Paying for cosmetic surgery can be an expensive proposition given the fact health insurance rarely covers it. You can finance the surgery, but cash is a much better solution. Next time you are at a gathering with even one medical professional, make sure to ask them about their view of health insurance companies. Then make sure to take a step back. Physicians hate health insurance companies because they cut the invoices issued by the doctors. Essentially, the health insurance companies take the position the doctor will have to accept reduced bills if he wants access to the patients covered by the plan. With cosmetic surgery procedures, health insurance is rarely an issue. Cosmetic surgery is rarely considered medically necessary, so your policy is going to reject any claim you submit. While you might think this calm any payment issues with your cosmetic surgeon, there are still steps you can take to get a better deal. Many people pay for plastic surgery with credit cards or financing. In both situations, the cosmetic surgeon is going to get dinged on his billings. Although the reduction is less than with health insurance companies, it can still add up pretty quickly. You can use this situation to your advantage. Cash is king in the cosmetic surgery profession. First, the payment is immediate. Second, the physician actually gets his or her full bill paid. If you can scrape together the cash to pay for the entire procedure, you should do so. In exchange for paying in cash, however, you should ask for a discount from the surgeon. Although there is no law or regulation requiring surgeons to issue a discount, most will do so. It will not hurt to ask. What if you do not have enough cash to pay the bill all at once? A number of creative cosmetic surgeons have an answer for you. More and more practices are letting patients make payments in advance of their surgery. Essentially, you make payments each month or on an agreed upon schedule until the entire fee is paid. One the payments are complete, the surgical procedure is undertaken. Cash is king in the cosmetic surgery profession. If you understand this, you can use it to get a discount on your surgery and make your cosmetic surgeon very happy. |
