Yesterday I wrote a post about the cost of sinus surgery. Unfortunately, after making a few calls to confirm things, the costs are much higher than I first thought.
Originally I thought the entire procedure would cost between $2,000 and $3,000. That’s because the original quote I got was only the physician’s fees. Isn’t that scary? That’s just one piece of the pie. There’s quite a few other pieces…
Here’s a breakout of the costs:
- Physician’s Fee: $3,000
- Anesthesia Fee: $1,700
- Facility Fee: ?
- Septoplasty: $7,000
- Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: $7,000 (Range of $5,500 to $8,500)
The total cost before insurance is approximately $18,700.
As you could expect, I was a bit shocked to find out that the price tag was this high. While the $2,000 – $3,000 quote originally given to me by someone at the doctor’s office should have raised red flags, I have not had to have surgery (besides wisdom teeth extraction) since I was six years old so I have never looked into the costs that go into a surgery or what an expected cost would be.
Does anything change for me?
This changes nothing for me. I verified that my out of pocket maximum for 2012 is $3,300. Since my deductible with my HSA is $2,400, I will definitely hit the out of pocket max.
Because it takes so many appointments to get to the point where you are actually approved for surgery, I have already had a decent amount of medical expenses. While $3,300 in medical costs within a year is nothing to sneeze at (no pun intended), it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than paying close to $20,000 for surgery.
I’m no mind reader, but I’m pretty sure there is one question that some people are thinking right about now…
What if you don’t have insurance?
The whole reason President Obama proposed Health Care Reform was because of the affordability issue. There is no lack of quality health care in the United States. What we do lack is affordable health care. In any other product or service market it would be obvious that if you pay more for something you expect a higher quality. Health care is a much different market because it deals with life and death – things that are worth more to most people than any dollar value.
If you do not have health insurance but have had chronic sinus infections and you are either convinced you will eventually need a septoplasty and/or endoscopic sinus surgery, do whatever you can to put it off until you have health insurance (Disclaimer: I am not a health professional and this is simply my opinion. Seek out advice from a health professional before doing/not doing anything about your medical condition).
Starting in January 2014, there will be insurance exchanges set up that guarantee you health insurance. This insurance will 1) be affordable and 2) cover pre-existing conditions. While some states are resisting the exchanges, it is essentially a done deal. You will be able to get this insurance, and you will be able to get your medical conditions treated (even if they are pre-existing).
So today I stand corrected and I apologize for making it seem like sinus surgery was cheaper than it really is. After learning the true costs, I would be interested to hear of ANY surgery that costs less than $3,000.
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Ouch that’s a lot of money. I disagree with you that the health care bill is a done deal. If Romney wins he will get rid of that in a heart beat. I for one would love affordable health care but not at the expense of the government forcing everyone to purchase it. That’s just not something I believe the government should control. They need to fix it by regulating the insurance companies and medical field so procedures aren’t as expensive.
@Em23 I don’t think Romney has enough political will to completely overturn the bill. He would also need it to go through the Congress, which I see as unlikely. Most of the Republicans aren’t as conservative as they claim to be.
I generally agree with you, though I don’t see further regulation as helping. I have a lot of opinions on this, maybe I’ll write a post sometime ;) For the purpose of this post, I was just stating the fact that as of right now, in 2014 health care will be much cheaper and available regardless of work status.
Wow! That’s a ton. Wait till you have health coverage is good advice, indeed. You’re under 1M today on Alexa! btw. Sweet.
@AverageJoeMoney I know, I just had to update the widget when I saw that I had broken 1M!
If you can put things off until you have coverage (or until the government guarantees you insurance, it’s a huge cost savings.
Yikes! That is a lot of money. I’m glad that you did some further research. I’m suprised that you were able to get pricing from some of these places. When we were researching physical therapy, it was hard to get a straight answer on the costs from anybody. Their excuse was that they couldn’t tell me because it was coded. It seems like health care professionals should be required to have a set price list of some sort.
