Financing Options for Lasic Surgery

Lasic Surgery--Finding the Money for elective procedures

Many people fail to realize that procedures like LASIC SURGERY that enhance ones life are not necessarily covered by insurance. Things like corrective dental work, lasik eye surgery, breast enhancement and most procedures under the term plastic surgery are not covered. The reasoning behind this is that as the surgery or procedure is not "health" related, it's not covered. Although a good case could be made that emotional health leads to better physicaal health, the insurance companies do not see it that way.

If you make a decision to continue with a life enhancing procedure such as Lasick eye surgery to be able to forego wearing eyeglasses, be prepared to pay for it out of pocket. This means that the full cost of the procedure is going to be paid by the you the patient. The good news is that because the patient is also the customer, there is a certain price sensitivily with any elective surgical procedure.

This is not to suggest that direct and immediate payment this is the only method of payment. Many doctor offices have made arrangements with finance companies and banks to cover the cost of the surgery. With good shopping, it's possible to obtain a better price or rate from the doctor as they're being paid immediately and you are considered a cash customer. Then there's the credit cards to pay for the expense. Note that this is actually a part of the proposed health care benefit realignment many big companies and the government are promoting. The thought is that because we, the benificiaries of the treatment also pay for it, we will be much more careful spending limited health related dollars.

The problem however is the medical industry as a whole is accustomed to dealing with insurance companies and they're extraordinarily long delays between services rendered and payment being received. It's important for you as a customer to remind the doctors office that as a cash paying customer, the price paid should reflect the payment type being made. That is, focus on the benefits the office receives by dealing with you directly and then ask for the discount. You may be pleasantly surprised at what kind of deal can be worked out just by asking

The total procedure for each eye takes between 10 and 30 minutes with 15 minutes being about average. Once the surgical procedure is completed, you're sent to recovery and on your way back home within a couple of hours. Full recovery can be expected in less than a month. Although this varies, many people have the surgery on Friday and are back to work the following Monday morning.