the last min...so call your insurance, and find out they terms...then if you wanna more exact number...with the info you have, call the insurance person at the hospital, and say...this is my policy...what are we looking at 1k is a lot more do-able then 15 k Russ

The only good part about my employer.  Good health coverage, not cheap but good.  I feel so lucky that everything was covered and I was approved with only a 6 month supervised diet. good luck to you. jim d

BCBS of Texas after out of pocket, which i had already met cost me $530.00 total for hospital.My surgeon charged me only what the insurance would pay; nothing above.

Sorry Matt dont have an answer for ya. Just make the calls sugested by the other guys and you should be able to pin a number down.  Derrick