When I went to the AlphaKlinik 5 years ago, I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. When was I going to discover what the real cost would be. I had the perception that a 2 level lumbar procedure in the US would be over 100K... the estimated price at the AK was 22K... soup to nuts. In the 5+ years since then, the price has gone up 50%... only because 22K Euros now costs $33K US. The prices now are in line with what they used to be. I've seen hundreds of people go there and found what I found. The other shoe never drops. No surprises. The price is reasonable and in line with other clinics. There is some "you get what you pay for" in going to the best... but in this case the difference in cost between the best and the others is miniscule. The cost of failed surgery has no upper limit financially and as far as I'm concerned, having lived through years of disability and failed spine surgeries, our lives are at stake. Going to the best is no guarantee of success and going to the worst still comes with substantial chance of success. However, I believe that going to the best increases one's chance of success. I used to think that 90% was a slam dunk... but I meet the problem patients every day. The toughest ones to watch are the ones who have problems that would have been avoided by going elsewhere. I was talking to Zeegers a couple of days ago and he was lamenting the fact that he's seeing so many complications that were unnecessary (placement, sizing, patient selection). "They are making the same mistakes that I made 15 years ago", he said.
I've seen an AK patient have serious problems at the hotel and get an hour visit by a doctor with a state of the art electronic backpack... ekg, body scan with a guided tour of all her organs, several meds, a couple of shots. We laughed about the bill... 190 euros.
I've seen a Pro-Spine patient need 2 nights in cardiac ICU and several treatments by cardiologist for a problem unrelated to the surgery. She checked out of the hospital expecting a bill with 10k more... we laughed about her having to pay 800 euros over the estimate.
I've got many more stories like this. I've also seen that the even though the doctor knows the patient's circumstances, the starving student who's brother mortgages his house and 401k to save his sister's live pays the same amount as the patient who flies in on his own Gulfstream G5.
I wish that in the US, healthcare was provided in an honest and upfront fashion. I don't have time now to post the horror stories of rescinded insurance payments or of patients who went were promised reasonable prices for cash pay patients, only to discover that they were on the hook for 30K more than they thought. I also know of reasonable cash pay prices in the US... I'm not saying that here is bad, there is good... I'm probably over reacting to a small point because I have so much experience with these clinics I've never seen anything but up front, as expected. Yes, people have to pay for services and having to do a 3 level instead of an expected 2 level costs more, but the delta cost is reasonable. I've not once seen $$ rolling in the eyes of the surgeons... private does not meen fleecing
I wish I could write more now.... gotta run.... all the best....
To all the new members... welcome... B13, I'm very pleased to hear of your success and hope to see the other clinic on one of my trips to Munich (I'm here now.)
BTW, I looked at the website that lists the clinic info. It's an interesting concept, but making decisions on internet info is somewhat dicey. (here too... and what I say too.... take everything you read with a grain of salt. The information listed regarding the AlphaKlinik has absolutely NOTHING to do with Hoogland and Zeegers' business. Dekkers operates a separate spine center and Toft operates a separate knee business. I don't know about the info on the other clinics, but the information on the AK is incorrect.
All the best... pain free vibes out in all directions.
Mark
PS... fuzzy... call my German cell before you leave Munich... I hope I get to see you standing up straight with a smile on your face.
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