Here are some specific responses to your questions
.
Quote from: KristinaM on September 24, 2015, 09:51:12 PM
I have a question for you, how long ago did you book your surgery with McGinn? How long is or was the wait list at the time?
My Timeline:
I emailed the intake form 10/23/14, got a call about a week or so later. Had an in-person consult booked for 3/2/15. At the consult, I placed my $2,500 deposit down with a personal check for a 9/29 surgery date (9/15 was actually available, but my mom, who is a semi-observant Jew, wouldn't be my surgery buddy over Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur). Note: You usually need a surgery date to apply for pre-cert with insurance. I also was never on a cancellation list and never would've entered one anyway as I was dealing with pre-surgical electrolysis on a specific timetable.
Quote from: Wynternight on September 25, 2015, 12:13:03 AM
McGinn takes full payment then helps you file with insurance for reimbursement whereas Bowers will file with insurance and you just pay the copay, yes? I seem to recall reading that once.
It is actually more complex than that. To be quite specific there are actually three separate charges regarding surgery which are all handled differently. All fees are obviously subject to change if you decide to book Mcginn! It actually increased from about sub 20k to 21k right around when I booked.
A: Mcginn's fee, this is currently $14,750 for my own surgery including the deposit.
B: Liberty Anesthesia Associates fee, currently $1,350.
C: Lower Bucks hospital fee, currently $4,900.
Fees A and B were due 9/1 in my case, fee C is payable in person day of surgery by any method. A and B must be paid by certified check/money order, albeit you can place up to $3,000 of fee A on a credit card without a surcharge. Furthermore, she accepted a personal check for the surgery deposit.
MORE:
Mcginn's office will help you apply for pre-cert (they are good at it too, they actually did it 3x in my case as I have my own insurance, then I am insured under my mom, who changed carriers in August--don't ask!!) but will not directly bill insurance and you must therefore be reimbursed by your insurance company. Thus, to use Mcginn, you need to be able to front at least
her fee only.
However, fees
B and C however you
DO NOT need to front if you can get a pre-cert # from the insurance company. Funny, I actually had to front the anesthesiologist fee, but I won't pay the hospital in my case because, lol...the pre-cert on my mom's new insurance didn't go through until September and my work insurance refuses to cover surgery. Honestly I think I got coverage through my mom's insurance because it is an NYS small group plan (yay Cuomo's order last year) and therefore is covered under NYS law, while I work for a fortune 500 company in CT that is self-insured, hence my personal plan is governed by federal ERISA legislation rather than CT legislation (CT is also better than fed, they have a statute on this just like NY).
Even more interesting to complicate the insurance matter, I managed to get an in-network coverage exception given the lack of GRS/SRS/whatever you wanna call it surgeons in the NY Metro area. This means my insurance company may apply a network discount to Mcginn's fee, which means I may need to pay more than max out of pocket for my mother's plan ($6,350) as I signed paperwork stating she gets her whole fee regardless. As for Lower Bucks and Liberty though, as they bill directly, they may only be entitled to whatever in-network rate the insurance company gives them rather than what Mcginn quoted in her paperwork! But yet again, I don't know what the likelihood of my insurance company having a fee schedule for GCS is (no fee schedule=no network discount--I'm hoping)!
Also, some other matters.
A: I got a raging headache at a Yankee game last night, probs due to lack of hormones, finally feeling it. Btdubs yanks beat white sox woo!
B: If I wasn't clear, Gaia House = Mcginn's new Bed and Breakfast.
C: I had to spend like 200 bucks on supplies for surgery including vitamins, pads, ensure, enemas, magnesium citrate, a high quality donut cushion (didn't want one of those inflatable pieces of junk) and more. The room at the Gaia was also $200 a night, but yet again we got the best room. In fact, because there's so little about the Gaia House online, let me post the info I got by email about it. Pics are
here.
QuoteIt was a pleasure to talk to you this afternoon. As I mentioned in our conversation, I've attached the following room pictures and one of our kitchen. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures yet of Room 3. Dr. McGinn has designed all of the rooms similarly so that by looking at the pictures of the other rooms, you'll get an idea of what room 3 looks like. They are all beautiful!
We are located in downtown New Hope along the Delaware River only a block or two from restaurants and boutique shops. Dr. McGinn's office, the Giant grocery store and Rite Aid are located in the same shopping center approximately 5 minutes from Gaia Guest House.
We have WiFi throughout the house. Each room has its own bathroom and a separate twin bed for an extra person. All rooms except Room 2 have fireplaces. A coffee bar, snacks, microwave and refrigerators are located on both levels just outside our guest rooms.
In addition, we provide breakfast entree choices made fresh each morning. We can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten free or any other dietary needs. Guests may have breakfast at our kitchen table overlooking the river or request room service.
Dr. McGinn's Papillon Center gives each of her patients a 50% discounted room rate. Please see below:
Grand Riverview, Room 1: Pictures 1-5 ($200/night; Queen bed; Steam shower; Balcony)
Riverview South, Room 2: Pictures 6-9 ($112.50/night; Full bed; Balcony)
Courtyard South, Room 3 ($142.50/night; Queen bed)
Canal North, Room 4: Pictures 10-12 ($112.50/night; Full bed; Garden level)
Canal South, Room 5: Pictures 13-16 ($175/night; Queen bed; Garden level)
Our guests find our house very peaceful and relaxing. We have abundant wildlife and a historic towpath that people walk, jog or bike for miles in either direction.
We hope to hear from you soon. Thank you for your consideration.
I'll keep ya'll posted, and thanks for the encouragement on the bowel prep.
