Originally Posted by
saddlesores
how expensive? ten years ago, my $150K in the usa heart valve replacement operation was done in india for $10K...........equal to just the hospital charge for the freakin' valve in the usa! a few years ago.
You have a prosthesis? What type? I had a St. Jude aortic installed in August of 1990. IIRC, the hospital bill was $60K. That did not include things like surgeon fees and the cost of the valve itself, which I believe was around $2,500 back then.
Fortunately, I was a student and still covered under my mom's excellent insurance through her job as a public school teacher. Since I had been in the hospital for the cardiac cath less than 90 days before the surgery, I didn't have to pay the $500 deductible. My end of the $60K was $14 or so for the phone.