Average costs...

[ghost_ryder]

I guess I was "Lucky". Before surgery, I had an ER visit, thought to be a heart attack. Turned out not to be but it actually spurred me to make the changes that led to my surgery. I met my maximum out of pocket in January last year after the ER visit. The whole rest of the year was completely covered at no additional cost. So pushing to get the program done saved me from going into another plan year and resetting my out of pocket and deductibles.

The one thing that makes this all so much easier to "stomach" even if that had not been the case is that I am saving a small fortune not going out to lunch everyday and the huge reduction in my grocery bills. Even subbing in protein bars and powders I am still spending so much less of nutrition.

[ghost_ryder]

The hospital submitted to our insurance close to $131,000. and the allowable charge was $11,800. some odd dollars. We owed nothing. We paid the $350. deductible and the office co pays ($35.00) and testing (Upper GI, echocardiogram, labs, etc....) but once the deductible was met, we were good.

HOWEVER, the surgeon required (unbeknownst to us when I began seeing him 3 months prior to surgery) UPFRONT fees! A week and a half before surgery they sprang it on us... Pay it in one week or no surgery. We were then told that he charges a $500. non refundable 'program' fee that we were not informed about at any time, for basically NOTHING. There is NO program (which is an entirely different story in and of itself). Our insurance was taken aback when I told them about this.

I am wondering if anybody has brought this to the attention of the State's Attorney Office. It seems unethical in the least and illegal in the heart.

[Gvn71]

Just because you have a complication doesn't mean that it's due to having the surgery in Mexico or the US. The press made a big deal about a woman dying after she had the surgery in Mexico but failed to say in any of the reports that she died because she felt great right after surgery and decided to no obey the surgeon's post op dietary requirements and decided to start eating ribs and baked beans within a week of surgury. They love to spin these things are Mexico is bad.. I also had a complication right after surgery in Mexico. Had Surgery on Friday and Saturday the nursing staff discovered I was bleeding from my incision internally. (Not from my stomach) They imeditally took me to the hospital and called the Surgeon , Dr. Almanzo, he was playing in his Saturday Soccer game. He imediately left the game and rushed to the hostipal calling in the anasteiolgosit and surgical nurses. Within 30 minutes I was on the operating table and they were going back in. They corrected everything and I'm 5 days post op and feeling great. I seriously doubt that a surgeon in the US would leave the Golf Course or his Saturday soccer game on his day off to come in and operate on a patient that was having a complication. They even had a nurse stay with me all weekend at the hospital to make sure I didn't have any issues. My own personal 24 hour nurse. I truly feel I had better treatment in Mexico than I would have in the US.
Poker

I'm not looking to start a war here, and please don't take this as an attack on your situation, judgment, or decision, but, I'm fairly certain that the level and quality of medical care in a US Hospital far exceeds any care you receive in a clinic in Mexico. My surgeon came and saw me 4 times after my surgery, including once at about 1230am just to see how I was doing (I had zero complications). I don't think I would have gone to Mexico for my surgery regardless of cost, but who knows where I might be 5 years from now if I hadn't had the surgery and what my decision process might be then.
That said, there is no substitute for the level of care I received here in the US. If you had major complications during surgery was there an entire hospital of doctors working in your facility that could come to your aid? What if you had a heart attack during surgery? Was there a cardiologist in the facility (I doubt it)?

To each there own. I'm glad that it worked out for you and everything is going well. I just can't (and won't) agree that you got a better level of care in Mexico (as compared to the approx. $3000 I paid out of pocket here in the US). I get that every persons situation is different and that for you, going to Mexico was maybe the only option you had. But, similarly, you can't tell me that if you were in my shoes you wouldn't have paid the $3000 here in the US.

Just saying.

[BanillaVean]

My out of pocket should roughly be $6400 with insurance (still waiting for the bills to come in). My hospital fee alone was just under $4000. This does not count the pre-testing, psych eval and blood work.

[Christie13]

I paid more than I would have liked to with insurance. I was told I would pay about $3500 after meeting my deductible. I actually got a bill for $6K that I owed after my insurance paid. I had already paid $1500 for my hospital stay and $590 to my surgeons office. And the other appointments all fell in the $1500 for my deductible (my work pays half of that and I actually had $1500 on my card since I did not use the $750 for 2 years so that was at least a positive). That being said, it would have been cheaper for me to go to Mexico and I would not have had to wait the 7 months for surgery. I do really like my surgeon, though, and having post op care.