Wish Center question

when i had my first appt, i thought they told me that i could make payments on the support fee. can anyone tell me any different? thanks, dawn

Hi dawn~ I am going through the wish center. and I just have to have a down payment on the pre-op appointmaent and then I can make monthly payments after that, but i think they must be paid for in 12 months christine byrne

ok so is that just your pre op that your paying for? im wondering about the support fee. thanks!

yes... the support fee is for the support groups after surgery.. for those of us who are lucky enough to have out insurance pay for our surgery(and mine is ..100% : ) )our after care support groups are not covered, self pay patients get the support groups at no charge or the charge is in the amount paid for surgery... So since my insurance is paying for mine, i have to have a down payment for the support groups at my pre-op on feb 28, and then i have to make monthly payments but it must be paid for within 12 months. christine

Wow had my surgery 1 year ago today. I never heard of a support fee.I dont think there should be a charge for that? I live 6 hours away from renton so I havent gone .I go to Kaiser group support here instead.I actually had a falling out with Dr. alperovitch He hurt my feelings when I was sick and I called him to see if I should go to the hospital. It was a wonderful hospital to have the surgery in. Aftercare well I havent been impressed.Do they charge you for there online support group?They have one for people who dont live close to ask questions. Good luck I just dont think you should have to pay for support . I would hope you could find a free one in your area Or start one if you have the time!

Hey Heather~ I am sorry to hear that you had a problem with Dr, Alperovich, to be honest you are the only one who I have heard has a had a negative expereince, thanks for being honest...I dont know about the on-line support, if there is a fee or not, but since my insurance paid for my surgery, I must pre-pay for the support after groups if i use them or not, if I dont, they will not do the surgery.. I dont mind paying for them know that I have suck a great surgeon, that was all that really mattered to me. I live 3.5 hours away and probably wont use the groups very often...maybe a few in the summer, but not once the roads get bad..well anyway thanks for your responce. ~christine

Hi, that is why I choose to go to the wish center. They seem to tell you one thing and do another. Myself and two of my friends went and I have a contract insurance that will pay, my second friend had a non-contact insurance that will pay and the 3rd person was self-pay. Now here is what they are doing. Since they have to write such a large portion of the bill of for contracted insurance they are tacking on a service fee in order to collect some of there loses. My friend or the self-pay person did not have to do that. In fact each of us (and we went the same day) had a different fee for the lap-band. Secondly they advertise that you can make payments upto 5 years and then they saw my friend (the cash patient)ran all the test and then discussed payment in which they would not even carry a contract. I have worked in the medical insurance for over 20 years and I was truly upset about this. I called there corporate office and complained to them and the Washington State insurance commissioner. I hope they have changed the way they do things. I went the surgical Weight loss center in Tacoma NO EXTRA FEES FOR ANYTHING. My insurance was billed and has paid. OH BY THEY WAY I AM DOWN 53 LBS SINCE SURGERY 12-16-04.