Surgery Fees / Costs (Montreal, Canada)

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I am from Montreal (Quebec, Canada) and about 4 weeks pre-op!

I have chosen a surgeon from one of the city's major hospitals. I am

satisfied with the professionalism and have great confidence in him,

however I have some questions about the fees I am being charged.

I am being charged a variety of fees totalling close to 2000.00$ CDN

(Canadian Dollars). These fees are to cover the Pre-surgery Work-up

fees. The surgeon has also told me that the surgery(The act

of performing the surgery itself) is covered by the provincial plan.

It also sounds like I will have to pick up the 2000$ tab. Those fees

are not covered by the RAMQ (Quebec's provincial insurance plan). My

insurance at work is claiming that this procedure should be covered

by the Quebec's provincial plan, and therefore so far has refused to

pay for any of these fees. I am also advised that X-rays and

Panorex's are usually free of charge in a hospital. All of this makes

me feel like I am paying for things that I shouldn't.. I am

interested in hearing about experiences from other patients.

So a couple of questions..

- Are these fees acceptable and at the surgeon's discretion?

- Was anybody able to get their insurance to pay for a portion or the

totality of the fees? If so, how?

- Any experiences from other patients in the province of Quebec? I

have searched the forum and found Marlaine, Ray and J-F Bouffard from

Montreal.. I'd be interested to hear from you!

Thanks to all that participate in this forum and take the time to

contribute to it!

Regards,

RVM

[Guest guest]

Hi RVM,

I'm in Ontario. I had to pay my surgeon for visits out of hospital,

about C$1,200 (I had upper/lower/genio August 2002). My private

insurance wouldn't cover it. I saved up everything and used it for a

tax credit on my income tax last year.

My surgeon has staff to do xrays right in his office, so that was

included in the fee, I think. When I did have panorex and ceph xrays

taken for my initial ortho consultation, I had to pay for them

myself. Can't recall if I had dental insurance at the time to cover

it - I long ago used up the $2,500 lifetime max and dropped the

insurance....

Good luck to you!

> Hello,

>

> I am from Montreal (Quebec, Canada) and about 4 weeks pre-op!

>

> I have chosen a surgeon from one of the city's major hospitals. I

am

> satisfied with the professionalism and have great confidence in

him,

> however I have some questions about the fees I am being charged.

>

> I am being charged a variety of fees totalling close to 2000.00$

CDN

> (Canadian Dollars). These fees are to cover the Pre-surgery Work-up

> fees. The surgeon has also told me that the surgery(The act

> of performing the surgery itself) is covered by the provincial

plan.

>

> It also sounds like I will have to pick up the 2000$ tab. Those

fees

> are not covered by the RAMQ (Quebec's provincial insurance plan).

My

> insurance at work is claiming that this procedure should be covered

> by the Quebec's provincial plan, and therefore so far has refused

to

> pay for any of these fees. I am also advised that X-rays and

> Panorex's are usually free of charge in a hospital. All of this

makes

> me feel like I am paying for things that I shouldn't.. I am

> interested in hearing about experiences from other patients.

>

> So a couple of questions..

> - Are these fees acceptable and at the surgeon's discretion?

> - Was anybody able to get their insurance to pay for a portion or

the

> totality of the fees? If so, how?

> - Any experiences from other patients in the province of Quebec? I

> have searched the forum and found Marlaine, Ray and J-F Bouffard

from

> Montreal.. I'd be interested to hear from you!

>

> Thanks to all that participate in this forum and take the time to

> contribute to it!

>

> Regards,

> RVM

[Guest guest]

Hi RVM!

I'm from Montreal also. I'll be having my surgery done by a surgeon

who works in Repentigny. I'm being charged 750$ from the pre-op

visits and the surgeryitself is covered by RAMQ.

I'm assuming different surgeons charge different fees, but 2000$

seems to be a lot of money compared to the 750$ I was asked to pay.

I'm not sure how much of the 750$ my insurance will cover though. Did

your surgeon explain the cost to you? I know that I'll have to pay

extra if my surgeon needs to removed any wisdom teeth during the

surgery (I had my bottom two removed, but still got my top two), so

maybe your surgeon needs to perform some dental procedures that

aren't convered by the RAMQ.

Good luck!

Johanne

> Hello,

>

> I am from Montreal (Quebec, Canada) and about 4 weeks pre-op!

>

> I have chosen a surgeon from one of the city's major hospitals. I

am

> satisfied with the professionalism and have great confidence in

him,

> however I have some questions about the fees I am being charged.

>

> I am being charged a variety of fees totalling close to 2000.00$

CDN

> (Canadian Dollars). These fees are to cover the Pre-surgery Work-up

> fees. The surgeon has also told me that the surgery(The act

> of performing the surgery itself) is covered by the provincial

plan.

