[dshobbies]

Before heading off to Germany myself - Dr. Regan offered to do my then, 4 level hybrid surgery. As a cash patient, Cedars wanted 75k for a 3 day hospital stay. (They refused to bill my ins co for the single level fusion. All costs were my sole responsibility) We waited a few weeks because the CCDH was scheduled to open for surgery in August/Sept '05. If we could agree on costs, I was going to be one of the first surgical patients and they wanted me there, assuring me they could do better than Cedars. Wrong - they wanted 50k more.

Not to dismiss what happened to Anastasia which we all agree is/was abominable, including business class airfare for 2, Mark's fees, hotels for 3 weeks, a 9 day hospital stay - my costs were 60k American. 55K for 15 minutes of operating room. Something is terribly wrong with this system.

From my 2 cents - CCDH hoped to cater to the rich and famous, refusing to accept certain ins. I guess not enough of them needed hospitalization. Also, many American back surgeons who further specialize (like Dr. R) refuse to accept insurance limited payments, further adding to the cost. IMHO, I don't blame many doctors but there should still be a happy medium.