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LAP BAND FEES
Doctor’s Surgery Fee $5000.00
Initial office consult evaluation 200.00
Dietary evaluation 75.00
Psychological evaluation 350.00
Surgery Center Fee 7800.00
Anesthesia 1000.00
Lap Band adjustments Free for one year
TOTAL $14,425.00
Some health conditions require additional lab and/or medical tests during pre-op. There would be an additional charge for these. Ask the surgery center about these charges.
All patients will receive receipts in order to seek reimbursement from their insurance company. It is the patient’s responsibility to get preauthorization for the Lap Band Surgery and to file for reimbursement. The initial office fee is due at your consult appointment. Surgery fees must be received prior to surgery. Payment may be made by money order, cashier’s check, personal check, or credit card.
The initial office fee is due at your consult appointment. Surgery fees must be received prior to surgery. Payment may be made by money order, cashier’s check, personal check, or credit card. All patients will receive receipts in order to seek reimbursement from their insurance company. It is the patient’s responsibility to get preauthorization before surgery for the Lap Band and to file for reimbursement. Surgery fees must be received prior to surgery. Payment may be made by money order, cashier’s check, personal check, or credit card.
FINANCING OPTIONS
Below is a list of financing options available, however you are not limited to these options.
Surgery Loans 1-888-502-8020 www.surgeryloans.com
Care Credit 1-800-365-8295 www.carecredit.com
American Benefit Finances, Inc. 1-888-233-2234 www.abfcredit.com
Insurance Verification
To determine if your insurance policy covers obesity (or "bariatric") surgery, refer to the insurance policy package that you have received after paying your first premium or provided through a plan offered by your employer.
Typically, there are two sections that describe the extent and limits of coverage. The first is usually called "What Is Covered" or "Covered Expenses." These are the healthcare benefits for which the company will pay. The other section is "What Is Not Covered" or "When the Plan Does Not Pay Benefits." In this section, look for any statement that the company excludes coverage for weight control, for the treatment of obesity, for the surgery for weight control, or for the complications of the surgery for weight control. Some policies will outright exclude bariatric surgeries. Others may have certain parameters about which bariatric procedures they cover and how much of the costs they cover. Look for statements such as, "Surgery for the treatment of obesity is covered when deemed medically necessary," or "Surgery for the treatment of obesity is (specifically) excluded except when medically necessary." If this surgery is a covered benefit when medically necessary, then it should be covered when patients meet national guidelines for care for morbid obesity.
If you do have benefits for this procedure, your insurance company may have requirements for you before you are approved for the surgery. Make sure to ask for all requirements.
A sample letter that you may send to your insurance company asking for approval is located here. "Insurance Approval"
If coverage has been denied upon the initial prior authorization request, you can appeal by addressing the specific reasons why your request has been denied. Most if not all of our appeals are handled by the Inamed Lap-Band Hotline.
You can also contact a lawyer with expertise to help you with the appeal. More information about legal help can be found at The Obesity Law and Advocacy Web site at www.obesitylaw.com.
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