I recently got a bill for my hand release surgery, and it’s showing over $14,000! I expected it to be expensive, but that seems way too high. I had general anesthesia for the procedure, so maybe that’s part of the reason? Anyone else dealt with this kind of cost for a similar surgery? Trying to understand if this is typical or if something went wrong with the billing.
I just had my right hand done last week in Fort Worth, TX. Aetna billed about $14K for the whole thing. I had to pay $250 for the surgeon and $450 for the facility. The cost really depends on your insurance plan, deductibles, and all that stuff.
@Hadden
Oh, and mine was done endoscopic, just one small incision, and I was under general anesthesia.
I’m in rural Utah where healthcare costs are higher. My surgery in July was also under general anesthesia, and the estimate before insurance was around $12K. After insurance, I paid $766 to the hospital, $63 to the surgeon, and $34 to the anesthesiologist. Your insurance plan and the facility you choose play a big role in how much you’ll end up paying. Make sure to use your insurance’s cost estimate tools before the procedure, it saved us a lot on another surgery for my husband.
I mean, it cost me $20,000 to have a baby with no complications in 2011. So $14K for surgery doesn’t surprise me, especially in the U.S.
Bao said:
I mean, it cost me $20,000 to have a baby with no complications in 2011. So $14K for surgery doesn’t surprise me, especially in the U.S.
I get it, but I don’t think these two procedures are on the same level.
I had my surgery about 7 weeks ago, and the total cost was around $14K, with insurance covering $13K. It was a rural hospital, and I had general anesthesia, similar to a colonoscopy. The breakdown was something like $1,500 for the surgeon, $1,300 for the anesthesiologist, and over $9,000 for the operating room. I had already hit most of my out-of-pocket max earlier in the year, so I only had to pay about $800. It’s crazy how expensive it is!
When I first saw $14K, I thought it was ridiculous, but then I saw you had general anesthesia. I opted for local, and it worked just fine. I was at the surgery center for only 35 minutes and drove myself home. My estimate was $3,500 before insurance, and it dropped to $2,700 after. I only had to pay $540 since I’d met my deductible. I went with an open release surgery, so maybe it’s cheaper than endoscopic.
Why did they give you general anesthesia? For a procedure like this, local anesthesia or even light sedation usually works fine. It’s a 20-30 minute surgery. The cost of a specialist for anesthesia sounds a bit over the top to me.
@Noel
It depends on the procedure. Endoscopic releases are sometimes done under general anesthesia. I had both my hands done, one with general and the other with local. It seems like it varies based on the situation and the surgeon’s preference.
@Jory
Interesting! I work in anesthesia, and I haven’t seen general anesthesia used for this kind of procedure often. Usually, it’s light sedation or local anesthesia. But every case is different. Glad it worked out for you!
@Ronald
Same here. For my upcoming carpal tunnel and trigger thumb surgery, they’re giving me ‘twilight sedation.’ I’m okay with that—it should work just fine.
@Ronald
Yeah, my case was a bit unique. They tried to do mine endoscopically, but my ligament was too thick, so it ended up being an open procedure after all.