July 27, 2008

Funding for Tubal Reversal - Ways to Do It

by Sandra Wilson

If you have decided that you want your tubes untied to either have another child or for relief of post tubal ligation syndrome, then funding for tubal reversal becomes one of your major considerations. With tubal reversals being in the thousands and tens of thousands of dollars, most women cannot afford to pay the costs out of pocket.

Among the fees that will have to be paid to have the surgery are the post-op tests, the surgeon's fees, the surgical facility fees, the staff including the anesthesiologist and any needed travel expenses if doing the surgery out of town in order to get the best doctor. In this article we have included a few different ways to try to come up with the cash needed to get the job done.

Let's start our list with the old tried and true savings account. In this you will put "extra" money. If you have a jar to catch the extra change you hate to carry in your purse or your husband hates to carry in his pocket, empty it every week into your savings account. Look around for whatever ways you can find of cutting costs in your home and add these savings to your account. The web and the libraries are full of information and books on budgeting and living frugally. You might even consider having a savings account set up just as your tubal reversal fund. Nothing gets pulled from it till it's time to pay the doctor.

One good way to add to your fund is to get a job, whether it's babysitting if you're a stay at home mom or a Walmart cashier if you can get away from home. One of you might even consider getting a second job if you both work now, however hard that might be. It will only be for a little while till you have the amount your need.

The next method of funding for tubal reversal is a payment plan. This will be set up with your surgeon, or more precisely his office. You will have to find out if this is available to you from your surgeon. If you choose world renown Dr. Gary S. Berger to do your surgery, you will find that this option is available. Simply contact his office to get further details on how this will work.

A good way to help either your savings account or your payment plan along is to add your income tax refund into it. This can be a nice big boost, depending upon the size of the refund. It could sure give you the incentive to keep carrying out your savings or payment plan.

When you begin thinking of funding for tubal reversal, the first thought is usually, "Will my health insurance pay for it?" This will vary from provider to provider and state to state. You can try reading through your insurance policy but may still not know the answer. Most often, insurance will not pay for it but some might pay for parts. Even calling your insurance company could get you the run around with one person saying yes and another saying no. If you do get a person on the other end of the phone saying yes then make darn sure you get that in writing before going in for surgery thinking it's all covered. Be sure.

As this is an elective procedure you probably won't get insurance coverage for it. But there just might be a way around it. You could try having your primary care physician state in writing that you need to have your tubes repaired. This might work if your reason for a tubal ligation reversal is due to post tubal ligation syndrome and your doctor is willing to help you. Repair work on your tubes, rather than a tubal reversal, might just be the secret words. Then again, if your insurance has a cap on how much you have to pay toward your health expenses, it might pick up whatever amount over that cap the surgery puts you. These are by no means sure methods, but they just might work.

Another account you might find useful is your flexible spending account available through your job. These allow money to be taken from your paycheck before taxes, so you not only get the benefit of money piling up, it means you pay less taxes. You will have to find out the way your particular flex spending account works and sign up during your enrollment period if you aren't already in one.

Another such source from your work would be taking out a 401(k) or IRA to pay for the full cost. You will end up paying a penalty and that money won't be building your retirement so you will just have to decide what is most important to you. If it's for ptls relief, I know what I would choose.

The last method we will mention is simply using your credit card. You can ask if your surgeon will accept a credit card and hope he takes yours. You could get a cash advance. Some credit cards offer special deals on cash advances to get you to apply for their card. Others charge very high interest rates. Be sure to know what you are getting into there.

Although there may be other methods available for funding for tubal reversal, the above will give you a good start on things to consider. As I don't know your situation, I won't know what is right for you. Only you can decide. But be careful about getting in over your head.

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