Cost of surgery

[madiandcindy]

I am currently uninsured and I do not think I will qualify for Medicaid, can anyone tell me roughly what the cost of having a spinal tumor removed costs? I am in Dallas and though I know it will vary I want to get an idea of what I might be looking at in a worst case scenario, 10,20,30 k? My initial visit to the best neuro surgeon in Dallas is going to cost 700. I am very concerned

[Todd]

unfortunately, it's going to be expensive and somewhat hourly based. I am in Austin, TX, had mine done at St Davids and the Neurotexas institute. In fact, if you don't have insurance, you can see anyone and while I know it's a hike, I would highly recommend Dr. Mark Burnett in Austin, TX. My procedure was 3.5hrs, NS cost 40k, the O.R. was 900 and hr, 6 days in the hospital post-op, about 12k for the hospital alone. Then there's the anestheisiologist, I don't remember what they cost. You'll have an MRI post-op as well, that's at least 1k. Therapy afterward.

those are just ballparks from my memory of the bills 3yrs ago.

[madiandcindy]

The NS charged approximately 10k per hour? WOW.

[Todd]

There were 2 neurosurgeons and a neurologist. 40k was for all of them.

[ctoom91]

Find the best Dr.you can explain your situation negotiate from there.Offer a down payment and set up a payment plan.Use a credit card if you have to.Bottom line,get healthy,worry about paying later.

[kansasmom]

I would recommend that you ask any neurosurgeon you are interested in working with to first interview with you over the phone, rather than spending the fee they are asking for just for the initial visit. This way you can screen and find someone you really like, or at least narrow down to a couple of choices. The neurosurgeon's clinic should be able to refer you to their financial department too to ask about fees and payment plans. Find a financial department which is responsive and willing to meet with you. Also, you might check into any non-profit hospitals you could go to - they may be able to negotiate a better deal for you.

Get in touch with Dr George Jallo - he will give you an opinion for free, based on your MRI images. www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/cv/george-jallo.pdf
He is very responsive - every time I contact him he responds within 24 hrs by email.

[susan]

(This is in the realm of what I do for a living.)

If you go to a large, university teaching hospital, they sometimes have charity care programs for people who do not have insurance, but do not qualify for medicaid. It is worth asking.
Also, most large hospitals will set up a payment plan if you have to private pay. The Explanation of Benefits statement for my surgery said it was ~ $100,000 (for the hospital and OR), they will often negotiate a rate that is less than the charges. You may also have separate physician fees for the surgeon and anesthesia.
Once you incur some medical debt and "spend down" a bit, it could help you qualify for medicaid. Your debt offsets your income and assets.

If you really want to plan ahead:
Another thing to consider is what you will do if you need inpatient rehab at discharge. That would most likely not be included in the charity care or negotiated rate. You might want to investigate rehab centers and skilled nursing facilities ahead of time and contact them about potential costs.
If you are able to go home from the hospital, you will likely need Physical Therapy as an outpatient.
Your surgeon should have some idea of what deficits he thinks you might have after surgery. Not everyone needs to do inpatient rehab (I was able to go directly home.)

You can ask your surgeon what medications you will be ordered at discharge. Many pharmacy chains (Target, Walmart, etc) have free, $4.00 and $10.00 programs. You can check to see if your discharge meds are included in these programs, lists are usually available on-line or at the store. You can ask your surgeon if there are lower cost options if he plans to discharge you on drugs that aren't covered by those discount programs. Also many drug companies have patient assistance programs for high cost drugs, but you have to apply for them directly with the drug company.

Each state's medicaid program is different. The hospital may have and outpatient Social Worker or financial counselor that you could meet with to discuss these issues ahead of time.

Good Luck
Susan

[susan]

Hey, I just thought of this. The Social Workers where I work recommend community fund raising to the transplant patients because they have a lot of medical bills. People organize events to help raise money, dinners, bike runs, raffles, etc. Every little bit counts.

[itsallgood]

Preop, op and postop was well over 100k for me. Its an army of specialist involved.

Actual insurane payment was much lower. Great advice from everyone above.

[guest]

Try over a couple 100,000 for surgery, rehab, what not. Don't bank on less then a 100,000. Why not find help from multiple sources, friends what have you to take out a major medical policy for pre exsisting conditions where there is no waiting period for surgeries. The cost for policy varies from state to state, some states in fact are darn reasonable on monthly costs.. check it out with blue cross blue shield which offers this in each state, or other plans they might offer. Otherwise attempting to foot this surgery on your own might turn out to be a nightmare