What is The Cost of Gastric Bypass Surgery?

Gastric Bypass Review

Gastric bypass surgery can be expensive and one problem for many people is that they embark on this particular road knowing the baseline cost but overlook the fact that for a whole variety of reasons, often outside of their control, the true total cost by the time they are finished can be a great deal higher.

The first thing that you need to consider is that gastric bypass surgery consists of more than simply the operation itself. In most cases there will be extensive pre-operative counseling and many surgical centers will require you to undergo a pre-treatment program before they will approve your surgery. In addition, most patients will need follow-up dietary and nutritional counseling. Both of these items can add significantly to the overall cost of weight loss surgery.

The second thing to consider is the risk of complications which may require further surgery or additional hospital or outpatient treatment. Most gastric bypass surgery patients will experience a range of complications which will vary from a number of minor problems which are easily resolved to serious complications which require a return to the operating theatre and a further stay in hospital for perhaps several days. Complications can add very considerably to the price of surgery and can even result in a doubling of cost, or more.

The third consideration is whether or not your insurance company will meet your costs. Fortunately, an increasing number of insurance companies are covering obesity surgery today but there are still many policies which explicitly exclude such procedures. In addition, where a policy does cover surgery, you may find that there a number of very strict conditions detailing just what they will and what will not pay for. A policy may for example limit cover to the cost of only certain types of surgery (such as the Roux-en-Y procedure) but not cover anything other than the cost of the operation itself.

Your surgical center will normally be able to give you advice on insurance cover and even contact your insurance company for you to ascertain whether or not the insurance company will approve a claim for your proposed surgery. You should however look on this as simply advice and protect yourself against possible problems at a later date by contacting your insurance company yourself in writing and establishing the position in advance of any treatment. In particular, you should ascertain the full extent of your cover, including pre and post-operative cover and your standing in the event of complications.

Although your baseline cost can range typically from about $15,000 to $35,000 depending upon the type of surgery you are contemplating and where surgery is to be carried out, the final true cost of gastric bypass surgery is likely to be quite a bit higher. So, do your homework and don't elect for surgery until you are happy with the possible final price you may have to pay.

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One of the happiest moments in the journey of the gastric bypass surgery, is achieving the approval of your insurance company. In order for this to happen, you have to meet the requirements of the National Institutes of Health. In most cases, if you have a body mass index of 40 or more then you will meet those requirements. You may also qualify if you have a BMI between 35 and 39 providing you also have a medical problem that is caused by or aggravated by obesity, such as:

*Diabetes

*Cardiovascular disease

*High blood Pressure

*Infertility

*Sleep apnea

*Arthritis

*etc.

You will also need to provide your insurance company with the following information:

*A medical history of your weight loss progress

*Your psychiatric history

*A list of medications you are currently taking

*Allergies - if you have any

*Your musculoskeletal history {bone fractures, joint pain, etc.}

Once you meet these guidelines, your insurance company will generally be happy to approve the cost of the gastric bypass surgery.

Now that you are thin, you are facing the problem with the extra skin. The surgery is over. The weight is diminishing with each passing day. But with that, comes along the troubles of dealing with the excessive skin. It would be nice if your skin just snapped back into place, but that is not going to happen. Therefore, you will have to consider doing a tummy tack.

Insurance companies will never cover plastic surgery if they consider it cosmetic. Some insurance companies are more lenient than others, but most usually do not consider a plastic surgery as a medical necessity. Therefore, when you are calculating the expenses of the gastric bypass surgery, You need to take these follow-up surgeries into consideration as well.

I've been doing extensive research on this surgery and have read most of the books out there. This is by far the best one, not only because of the information, but because of the excellent format. It is easy to find exactly what you're looking for. It contains diagrams and charts. It gives the reader a comprehensive look at the process and doubles as a handbook for patients as they have their surgeries and cope with post surgical issues. In other books, the reader has to wade through a lot of narrative or personal experience material; this one gives you the straight stuff. I highly recommend it.

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