Are All Spine Surgery Costs Covered By Insurance

If you suffer from spine pain, it may be come necessary to operate on your spine in order to relieve your symptoms and promote your spinal health. Below, we will take a look at how insurance covers spine surgery, as well as what tools may be used to manage a patient's out-of-pocket surgical costs.

Types of Spine Surgery 

Several types of surgery may be used to treat a spine condition. Options include:

• Traditional spine surgery - The doctor opens up the spine in order to operate on it. This invasive procedure is performed in the hospital and has a significant recovery time.
• Spine laser surgery - The doctor operates on the spine using a laser, which allows the doctor to make just a few tiny incisions near the spine. This minimally invasive procedure is performed in an outpatient setting and has a shorter recovery time.
• Other minimally invasive spine surgeries - In addition to spine laser surgery, there are a number of other minimally invasive spine surgeries that may be appropriate. Examples include nerve stimulation and endoscopic spine surgery. 

Insurance Coverage

Spine surgery is only performed to treat an actual medical condition affecting the spine. Therefore, insurance companies cover the cost of spine laser surgery and other forms of spine surgery. Just make sure that your doctor accepts your insurance plan. 

The exact nature of your insurance coverage will determine what you pay out of pocket. If you have a high deductible and copay, your out-of-pocket costs may be substantial. On the other hand, if you have a high premium you may have low out-of-pocket costs, or even no costs at all.

How to Manage the Cost of Surgery 

Although insurance does cover spine laser surgery and other forms of spine surgery, patients with a high deductible might not be able to afford to pay their entire out of pocket cost at once. If this is the case, there are a number of resources patients can use to finance their procedure, so that they can get the treatment they need now while spreading the cost of treatment over a longer period of time. 

Many patients turn to health care credit cards, which are designed to be used only for health care expenses. Other patients turn to patient financing companies, which specialize in funding medical procedures.

Forms of financing that are not specific to medical care may also be used. For example, patients who have traditional credit cards with a high credit limit may put the procedure on their card. Loans and lines of credit are another option.

Dr. Sukdeb Datta would be happy to meet with you about whether spine laser surgery is right for your spine condition. To schedule your consultation today, please click below and enter your information or call the Datta Endoscopic Back Surgery and Pain Center at (212) 430-0312.