The harsh reality for many women is that even when you need a tummy tuck through necessity rather than for purely cosmetic reasons, the majority of insurance companies are unlikely to agree to pick up the bill.
Paying a visit to a site such as www.DavodHalpernMD.com will confirm that finding someone suitable to carry out the procedure is not the main issue. If you have decided you want your body back to how it used to be, you may have to look at some smart ways of paying for your tummy tuck.
Common cause for concern
It is easy to understand why so many women decide to have an abdominoplasty, or a tummy tuck, as this is the part of your body that is subjected to so many stresses and changes.
Pregnancy is an obvious contributory factor, but in addition to the weight gain caused by carrying your child, it is perfectly feasible that you could go through periods of weight loss and gain outside of when you are pregnant, all of which can end up taking its toll on your muscles, skin and other tissues around the midsection.
There are well over one hundred thousand women in the U.S alone who have tummy tuck surgery every year, and the decision to have this surgery normally comes when you reach a point where no amount of dieting or exercise is going to improve the appearance of your midsection.
Surgery becomes the default option at the point where your body can’t repair itself in this area and intervention is required in order to achieve the satisfactory aesthetics and comfort that you are seeking.
Contact your insurer in the first instance
Although you may well find that your insurance provider does not agree to cover the entire cost of abdominoplasty, it is possible that any insurance plan that you have, could allow you to get a contribution towards the bill.
The argument is that abdominoplasty can provide practical as well as aesthetic benefits. Although an insurer may be unlikely to cover the cost of your surgery if you are choosing to have a tummy tuck for purely aesthetic reasons, if you are suffering from some sort of functional impairment, such as excess skin or tissue or your stomach muscles have stretched to the point where they don’t respond to exercise, it could be that the insurer will agree to make a contribution towards the total cost, or offer to pay for a limited tummy tuck.
Paying to get exactly what you want
If your insurer does agree to pay for a tummy tuck, it is quite likely that they will agree to a panniculectomy.
In basic terms, this is similar to a very basic tummy tuck and is designed to address the issue of excess skin in particular, with the aesthetic outcome as a secondary concern. This means that you could potentially end up with a result that might not be exactly what you are looking for.
The way to address this scenario is to discuss your options with the surgeon and look at paying for a greater level of treatment, so that you might get a situation where the insurer covers the cost of the putting your tummy back to how it was from a physical perspective and you pay for the aesthetic result that you are looking for.
Finance options
If you find that you are ineligible for insurance cover, and therefore need to self-fund the tummy tuck, there are several options to consider.
Not everyone has the cash to be able to pay outright in one go, which is why there are several third-party finance companies who offer loans, and some surgeries also operate access to their own finance scheme or might be willing to discuss some flexible terms.
It is best to consider all of your options and obligations before committing to any finance scheme, and definitely check and liaise with your medical insurance provider so that you can get any pre-authorization sorted and you know exactly where you stand.
There are other considerations to take into account when calculating the total cost of your tummy tuck and decisions to be made about which savings might end up not giving you the peace of mind you seek.
The subject of anesthesia is a case in point. It can be administered by an anesthesiologist or a nurse, with the nurse option often offering a noticeable cost saving. If you have any underlying issues like high blood pressure, you might decide to pay more and use an anesthesiologist, although it is fair to say that there are no quality issues when it comes to anesthesia being administered by a nurse.
However you go about approaching the subject of a tummy tuck, there are often plenty of smart ways to work out how to get your body back.
Holly Blake underwent plastic surgery four years ago and can honestly say it was the best decision she ever made. She now uses her experience to write articles on this topic, hoping to empower other women in their choices.