>

> It also sounds like I will have to pick up the 2000$ tab. Those

fees

> are not covered by the RAMQ (Quebec's provincial insurance plan).

My

> insurance at work is claiming that this procedure should be covered

> by the Quebec's provincial plan, and therefore so far has refused

to

> pay for any of these fees. I am also advised that X-rays and

> Panorex's are usually free of charge in a hospital. All of this

makes

> me feel like I am paying for things that I shouldn't.. I am

> interested in hearing about experiences from other patients.

>

> So a couple of questions..

> - Are these fees acceptable and at the surgeon's discretion?

> - Was anybody able to get their insurance to pay for a portion or

the

> totality of the fees? If so, how?

> - Any experiences from other patients in the province of Quebec? I

> have searched the forum and found Marlaine, Ray and J-F Bouffard

from

> Montreal.. I'd be interested to hear from you!

>

> Thanks to all that participate in this forum and take the time to

> contribute to it!

>

> Regards,

> RVM

[Guest guest]

Hi RMV,

I am from outside Ottawa and I had to pay 1,500$ that was not

covered by OHIP or my private insurance. This was for x-rays,

molds, consultations etc... I will claim it on my taxes next

year... It's a pain, I know, to have to pay this on top of the

braces (which were 5,000$ for me...) but it's worth it I think..

I am almost 3 weeks post-op from having lower done in Ottawa. All

went well and I am feeling pretty good. The first week is hard but

we all got through it!!

Good luck to you!

Caro

[Guest guest]

Salut Johanne!

Yet another Montrealer! This is so cool.

Do you mean you're getting your surgery at Legardeur hospital? You

wouldn't be with Dr Garfield, by any chance?

When are you getting your surgery? If you're at Legardeur, you can

hint me in on the hospital staff's bedside manner... LOL

See you!

Marlaine

>

>

> Hi RVM!

>

> I'm from Montreal also. I'll be having my surgery done by a

surgeon

> who works in Repentigny. I'm being charged 750$ from the pre-op

> visits and the surgeryitself is covered by RAMQ.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Marlaine!

Yup, I'll be having my surgery on December 9th at LeGardeur (I

finally got the exact date) No, my surgeon is Dr. Morin.

So you're having your surgery in Repentigny also? On what date?

If you're going first - let me know if you survive ;P

And if I'm going first, I'll be sure to get the staff in shape for

you

Yes, it's so great to find other Montrealers here

Love always,

Johanne

> >

> >

> > Hi RVM!

> >

> > I'm from Montreal also. I'll be having my surgery done by a

> surgeon

> > who works in Repentigny. I'm being charged 750$ from the pre-op

> > visits and the surgeryitself is covered by RAMQ.

> >

[Guest guest]

Hey there Johanne

Lucky you, you have a date...

Normally I should get mine in a few weeks. Next ortho appointment is

Nov. 15, and I should get my first pre-op appt with the surgeon

after that. I've already put myself on the waiting list for

December... I think it will be around the 20th, depending on the

hospital staff's availability.

So you're most likely going first. What are you getting? I've got

the whole thing: upper/lower/genio.

See you,

Marlaine

>

> Hi Marlaine!

>

> Yup, I'll be having my surgery on December 9th at LeGardeur (I

> finally got the exact date) No, my surgeon is Dr. Morin.

>

> So you're having your surgery in Repentigny also? On what date?

> If you're going first - let me know if you survive ;P

> And if I'm going first, I'll be sure to get the staff in shape for

> you

>

> Yes, it's so great to find other Montrealers here

>

> Love always,

> Johanne

[Guest guest]

Hi Marlaine!

I was suppose to only get lower advancement and genio. But it looks

like they are going to have to expand my palate also *sigh* I was

hoping to avoid any work on my upper jaw. Which also means I have to

have my upper wisdom teeth removed (I had my bottom two removed some

time back)

I'm seeing my ortho on Oct. 22rd, my perio on November 4th and I'll

see my surgeon for my pre-op visit on December 3rd. I might be seeing

my prosthodontist in there somewhere also.

Who is your orthodontist?

I hope you get a date for your surgery soon. I know what it's like

not knowing and not being able to plan for the surgery right off. I

got my date yesterday and was glad to finally find out exactly when

I'll be having the surgery.

Good luck!

Love always,

Johanne

> >

> > Hi Marlaine!

> >

> > Yup, I'll be having my surgery on December 9th at LeGardeur (I

> > finally got the exact date) No, my surgeon is Dr. Morin.

> >

> > So you're having your surgery in Repentigny also? On what date?