@GregatClubThrifty Trust me, this took me HOURS. I was transferred back and forth and up and down and all over the state it seemed like. The number of people I talked to who transferred me before I could get an answer was unbelievable….it’s the whole reason I screwed up on yesterday’s post. I thought after getting transferred 10 times I had the right number. Thank goodness I double-checked!
Jan 2014 seems like such a long time to wait! I’m glad you’re okay…I have sinus problems, but hope to never have any surgery done. I’m a huge wuss.
Wow that’s expensive! I know someone that had sinus surgery, and they definitely thought that it worth it. Hope it works out for you!
Sadly, it seems like even simple procedures outrageously expensive! Crazy! On the other end of the spectrum, my nephew’s youngest daughter was born with a life threatening illness that required two bone marrow transplants. My nephew told me that a single dose of bone marrow – just the dose – nothing else – was $500,000! She had two! And, the marrow was harvested from her brother. My nephew said that eventually the super huge amounts start to resemble Monopoly money – kind of unreal. My dad had the sinus surgery and it made a huge difference for him. I should have it, too. Maybe another time. Hope it all goes good for you!
Sinus surgery 1 month ago yesterday and the bills are endless! The surgeon demanded my share of his bill that insurance didn’t pay which was $1850, which I put on a card. His bill was over $12,000 total. Five days prior to surgery the hospital demanded $6,000 of a $28,000 bill. All of this before I was allowed to have surgery! My response…. I broke down. I told the financial department at a Banner hospital that I could not afford to pay that kind of money. They scheduled an appointment and asked me to bring the last two pay stubs. The only saving grace was that I have been so sick that I missed so much work and I barely qualified for Colorado Indigent Care or something similar. I passed by about $20 per check and I make about $12 per hour. This meant that I only had to pay $315 on the day of surgery and that covered my entire bill. Thank God I dont know what I would have or could have done. I guess I should have been smarter but I had been so sick for so long and I was desperate to feel better. I saw the Doctor in August one time and due to an emergency in my family didn’t get surgery scheduled until January 29th 2016. I saw him for less than 5 minutes prior to surgery. I saw his MA 1 time for a CT and his PA once before surgery and 4 times since surgery. They are billing through another Doctor in the office for her time. I just found out they are charging me $600 every time I go in and she looks up my nose. My insurance won’t pay, although they got 1 reduced to $300, 1 to $184 and 2 to $481 each. I have one that they still have to bill for and one more in 3 weeks. Yesterday she decided that I have an infection! I had no idea what I was getting into and no idea how I am going to pay for this. The worst is after being scoped yesterday I came home and did a nasal rinse and a 4″ plastic brissel came out of my nose. Kind of like a toothbrush brissel but longer. I feel like that is what may be causing the infection. What else is up there? My nose now runs green and freely like a 4 year olds and God forbid I bend over! So now, how many more visits will I be charged for before this is over. He wants me to have allergy testing by someone else in the office! They quoted $500 for that, minimum, but I feel like they over charge and will find a way to continue to add exorbitant charges to the bill. They don’t take CICP and I have no idea why my insurance is not paying for scoping checkups. Yes I probably should have been smarter. I have never been sick and had no idea what to expect. By the time I found out what the Doctor and hospital expected me to pay, I was desperate to feel better! It seems like there should be full disclosure on what you will be expected to pay for the entire surgery and after care. I hope this helps someone else. I was just getting back on my feet after loosing my business and home during the economy crash in 2012. Sadly, this may be the thing that throws me into bankruptcy! What happened to the affordable healthcare Obama promised and this wasn’t a life or death issue! I can’t imagine what people are forced to do in those situations!
Em23 i agree with you because i had to get private insurance and i have medical but they denied me for a foot surgery so the private insurance covered my left foot bunion surgery now i am trying to work on my sinus surgery because my sinuses hurt like crazy and very painful