Cost prohibitive

[Mulliganplummer]

Brand new here, I am sorry if this had been asked before.

So Kaiser will not cover penile implants, so now it is up to me to pay for it. I am constantly seeing figures like $20,000 out the door cost. Is that what others are seeing? I can safe for that, but I am worsening if going abroad is an option. I see advertisements for surgery in Mexico, any thought. Same thing with Turkey, any thoughts? Can Americans go to Canada? Any states better priced than others?

I went to Mexico for dental work and the costs were great and the facility top notch. Is this an option?

I am NOT looking for the cheapest just to get it do, this is my penis and I want quality work and will pay for it, just looking if there is quality that might not be on the US.

[equusAz]

Is your insurer provided by your employer? Do you have options of changing plans and insurers if so at the end of the enrollment period? Is it possible for you to get your own insurance to help defray the costs?

IMO insurance comapnies in the US are absolutely vile. The fact that they won't cover something that is medically required for a fully functioning life is ludicrous.

[GoodWood]

I know that there are medical facilities in Thailand, Vietnam, India (and other places I’m sure) that focus their business on cash paying patients from abroad. Open heart surgery and joint replacement surgeries in top notch facilities with surgeons that were trained in the US and Europe. I’m guessing that penile implant surgeons are among them too. Unfortunately I’m not familiar with them. Perhaps other guys here will be.

While you are saving explore your options for switching insurance plans to one that will cover the procedure. Ask to see the policies that are available to you and read the exclusions page. For example, my insurance policy exclusion page said they do not cover treatment for erectile dysfunction EXCEPT FOR surgical implantation of penile prosthesis for erectile dysfunction. So there was an exception to the exception.

Mine was covered but even still I had a co-pay portion that is ending up being around $6000.

And research all the surgeons available to you at all the price points. I would rather pay $25,000 for a top notch high volume surgeon than $15,000 for one that mainly does prostate procedures and kidney stones. It is a significant amount of money but as you said, it’s important.

[LetoMan]

Just weighing in to note that Kaiser covered/did mine in Northern California.

[olddoggy]

Slight change of subject my Kaiser Doctor claims 100 implants in 20 years is this anywhere near high volume

[LetoMan]

Slight change of subject my Kaiser Doctor claims 100 implants in 20 years is this anywhere near high volume

That’s five a year. Not exactly high volume.

But, they have done a lot of them over a long time. If they are otherwise a high quality experienced surgeon, it might make sense. I would ask about what their infection rate and other issues are.

My experience with my Kaiser doc was great. He said he did about 10 a year. He was a very straight shooter, gave me straight up advice, etc.

The nice thing about Kaiser is there are no financial incentives for the docs. They are probably better off telling you to go to a high volume private surgeon than doing it themselves (which incurs the cost on Kaiser as insurer). My doc was pretty confident in his abilities, and in the Kaiser hospital’s infection rate.

I think the inquiry into the benefits of a high volume surgeon starts with whether they are regularly performing surgery. The big issue is infection. If you are a small town urologist that only performs surgery every now and then, that’s a likely red flag. But a high performance surgical team that does a lot of surgeries, but not exclusively implants, can be a good option.

[Tokyo_123]

Just my two cents. I have asked your exact question, and this was my personal conclusion: I live in Tokyo. I have compared costs in the US to most other countries for this surgery. When paying cash, the US costs are slightly more expensive compared to other countries (except for India, which although cheaper much has much higher rates of infection -- and I read horror stories of there). While you save a little bit going abroad, I do see potentially greater risks.

What boggles my mind is that if you do use US insurance, that those costs are literally three, four, and five plus times the cost of what you pay in cash. To me, this is yet more evidence of the absolute corruption of the US Healthcare / US insurance system in general.

I decided to pay via credit cards (and those were paid off in full within two months of the surgery) for a doctor whom I had a great experience in Houston. The single negative experience I had there was the hotel I stayed at (costing $300/night). I specifically told them that I needed a wakeup call at 5:30am the day of surgery and reminded them three times. Of course, that wakeup call never came. When I asked them why --- bla bla bla --- malfunction of the --- bla bla bla --- whatever. That evening before the surgery I got no sleep anyway so woke up on my own anyway, no harm done.

[tooyoung]

Just my two cents. I have asked your exact question, and this was my personal conclusion: I live in Tokyo. I have compared costs in the US to most other countries for this surgery. When paying cash, the US costs are slightly more expensive compared to other countries (except for India, which although cheaper much has much higher rates of infection -- and I read horror stories of there). While you save a little bit going abroad, I do see potentially greater risks.

