How To Finance A Tubal Reversal Procedure

You had a tubal ligation several years ago but now you'd like another child. Well, you can. All that's required is a procedure called a tubal reversal. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that your insurance probably won't pay for it. Fortunately, there are a few insurance plans that will. For example, Blue Cross/Blue Shield has covered some reversal procedures. However, this varies depending on where you live and your insurance plan. So, if you want the procedure, be sure to talk with your insurance company first.

If you believe your insurance will cover the procedure, some tubal reversal centers will help with the paperwork by filing it for you. Others will not even accept insurance. In this case, you will have to pay before the procedure, do the filing yourself after the surgery and then hope you can collect what you've spent.

If you're lucky, you'll have a plan that covers all or at least some parts of the procedure. But, be prepared to pay for it yourself.

What a tubal reversal costs

Depending on where you have the procedure done, it can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000. The national average cost for a tubal reversal is around $9,000.

If you have your procedure done in a hospital, the conventional way - as abdominal surgery, you will probably have to stay for several days. This is why the cost gets to be $9,000 or more. An alternative to this is to have your tubal reversal done in a clinic that specializes in these procedures where the cost might be as little as $4,995. It could take just an hour and would not require an overnight stay.

How to finance your tubal reversal

There are a number of ways to finance a tubal reversal. The most popular is probably to put it on a credit card and then pay for it over a period of time - maybe 18 or 24 months. Of course, you will have to have a large enough credit limit to accommodate that $5,000 or $10,000 charge.

A second alternative

If you can't use your credit card for tubal reversal financing, you might be able to get a personal loan. One company, OneMain Financial, advertises that it will work with you to provide a personal loan solution specific to your needs. It further states that it offers fast approval, fixed interest rates and a 14-day guarantee (you can change you mind and cancel anytime within the first 14 days). Other institutions that provide loans for tubal reversals include CapitalOne Health Care Finance, MediCredit, MedProva, Reliance Medical Finance, Care Credit and SurgeryLoans.

Other possible solutions

If you or your partner have a flexible spending account (FLEX plan) you could use money from it to pay for the procedure. A FLEX plan allows you to set aside pretax dollars into an account and use these funds to pay for medical expenses. If you are unsure as to whether you or your partner has such a plan, contact your or your partner's company's personnel department for more information. If it does offer a FLEX plan, you should be able to take money from it to finance the procedure, assuming you have set money aside in it. If you currently aren't enrolled in a FLEX plan, you should be able to sign up for it during open enrollment for benefits and start setting money aside for the following year.

Also, some of the clinics that specialize in tubal reversals offer payment plans. If you decide to go to a clinic that specializes in this procedure, be sure to ask if it offers such a plan.

Expensive but worth it

As you have learned in this article, getting a tubal reversal is not cheap. But there are alternatives in tubal reversal financing that can help you make that dream come true - to have another child.