Question:
I need helo figuring out how to pay for this surgery myself..
My new health insurance has a specific exclusion regarding the surgery. I am 5'5 and weigh between 299-305 lbs. I need help.... — Danielle T. (posted on August 1, 2002)
August 1, 2002
I too am going self pay. I can not afford it here in the US, that is why I
am going to Brazil for the DS. Everyone who has been down there rave about
the care you receive and how wonderful Dr.M. is. The total cost for the
surgery, flight, hotel, nurses, etc will be around $10,000. Check out the
Yahoo groups and DuodenalSwitch.com There is all kinds of information out
there! If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask! Good Luck
to you!
— Jackie C.
August 1, 2002
I have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and they have an exclusion policy
for treatment of obesity as well. I worked with Liv Lite in Junction City,
Kansas to self pay. Everywhere is different but here they require a
$19,000 down payment. $15,000 to the hospital, $3,000 to my surgeon, and
$1,000 to anesthesia. I was lucky enough to have a grandma who cares about
my life (and had the means to) sell stock for the down payment. As the
bills come in, my insurance is paying for parts of it. They will probably
pay for my gallbladder part of the surgery since I had gall stones. I'll
probably be paying the hospital $50 a month for the rest of my life... but
it's worth it. I hope that you can find some way to do this. I know of a
lady who took a second mortgage on her house to have this done! I've also
heard of people selling cars and all sorts of other things. Good luck! =)
— Tanya B.
August 1, 2002
Bieng realistic anywhere you attempt to have it done will require a large
down paymt, whether it is $10,000 in Brazil or $20,000 in the US, which
most people don't have that kind of money just sitting around. Yes there
are some lucky ones that have the financial means or get gifts from others
but this might sound harsh but someone else didn't get you fat so why
should it be thier problem to pay for your surgery. I think it is great
that you are taking it upon yourself to research different ways to make
this happen. I don't see anything wrong with seeking out employment that
provides insurance that will cover the costs. Speedway Gas Stations carry
insurance that pay for it. And if you arn't able to work but are married
and your husband is the policy holder than think about looking for
different employers doing whatever his occupation is. People have to do
what that have to and if it is god's will than you will find a way. Good
Luck!
— Rebecca B.
August 1, 2002
I am so sorry for rebecca's "harsh" words. It is incredible that
even someone supposedly in our shoes could have that attitude about
obesity. no, it is not someone else's responsibilty to pay for your
surgery, but if everyone neglected everything outside theri responsibilty
how "harsh" this world would become. Children would starve and
die, women would die at the hands of abusive husbands and just a quick
note: the insurance premiums you paying for everyone else. So in answer to
your question you can think about home equity and other private loans,
churches, groups to which you belong, car washes around here to save a life
have brought in 1000 each one, granted that is twenty car washes, if you
have an local news station that runs on of those activist/consumer things
advertising how cruel your insurance is for denying it may bring about
their cooperatoin in an attempt to save public face.a last ditch effort is
to apply for a #!@^ LOAD OF CREDIT CARDS AND MAXING THEM OUT!
— nicole P.
August 1, 2002
Probably best to get some sort of part time job. Home depot covers WLS.
Save spending all that money and self pay can be dangerous. If you have a
complication and long hospilitazition. I admire your effort to pay for it
yourself. What we REALLY need to do here is organize to get WLS for MO
covered by federal law or something. That would end the exclusion mess..
— bob-haller
August 1, 2002
Thanks to Nicole for some kindness. I don't think any of us intentionally
get up to 300 lbs or more! And I speak from experience at weighing over
300 lbs these last several years of my life and never below 200 since grade
school! I just want to chime in and say you're not alone. I honestly
can't get insurance either that'll cover it. I really believe though that
"where there's a will, there's a way". It just may take us
longer. The best advise I can give is to start saving now. Get your
family behind you on this. Make it a group effort to make changes in your
lifestyle both to save money and to bring more in. Nicole is right, you
may have to beg, borrow, get loans, stock up credit cards that you'll max
out. And it could really help to consider going out of country. I just
had a tummy tuck in Mexico for about 1/4 the cost in the US and when I'm
ready to have my WLS (personally & financially) that'll most likely be
where I go. Wishing you the best. Shelly
— Shelly S.
August 1, 2002
Consider having surgery in Mexico. I got the adjustable gastric band in
Acuna, Mexico for $6500.00 whereas the same surgery costs $15,000.00 here
in Texas (and that's a very good price!).
There are several world-famous surgeons in Mexico City, Monterrey, and
Tijuana as well. Some of the surgeons are Jose Rodriguez
([email protected] doc), Dr. Kuri, Dr. Rumbaut, Dr. Sanchez, etc.
— M. B.
August 1, 2002
Another idea is to borrow from your 401K if you have one. We borrowed
$5000 and will pay back $150 per month for 5 years. This helped
tremendously.
— M. B.
August 2, 2002
Don't give up yet on your present insurance company. When I began to
seriously look into WLS I read my health policy. There was a specific
exclusion for WLS. I wrote them a letter explaining my co-morbidities and
reminding them about the NIH guidelines for WLS in relation to body mass
index (BMI). Their reply was that they would cover the WLS if there was
medical necessity. Everything was well documented by my family doctor and
the surgeon and my request was approved in less than 24 hr by my insurance
company that had written an exclusion against it! If I can find that
letter I can forward it to you for a sample if you would like, just let me
know. Email me through my profile page. Good luck.
— Jeff N.
August 2, 2002
I just wanted to expand on the credit card idea. My friend and his wife
got 4 different "0% interest for however long" credit cards and
split it up between those. Now, they just keep transfering balances so he
hasn't had to pay interest yet. I'm guessing he has really good credit
though. Going out of the country to get it cheaper sounds okay as a last
resort. I would just worry about after care and possible complications. I
mean, if your surgeon is that far away... what happens? As for Rebecca's
harsh words... you don't know that my grandma didn't help me get fat.
Maybe she fed me a super size bag of cheese curls every day for the first
15 years of my life. You should think before you write something like that
and judge someone. You have NO CLUE about what I've been through. AND
your insurance covered your surgery. If no one in this world wanted to
help anyone with anything it would be a pretty sad place.
— Tanya B.
Click Here to Return