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Thanks, HP! Do you happen to know if he trained with anyone or who he has been working with on it?

Deleted.

Dr. (you know who he is) is a brilliant doctor from what I can tell (reading his resume and things I've heard about him from other doctors I've spoken to).

I wouldn't hesitate to take an appointment with him for sure.

HappyPoet wrote: The TOTAL cost, regardless of number of stents, is mandated to be $16,500. Maryland state law sets this price according to a formula; therefore, the hospital and doctor have nothing to do with fee setting.

Wow, that's expensive! Too bad they don't offer a reduced rate if it's only ballooning and no stent.

He is not performing any Dopplar tests, only MRV. From reading these boards, I thought it was more important to have the Dopplar and that the MRV is getting to the point of needless.

I'd appreciate anyone willing to educate me on this!

Truthfully Hanna, the Doppler is useless too (it was just the test that allowed Dr.s to go into the veins).

Once in there, the venogram is the really useful tool.

I think either the Doppler or the MRV can offer some information, but neither is a definitive test nor are they interpreted consistently across different docs.

Thanks HP for posting more about Dr. *****!

(edited out the doc's name)

Trine wrote:

HappyPoet wrote: The TOTAL cost, regardless of number of stents, is mandated to be $16,500. Maryland state law sets this price according to a formula; therefore, the hospital and doctor have nothing to do with fee setting.

Wow, that's expensive! Too bad they don't offer a reduced rate if it's only ballooning and no stent.

How times change... a year ago, only one place in the USA was offering testing and treatment.

Trine, back then, people/insurance companies were paying Stanford $80,000, so compared to that amount, I think $16,500 is reasonable enough, especially if one is not against stents -- BUT I don't know what other doctors are charging now, so your comment brings up a good question...

Does anyone know what other doctors are charging?

~HP

My son and I are taking Jacqui for an initial consultation with Dr. Michael Arata tomorrow, so I'll let you know once I figure out all of the costs, insurance, etc.

MORE ON COSTS: In addition to the previous costs listed below, I just got the insurance statement from the hospital--the bill was for $33,000 but insurance negotiated it down to $3,000. (yep, those numbers are correct) I suppose the poor souls without insurance would have to pay the full price.

I had my venogram done in June with Dr Arata at Fountain Valley Hospital.

I paid for the MRV--$1000

Hospital charged me about $1100 for what they knew insurance wouldn't cover.

Insurance covered my 3 visits with Dr A, so I don't know what he would charge w/o insurance.

The statement for the surgery and radiology just came (about $6100). Insurance is supposed to cover that. It includes IVUS and angioplasty but no stents.

These are all preliminary numbers. I could be wrong about what's already covered--maybe I'm in for an unpleasant surprise!

HappyPoet wrote:

Trine wrote:

HappyPoet wrote: The TOTAL cost, regardless of number of stents, is mandated to be $16,500. Maryland state law sets this price according to a formula; therefore, the hospital and doctor have nothing to do with fee setting.

Wow, that's expensive! Too bad they don't offer a reduced rate if it's only ballooning and no stent.

How times change... a year ago, only one place in the USA was offering testing and treatment.

Trine, back then, people/insurance companies were paying Stanford $80,000, so compared to that amount, I think $16,500 is reasonable enough, especially if one is not against stents -- BUT I don't know what other doctors are charging now, so your comment brings up a good question...

Does anyone know what other doctors are charging?

~HP

I did hear that Stanford had charged $80K a year ago and it boggled my mind. I'm from Canada and Dr. Sandy MacDonald from Ontario had stated that the total cost of an angioplasty in Canada is $1500 per person. And since insurance won't cover any of this for us Canucks when we go abroad, cost is a big factor to consider.

Not sure what all the costs around the world are, but there are a couple of places in the US that I know of that are charging less than $16500.

The Hubbard Foundation in San Diego - $2500 testing + $7500 treatment, not sure if it includes stents or not
Prevention Care in Albany - $3K venogram + $2K venoplasty + $2K per stent

I should add that these costs are for Canadians and/or those uninsured.

I just received an em ail response from Dr. Siskin in regards to cost, very kind of him to respond. I did also call the center about a week or 2 ago, left my name, number particulars. When can I expect a call to set up an appointment?

thornyrose76 - my parents first call was made on June 4th and they are still waiting for an appointment date....they got an e-mail the other day stating that they will most likely be scheduled sometime in the first quarter of the new year. They were hoping not to have to wait that long, but I guess they've got a lot of people waiting!

HappyPoet wrote:

The TOTAL cost, regardless of number of stents, is mandated to be $16,500. Maryland state law sets this price according to a formula; therefore, the hospital and doctor have nothing to do with fee setting.


Wow, that's expensive! Too bad they don't offer a reduced rate if it's only ballooning and no stent.

That's a bit rich for my blood. But I am happy to see any new facillities offering the procedure. As competition inceases the price will decrease.

BadCopy wrote:

HappyPoet wrote:

The TOTAL cost, regardless of number of stents, is mandated to be $16,500. Maryland state law sets this price according to a formula; therefore, the hospital and doctor have nothing to do with fee setting.


Wow, that's expensive! Too bad they don't offer a reduced rate if it's only ballooning and no stent.

That's a bit rich for my blood. But I am happy to see any new facillities offering the procedure. As competition inceases the price will decrease.

I just TC with Nikki...says MOST ppl ARE being
approved by their Health Insurances...
'they'll work with you"...to get this 'liberation' passed thru insurance, I was informed.
Dr X is treating this as Vascular entirely. I believe the MS Center is watching, but with interest

Please know, he is NOT making a public deal of this so he can continue to operate--BUT IS OK to spread word of Mouth to Friends!!


"They accept most insurances, and they even will work with people who don't have insurance on a payment plan."

Persevere !