Surgery Financing Guide

Possible Solutions And Ideas To Finance Your Surgery

The motivations for wanting lap band surgery are obvious. It is a much safer procedure than previous weight loss surgery options, is relatively affordable, requires much less recovery time, hurts less, is more easily reversible, and is less likely to result in severe complications.

But laparoscopic surgery requires modern equipment and facilities as well as highly specialized training on the part of your bariatric surgeon. This means that the procedure is not cheap, and it can be difficult to assess the types of lap band financing options that may or may not be available to you.

We have put together this guide in order to help you understand what you can do to afford the latest and greatest surgical weight loss procedure. We believe that lap band surgery financing is critical because this operation can save your life, not to mention dramatically improve your quality of living. You deserve these benefits regardless of your social-economic status, employment status, credit score, or level of insurance coverage.

If you have determined that your insurance won’t cover the cost of lap band surgery, then you will need to seek other lap band surgery financing options. Fortunately, a couple of powerful new types of healthcare financing have become available over the past few years that could prove invaluable in helping you to realize your dream of health and vitality through weight loss surgery.

One of the newer options that is attractive to a wide variety of patients are the new health credit cards that are being offered directly to consumers as a way of affording surgical treatments that would not otherwise be available to them.

Below you’ll find a comprehensive listing of these healthcare credit card options. Of course, these details may change at any time so you’ll have to get in contact with the actual providers in order to check on the specific lending services that these health finance providers which might be available to you and their terms. Also, their availability will depend on a variety of factors including the doctors you are working with, geographic location, and in some cases income and credit history.

Health Care Financing Options

• CareCredit, offered by GE Money. This credit line is offered only to the patients of approved GE Money medical providers but can be used for dental, vision, cosmetic, hearing, and even veterinary care. It is available for 3 to 18 months with a 3 percent minimum payment each month or fixed rate installment loan for up to 60 months. The interest rate is 0% if the balance is paid in full by the end of term, or 11.9 percent if you’re on the fixed rate installment plan. However, the credit limit could be an issue, as the typical maximum credit line is only $4000.
• Chase HealthAdvance. This installment loan program is offered by Chase for dental, orthodontic, vision, cosmetic, hair restoration, and weight loss surgery procedures provided by their approved provider list. Credit lines of $5,000 to $25,000 are available, but only to patients with excellent credit histories. The loan period ranges from 3 months to two years, and the interest rates go up to 11.99%, depending on credit factors. This loan is a serious option for lap band surgery financing, provided that you have excellent credit.
• Citi Health Card. This credit card program works directly with healthcare providers to offer credit to patients in need of funding. They offer three different plans: 0% interest for 3 to 18 months; a “Budget plan” for 48 months at 12.96 percent; and a “Regular revolving credit” account at 21.98 percent variable interest. Citi does not list any set limit for these health credit cards, but in our experience the credit lines tend to run low except for patients with excellent credit.
• HumanaAdvance Visa Card. This credit card is offered by Humana Healthcare in conjunction with Visa, and can be used for any health-related products or services, including medical consultations, procedures, and operations. The credit limit and APR both vary based on your credit score, as with any other credit card. This one is offered directly through employers that have Humana group plans for employees. The interest rate is 0%, and the money is taken directly from your payroll over a period of 6 months.

The financing options make it feasible for more people than ever before to finance lap band surgery regardless of insurance coverage for lap band surgery. But even with many of these tools it will be reliant upon your past credit history whether you will be able to secure adequate lap band financing, regardless of your medical need for such. This situation is and has been improving, but is not perfect. We sincerely hope that this resource will help you to finance your gastric banding surgery so that you can enjoy a healthier and happier life with the people you love.