I have no insurance and need surgery for a hernia. How can I get coverage for the surgery that I need?

Question

If I buy insurance my pre-existing condition will be excluded. I asked a hospital what they would charge if I paid cash. They said $16,000 and that did not include the surgeons fee or the anesthesiologist fee. I called a couple of doctors offices and they all said that they do not do this kind of elective surgery for uninsured patients. I am not broke and I do not qualify for government assistance but I cannot afford to pay $20,000 to get my hernia fixed.

Answer 1

There is a web site dedicated to answering this question. There are several alternatives.

Answer 2

You’re right. Unfortunately, hernias are one of the conditions typically excluded from a new health plan. That means that you have to be enrolled in a new health plan for a period of time – generally six months – before it will help you pay for your hernia operation. If it is a pre-existing condition, they might not pay at all.

I wrote the above paragraph because I could not think of a satisfactory answer. I looked up some hernia discussion boards to see if anyone had a good way to help pay for hernia surgery without insurance. I would do that and speak to some more hernia surgeons to see if they can recommend any way to help you pay for the procedure. My mom had a hernia, and the pain was debilitating.

You can visit MostChoice.com and talk with locally licensed health insurance agents there. They’ve probably handled questions like yours before and so should be able to tell you if there is a local health plan that will help you pay for surgery to treat a pre-existing hernia.

You can find MostChoice here: http://www.mostchoice.com/health-insurance.cfm

I hope you feel better soon,
Barnes@MostChoice

Answer 3

Uhhh, there is NO way I would be traveling out of the states to get a botched surgery.
But on a serious note, if you find a good answer to this question, can you email me? I am in the same boat, except it's my husband that has the hernia. We also do not have health insurance.

Answer 4

go to your local drug stores and ask them if you can place jars in their store some will and some will not.tell them you are trying to raise money for hernia surgery.place a piece of paper in front of the jar with your name and how much money you are raising.that is what i am doing.i am raising $1,500.00 For my Hernia Surgery.

Answer 5

Hernia surgery is very safe nowadays. My cousin got her Hernia and Gall bladder surgery in India by the company called Forerunners Healthcare .The Price for the surgery she paid in India was very less. She paid 30% of the cost she was quoted in America.

Forerunners Healthcare is very famous in India. They arrange Gall bladder, Appendix and Laparoscopy surgery for foreigners in India. I read a lot about them in the Newspapers and about their patient stories. They arrange financing for USA, Canadian, UK and other international patients who plan to have surgery abroad for low price, as Hernia, Gall bladder, appendix and other minimal invasive surgery is not covered by insurance. They also have photos pasted of their International patients. You can checkout their website. There are huge cost savings. As a doctor I personally believe that surgery can be easily handled in India, as the quality of healthcare available In India is simply best in the world. The surgeons are USA/UK trained and facilities are 5 star.

http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com
Hope this helps.