How Much Could I Expect To Pay For Lap Band Surgery?

Anyone who is considering lap band surgery will almost certainly have a long list of questions and fairly high up on that list will be the question of cost. Regrettably, though this might appear to be an easy question, it is not all that simple to answer.

The cost of having lap band surgery depends upon many things but first you have got to establish whether or not you qualify for surgery. Deciding that you want weight loss surgery is all well and good but when it comes to paying for surgery whether or not you meet the criteria of the National Institutes of Health is a crucial factor.

Ordinarily, if you have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or over then you will meet the requirements of the NHI. You can also qualify if your BMI is between 35 and 39 as long as you also have a serious medical problem which is related to your weight. The list of related conditions is lengthy but will include things like high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes.

If you do not meet the criteria laid down by the NHI then you will have to meet the full cost of surgery yourself.

The next thing which you need to consider is whether or not your health insurance policy will pay for all or some of the cost of surgery. It is generally said that insurers will not meet the cost of weight loss surgery but this is not so and health insurance companies are increasingly meeting either some or all of the cost of weight loss surgery. Having said this, your insurer will only fund the cost if you meet the NIH criteria and your doctor states that surgery is a medical necessity.

Okay, so what does surgery cost?

The cost of surgery is complex as you need to take into account not just the price of the surgery itself but the associated costs and these will vary widely depending upon where surgery is performed and by whom. Fees will have to include things like pre-op tests, surgeon's fees and hospital charges. Also, there will be several post-operative charges for services such as follow-up medical visits, psychological support and nutritional counseling.

When surgery is done in the United States then you may reasonably expect it to run anywhere between $17,000 and $30,000 for surgery and post-operative treatment as long as you do not run into any complications. Although major complications are not common they do occur occasionally and costs may then rise considerably.

When surgery is done outside of the United States then the cost will be less and you may expect it to run between $11,000 and $16,000. Lap band surgery has been performed for many years in both Europe and Australia where the results have been excellent and is also now being increasingly performed in countries such as Brazil, Canada, Mexico, India and the Far East.

If you are thinking about going abroad for surgery then you must include the cost of travel and post-surgical recovery care which can considerably increase the overall cost but still be cheaper than undergoing surgery at home. You will also need to check with your insurer if applicable because it is unlikely that your insurer will pay the cost of surgery that is done abroad. Finally, you should take into consideration the fact that you may have very much less legal protection should anything go wrong with surgery outside of your home country.

As a general rule having surgery at home is likely to be your safest option but if the difference in cost is big enough in your own case then you may well consider that it is worth taking the risk.

GastricBypassFacts.info provides further information on the lap band system and the cost of lap-band surgery.