Sunday, April 25, 2010

How much would an uninsured visit to a dermatologist and skin cancer removal cost?

I believe I have skin cancer and no insurance how much should it cost overall? visit(s) removal ect.?How much would an uninsured visit to a dermatologist and skin cancer removal cost?
Removal would cost a few thousand. But your treatment most likely wouldn't end there.


My husband had cancer a few years ago, and the insurance paid out over 100,000 for the entire treatment.





My biggest suggestion would be to call up your general practitioner and ask how much a regular visit would be, tell them your concerns, and let them know that you don't have insurance. They should be able to do a check up on you and give you a referral if needed. That way if it isn't something to worry about, its alot less to see them than a specialist.





MOST oncologists will be able to give you great information on the available assistance to help you cover the costs. My husbands gave us information on assistance ranging from helping with the bills, to helping buy food. They are generally extremely helpful! Just make sure to be clear with each Dr. you see that you do not have insurance and will need assistance.





Most of all, Don't wait. If you are truly worried, you need to go and see a Dr. asap!





Good Luck!How much would an uninsured visit to a dermatologist and skin cancer removal cost?
Unless you have a melanoma requiring complicated MOHS surgery in a hospital setting then all of these estimates in the thousands of dollars are way, way off. In a typical year I will have at least a half dozen individual suspected skin cancers removed by my dermatologist so I think I can give an accurate answer to your question.





It depends on what type of skin cancer and how large the lesion is. Since most people can not tell if they actually have a skin cancer or not there is a very high chance that what you suspect to be a skin cancer will not be. If the suspected lesion is not cancerous then you will only need a single appointment.





For the sake of a cash figure, let's say you do have a typical small basal or squamous cell carcinoma. You will probably pay between 85. and 125. to see the dermatologist. If he thinks your lesion is possibly anything dangerous then he'll take a biopsy sample right away. For this he might charge you a Surgery fee of an additional 90. to 195. dollars depending on the degree of complexity or he might just include this biopsy in with his initial fee. If the lesion removed was small then most likely he will remove the entire lesion at once and maybe put in a few stitches or maybe no stitches.





OK, biopsy taken, now comes the pathologist fee. Cost here depends on whether the dermatologist reads his own biopsies, or sends the biopsy out to a pathologist affiliated with a local hospital chain, or sends the biopsy out to a third party pathologist. The third party pathologist will be the most expensive at around 125. for the first sample and less for each additional sample. If the derm reads his own biopsies then he may or may not charge a pathology fee. So basically, depending on how the derm has his biopsies read can cost you from zero to 125. for a single sample. Often the third party pathologist billing will be on a secondary billing mailed to you at a later date. Ask in advance to clarify your potential pathology costs. It sucks big time to get 5-6 lesions removed and then get hit out of the blue with an unexpected 350. pathologist's bill 2 months after you see the dermatologist.





Your results come back and are negative. No additional care needed. Your cost runs from about 200. to 325. maximum including the pathologist's fee and if you are lucky as little as 125. cash for a single sample that comes back as benign.





If results come back as cancer then cost will depend on whether or not you will need a second surgery to enlarge margins. This is often not necessary and you will usually be told at first appt. if the Dr suspects you will need a second procedure done or not. If you need a second procedure this will involve a second office call and another surgery charge. or around 250-300. If you get stitches then clarify if there is any charge for the nurse to remove them or not. Usually there is not a charge.





So the answer is for a biospy and removal of a single cancerous lesion the cost will be between 225 and 450. The cost for a superificial or in situ melanoma will be similar but towards the higher end since a second surgery will almost certainly be needed along with a professional pathology report and grading.





You could lower your costs by one third or so if before your appt. you sought out the Dr's office manager and told her that you were a cash patient and offered to pay cash immediately for a reduced or discounted fee. Offer to pay in cash the same amount the Dr would normally receive from an insured patient covered by Blue Cross or some other large local insurer. It can not hurt to try and negotiate and will probably cut your bill dramatically assuming you had at least 2-300. in hand for immediate payment towards the Drs services. Remember, what a Dr charges vs what insurance actually pays him is often a much smaller amount so getting an agreement in advance for him to to accept in cash the same amount as insurance pays him can not help but to work well in your favor.





If you want an answer for a more complicated skin cancer cost situation then re ask your question with all the various specifics included.
ALOT its cancer removal, it would probably range in the thousands for removing it
About $10,000 or more im nt sure
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