by Sandra Wilson
To find funding for tubal reversal leaves the woman and her family wanting it searching high and low. As the surgery can be very costly and most of us don't have a few thousand or ten thousand lying around to be used for this, we have to find other means. So the financing becomes a major obstacle to getting her tubes untied.
As most women will not have the full amount required for the surgery in their bank account, this means coming up with another way to get the money for the doctor's fees, testing and whatever else is needed to carry out the procedure. Below we have included several different methods for finding the funding for tubal reversal.
Let's start our list with a special savings account just for your tubal reversal. I think it best to set up a separate one from your existing one. And make a rule that they only time anything is withdrawn from this account is to pay the surgeon. Come up with ways to start putting money into this account. What are you paying for that is just an extra that you can give up? Do it and put that money into your savings account instead. Take a good hard look at how you spend your money and you could be surprised to find that you are able to add $50, $100 or even $200 to your special account each month. After all, what's more important, getting that tubal reversal or going to Starbucks every day?
Next is a version of the first in that you will end up saving to come up with the full amount. In this version, you go out and get a job. If necessary, you get a second job. Then put that money aside into your savings account till you have the full amount all saved up.
If you use a top notch surgeon like Dr. Gary S. Berger of Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, you will be able to create a payment plan with his office. This begins with an initial payment of $250 to open the account. After that, you send in payments of any amount you want or can as often as you would like. If you can, do it weekly. That gets the money out of your hands and into a special account where you can't dip into it for the winter snow tires or whatever. Think of it as a special baby layaway plan.
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.
You will find that most insurance companies will not cover it as it is considered an elective surgery. However, there are some possible, and I stress possible, ways around this. If the reason you are wanting the tubal reversal is for alleviation of symptoms of post tubal ligation syndrome, then getting you primary doctor to say that repairing your tubes is necessary might be one way to get insurance to pay for it, maybe even 100%. The other way that is possible to get some of the cost reimbursed is if there is a cap on your medical out-of-pocket expenses where the insurance company picks up the amount over the cap. You will have to check your own policy to see about this.
Another method you might investigate is if you or your spouse has a flexible spending account available through your place of employment. With some, you can spend the money ahead of time before you actually have it all in the account. As this is pulled from your paycheck before you even see it, it could be a good way to come up with some of the money. One concern though is any limits on the amount and whether it will roll over from one year to the next or how much will roll over. Check out the particulars of your own account during your enrollment season.
Something else that may be available through your employment is taking out your 401(k) or an IRA. You know you will pay a penalty and there is the further penalty of that money now not working to build your retirement. You have to decide if withdrawing this money is more important to your family.
Lastly is using your credit card in some form. It could be that your doctor will accept your credit card. If he does not, then maybe you can get a cash advance to pay for the surgery. However, be very aware of the high interest rate you may have to make paying back this advance. Make very sure you pay higher than minimum monthly payments on your credit card or you will be paying a very long time for the surgery. It might also be possible to use your credit card to "purchase" a cashier's check to pay for your tubal reversal.
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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