Insurance covers Rosacea Laser treatment

[seascape]

Oh I wish I could get insurance coverage for my laser treatments! I have just made an appt with a plastic / ent surgeon to get VBeam laser. The first treatment of forehead, cheeks, nose and chin is costing $800. Subsequent treatments might be less if less areas are covered. I am in central Mass. The doc was adamant that VBeam was far more effective at reducing redness than IPL. But after reading the forums I am confused as there seems to be conflicting advice. I trust this doc to do a safe job, but should I shop around for a better price?

[CrabbyCathy]

If you can, you might want to--but with other qualified derms, not the laser centers that are popping up all over the place.. Although, I wonder if they would be willing to provide the information over the phone? The one other derm I went to required me to make an appointment, and it cost $100 for the consultation.

[sew1974]

I have a suggestion, contact a laser company in the area you live. See if they have any suggestions on doctors who bill insurance for the treatments. The company that brings the lasers to my doctors office is based in New Hampshire and has alot of clients in the area up that way and in Mass. I have been shot down for providing specifics on here before. But I don't think it would hurt to try them. www.medlasertech.com They may know which of their clients bill insurance and go the extra mile. I contacted them before my laser treatments just to find out specifics on the lasers....they were really nice!

[seascape]

thanks sew1974, that's a great idea, I think I will do that. I don't like speaking on the phone or being assertive, but this is a lot of money so I will push myself! It can't do any harm anyway!

[Aurelia]

Hi Sew1974,

The company that brings the lasers to my doctors office is based in New Hampshire and has alot of clients in the area up that way and in Mass.

Thanks for your post, which clears up one mystery. Given that your doctor is an internist who specialises in gynecology, it seemed odd when he came here and listed all the machines he used for skin treatments, eg:

In addition to the Rosacea treatments with the Candela VBeam, we offer Acne treatments, Hemangioma treatments, Wart treatments, Spider Veins, and a few others most often covered by insurance. As well, purly cosmetic treatments, such as skin tightening, hair removal, brown spot removal and the Fraxel Laser treatment.

In addition to the V-Beam I have Alex lasers for brown spots and tattoo removal, Smooth Beam for skin tightening and acne treatment, Gental Yag and Gental Lase for hair removal and the Fraxel laser for complete skin resurfacing.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=942

It just seemed bizarre that a physician / gynecologist would have more (very expensive) equipment than would be found in your average dermatologist's clinic or beauty spa when only 10% of his time was spent on such procedures, which he performs only twice a month on alternate Wednesdays. Knowing that the machines are rented and only brought to the clinic if there are patients waiting makes a lot more sense, including financially.

http://www.medlasertech.com/mlt-revenue.html

Seascape, you might like to visit this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1816

Good and bad can be found anywhere, but the vast majority of rosaceans who have reported their experiences to the message boards found that the most important consideration was the amount of experience the operator had. Almost invariably, the best results came from operators who had used their machines (laser, IPL or whatever) all day five or six days a week for several years.

Even then, there's still the consideration of how many of those patients had rosacea, and what type of symptoms were being treated, and what kind of results were achieved ... preferably backed up by Before and After photos of patients treated by that operator using that particular machine, not the standard photos on manufacturers' handouts.

You might find it worth bearing in mind that experience doesn't always equate to expertise, but it usually does. That is especially important with an extremely complex condition like rosacea.

Kind regards,

Aurelia

[seascape]

aurelia, thankyou for that advice. my head feels like it is about to explode what with trying to figure out a doctor's fees and then his expertise. I will not head straight to the cheapest quote but it does seem silly to pay top price if i can get comparable treatment for a lot less money. Thanks for your time aurelia.

[Aurelia]

Hi Seascape,

my head feels like it is about to explode what with trying to figure out a doctor's fees and then his expertise. I will not head straight to the cheapest quote but it does seem silly to pay top price if i can get comparable treatment for a lot less money.

Totally understandable. Why pay more than is necessary?

It is hard to weigh up such considerations. With a really difficult choice, I collect all the info I can find, then write it down on paper along with all the pros and cons and try to weigh them. If no decision seems obvious, I generally just postpone it until a decision does seem right.

Kind regards, and the best of luck,

Aurelia