> > If you're going first - let me know if you survive ;P

> > And if I'm going first, I'll be sure to get the staff in shape

for

> > you

> >

> > Yes, it's so great to find other Montrealers here

> >

> > Love always,

> > Johanne

[Guest guest]

Hello,

Yes it looks like I am being charged quite a bit. To add to the 2000$

of fees, should I want to do a genioplasty that is an additional 1000

$. I am questioning whether the additional costs are worth it but

really, there are no guarantees that I will have better results with

this surgeon.. My understanding is that surgeons have some liberty in

the amount they can charge for the work-ups. I do not question my

surgeon's experience and abilities, I question whether the higher

price will yield better results.

Johanne - I have consulted with Dr. Morin. In fact, he is the one who

removed my 4 wisdom teeth about 2-3 years ago and I was extremely

satisfied of the whole experience. Moreover, Dr. Morin is the

preferred surgeon of my Orthodontist, but I eventually switched to my

current surgeon because of his reputation but.. I am questioning the

costs now. Maybe I should have stuck to him..

Therefore I am in a dilemma here.. I am somehow tempted to return to

Dr. Morin, but I need to assess the consequences of doing that - most

likely postponing my surgery date. The benefits are the lower costs.

I will give Dr. Morin's office a call tomorrow.

Do any of you have tried to claim the work-up fees to your insurance?

I'd be very interested to hear your experiences. My group insurance

has, so far, warned me that they will not reimburse those fees. I am

working on this.

Yours,

RVM

> > >

> > > Hi Marlaine!

> > >

> > > Yup, I'll be having my surgery on December 9th at LeGardeur (I

> > > finally got the exact date) No, my surgeon is Dr. Morin.

> > >

> > > So you're having your surgery in Repentigny also? On what date?

> > > If you're going first - let me know if you survive ;P

> > > And if I'm going first, I'll be sure to get the staff in shape

> for

> > > you

> > >

> > > Yes, it's so great to find other Montrealers here

> > >

> > > Love always,

> > > Johanne

[Guest guest]

Hi RVM!

My ortho (Dr. Papanastasoulis - nice name eh?) loves Dr. Morin - and

they've worked together many times. He even said that he knows of

another doctor who went see to Dr. Morin when she needed surgery, so

I'm assuming he's a great surgeon. I do understand you not wanting to

change your surgery date though. I was hoping to have my surgery in

November, but it seems he's all booked up next month. I'll be having

my surgery on December 9th. If you're all ready to go, you might get

lucky and be able to have your surgery in December with Dr. Morin -

or another surgeon who charges less (not sure if that's much later

than you were hoping) It might be worth the 1000$+ you'll save

though. I'm having upper/lower and genio and it's costing me 750$. It

looks like he'll have to remove at least one of my upper wisdom teeth

also (which will cost more) since I wasn't suppose to be getting any

work done on my upper jaw (I had my two bottom wisdom teeth removed

lasy year)

Good luck!

Johanne

> > > >

> > > > Hi Marlaine!

> > > >

> > > > Yup, I'll be having my surgery on December 9th at LeGardeur

(I

> > > > finally got the exact date) No, my surgeon is Dr. Morin.

> > > >

> > > > So you're having your surgery in Repentigny also? On what

date?

> > > > If you're going first - let me know if you survive ;P

> > > > And if I'm going first, I'll be sure to get the staff in

shape

> > for

> > > > you

> > > >

> > > > Yes, it's so great to find other Montrealers here

> > > >

> > > > Love always,

> > > > Johanne

[Guest guest]

I think surgeons do have alot of 'play' room,

mine charged me 400 in total for everything, consult, x-rays etc and

the screw removal. You can also ask what they are charging for, for

example if they charge you 100 dollars for x-rays you could call

around and see if you can get it cheaper somewhere else...

However since I might do surgery #3 how much of a deal was it

SHiloh

[Guest guest]

Don't ever use money as a deciding factor in this surgery. Go with the

doctor you trust most in your heart.

Think how much money you would be willing to pay to FIX things if

somthing went wrong... believe me you would pay almost anything... but

if something does happen there's no going back...

So it's really silly to worry about a few thousand here and there,

you've got to put it in whole life perspective...

Genioplasties combined with orthogn generally produce a quite nice

results, esp if you get your own chin bone moved forward rather than

an implant (which is quickie cheap but I worry bout em more!)

> > > >

> > > > Hi Marlaine!

> > > >

> > > > Yup, I'll be having my surgery on December 9th at LeGardeur (I

> > > > finally got the exact date) No, my surgeon is Dr. Morin.

> > > >

> > > > So you're having your surgery in Repentigny also? On what date?

> > > > If you're going first - let me know if you survive ;P

> > > > And if I'm going first, I'll be sure to get the staff in shape

> > for

> > > > you

> > > >

> > > > Yes, it's so great to find other Montrealers here

> > > >

> > > > Love always,

> > > > Johanne