Diet Blog

Initial Costs

The initial costs of weight loss surgery depend on a number of factors. It depends on the experience of the doctor you are using, the location of the clinic geographically and most importantly the procedure you are getting done. Bariatric weight loss surgery is a name applied to a large range of procedures, each one different in terms of the instruments used, the time taken and the method used. The initial cost of the surgery is defined as the cost to actually have the surgery done. The cheapest forms of bariatric surgery are surgical procedures that are relatively lightweight, do not require a lot of pre-operation work and generally do not take a lot of time. These types of surgeries will cost anywhere in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. Surgeries that are more complex and take more time to do will be more expensive; sometimes even as expensive as $40,000 or $50,000.

Follow Up Costs

However, it is very important to be aware of the fact that the initial costs are just that; initial. If you as a patient require a lot of follow up and need to see the doctor regularly during your recovery process then you are going to have to expect to pay more money for it. Medical services are not free and for people that do not have adequate insurance coverage they are going to be expensive. For the cheaper procedures it is possible that the costs of the follow up will be negligible but for the more involved procedures the follow up costs could end up encompassing thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars on top of the initial fees.

Insurance Coverage

Depending on where in the world you are, bariatric weight loss surgery may or may not be covered by your public or private insurance plans. In countries such as Canada where there is universal public health care there is the possibility that you can get at least partial coverage for the surgery if you are able to indicate that it is fixing a serious health problem (which in cases of extreme obesity leading to other medical complications it is). In countries like the United States however, that possibility is a lot fainter. Even many private insurance plans don’t cover things like weight loss surgery which are seen as largely unnecessary.

Financing

In an effort to make surgeries like this available to a wider range of people organizations such as credit card companies have financing plans that are specifically suited to surgery and other specialty services. Check with your credit card companies and local banks to see if there might be financing plans available in your area for bariatric weight loss surgery.

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