What boggles my mind is that if you do use US insurance, that those costs are literally three, four, and five plus times the cost of what you pay in cash. To me, this is yet more evidence of the absolute corruption of the US Healthcare / US insurance system in general.

I decided to pay via credit cards (and those were paid off in full within two months of the surgery) for a doctor whom I had a great experience in Houston. The single negative experience I had there was the hotel I stayed at (costing $300/night). I specifically told them that I needed a wakeup call at 5:30am the day of surgery and reminded them three times. Of course, that wakeup call never came. When I asked them why --- bla bla bla --- malfunction of the --- bla bla bla --- whatever. That evening before the surgery I got no sleep anyway so woke up on my own anyway, no harm done.

Horror stories from high-volume implantologists in India? I doubt that. I don't think a price difference necessarily means lower quality of care or skill. I've heard horror stories about U.S. implantologists as well—not to call out names, but the big six or seven. In fact, 90% of FT's horror stories account for these names, as they are the usual implantologists. I don’t know where you heard those stories. Of course, there will be many in India and everywhere, but I don’t think it’s statistically significantly different from those in the U.S. What I recommend is seeking any "center of excellence" wherever it is, as long as it is more convenient in terms of logistics and price.

Coloplast Titan costs $9,000 all-inclusive at any center of excellence in Egypt (there are five centers of excellence). According to Steven Wilson, the youngest doctor amongst the five performs 20 IPPs per month. If I were a U.S. citizen without insurance coverage, I wouldn’t pay triple or sometimes even quadruple that price to get the implant from any of the boasted U.S. names—some of them are hot air balloons, believe me.

[ready2go]

yeah egypt , i could have got an ridgcon10 ipp for $8500 , but i didnt want a ipp . the mpp was 2800 ? i didnt go for either in the end . but it was a nice clean clinic .
thailand is pricey for some reason . $8500 for a malleable . and only one choice available . India has good prices and doctors . and i have read good things about turkey .

[Tokyo_123]

On this very forum, found these:

Horror stories from high-volume implantologists in India? I doubt that. I don't think a price difference necessarily means lower quality of care or skill.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20531&p=189836&hilit=india+infection#p189836

"Not too sure about getting it done in India and the doctor mentioned Sabharwal in Delhi is a butcher by all accounts.
My cousin who lives in the UK was implanted by him three or four years ago and this was his story if i can remember all.
1/ The 'Hotel' recommended by Sabharwal was walking distance to his clinic, was filthy, noisy and didn't even have a dining room all for U.S$80/night ( Breakfast was Jam and Bread with revolting coffee served in the room )
2/ His practice, equipment, machines and beds ect were not what was on his YouTube posts - it was dirty, and of the 1940's era ( Second world war stuff)
3/ The fresh bed sheets and surgery gown used on him just before the surgery had what looked like 'grease stains' on them.
4/ After surgery Sabharwal was not to be seen for two days and my cousin was left in the hands of women nurses who didn't want to go anywhere near his dick ( For cultural reasons i guess) after informing them that he was losing too much blood at the cut - they did not even inspect but gave him the dressings to change by himself.
5/ He had an infection due to the poor hygene standards.
6/ He demanded that they call Sabharwal urgently to address the issue and he eventually came on the forth day when my cousin was checking out.
7/ Half an hour before catching the taxi to the airport Sabharwal arrives to reashure him that it will all be ok and gave him a script for quite a few drugs which he had to buy at the chemist within his practice.
8/ When asked about after care Sabharwal said ' look on the internet' - what sort of surgeon does that?
9/ My cousin got back to the UK and had to go straight into hospital to remove the implant and address the infection
that he had ( It was so bad that they placed him in a highly infectious desease isolation room for two weeks)

I would think twice about going to India. The medical systems and filth are just not up to scratch and not worth the risk in. ( Sabharwal's YouTube posts look great but beware he is a butcher who claims to have studied in the U.S"

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10527&p=87947&hilit=india+infection#p87947

"I had a AMS 700 fitted in India. It got a serious bacterial infection and had to be removed in Thailand. Now five weeks on, the surgery has healed but I have no natural erection feelings. Is there any operation or procedure, to get back feelings at all? I have heard the procedure is irreversible other than fitting another implant, but I would just prefer my natural feelings back. Thanks."