Want a service unaffected by managed care?
Plastic or cosmetic surgery can be the answer
When your patients come to your surgery center for cosmetic procedures, you don’t have to worry about filing insurance and accepting negotiated payments simply because insurance doesn’t cover them. This isn’t all bad, according to the experts.
"What makes plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons unique within health care is that patients are self-pay," says Jim Kuyper, RN, administrative director of Dreyer Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) in Aurora, IL. These patients have researched the costs and made arrangements to cover the expense so it is a very straightforward transaction, he adds.
This also means that a same-day surgery manager needs to make sure the price set for the procedure is realistic in terms of recouping the center’s expense for operating room time, staff time, equipment, and supply costs, as well as competitive with other prices in the community.
Cost and pricing information for procedures requiring certain equipment also may be available from the equipment’s manufacturer, says Carolyn Rogalla RN, clinical nurse consultant for Candela Corp., a dermatologic and cosmetic laser company based in Wayland, MA.
"We give examples of pricing to new users of our lasers by telling them what other users in the area are charging," says Rogalla. "When a new laser procedure is introduced within a practice or a surgery center, I suggest that the first price be a little lower than competitors in order to build a client base. As demand for the service grows, the price can be increased to match the standard market rate."
Typical charges for some of the most common plastic surgery procedures, according to the Candela Corp.’s research department, are:
o liposuction (one site): $1,000 to $3,000;
o eyelid lifts (both): $1,300 to $3,700;
o breast augmentation: $1,400 to $5,700;
o nose reshaping: $1,300 to $2,800;
o facelift: $1,600 to $4,600;
o laser resurfacing (not including laser rental): $600 to $1,700.
Dreyer ASC sets prices a little differently, according to Kuyper. "After we’ve performed three or four cases of a specific procedure, our computer system can assign a cost based on staff time, operating room time, supplies, equipment, and other overhead expenses such as utility costs that must be paid," he says. Kuyper’s center uses Temple Surgery Center System software manufactured by Temple Information Systems in Wallingford, CT. Temple has been purchased by Health Information Systems, also in Wallingford, which manufactures a similar software titled AdvantX.
Generally, this procedure generates prices that are competitive in their market, Kuyper says. "Although we don’t include the physician’s charges in our total, I can work with a patient and a physician to determine the whole package cost to make it easier for the patient to plan financing," he says.
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