SRS Surgery with Dr. Hansen – Tips for Minimizing Costs
So you’re going to see Dr. Hansen in West Virginia for a consultation or for surgery. That’s great! Now wondering, “How do I do this without breaking the bank?” Here’s some things I did (that maybe aren’t obvious to others) to minimize costs:
Tip 1: Fly into Pittsburgh and take the bus down
For cheap flights, check sites like Skiplagged. Note that Skiplagged doesn’t index every airline, so also check Southwest, etc.’s website too. Generally speaking, you want to book as far out in advance as you can. Depending on where you’re coming from, flying is almost certainly going to be cheaper than driving.
The name of the bus is Mountainline (busride.org). It’s the Grey Line you want, from Pittsburgh International Airport to Bridgeport. It’s cheaper to book through them ($20) versus through Greyhound’s website (around $25 if I recall correctly). This is much cheaper than renting a car (>$100/day). The bus drops you off right by a number of hotels in the area (which are also walking distance to the hospital).
Tip 2: Some of the hotels offer hospital patient rates and have breakfast included
This is a “call and ask [nicely]” situation, but some of the hotels right by the bus stop have discounted rates for hospital patients, and they’re not insignificant discounts either. Some of them also have “free” (included in the price) breakfast, so don’t forget to include the “Is it cheaper for me to stay here and go out for breakfast, or stay here and get their breakfast?” question into your math.
Tip 3: All Glory to Sheetz!
Sheetz offers a large variety of food, including made-to-order food. If this is your first time in Appalachia, do not overlook Sheetz as a phenomenal resource (or, at minimum, a way to save money versus UberEats).
Tip 4: You can InstaCart to the hotel
If your hotel room has a microwave, take a look at what you can get on InstaCart. Microwaved noodles aren’t the worst. This may or may not work out to be a cost saver versus grabbing stuff from Sheetz.
Cost Tally:
When I went in for the consult, I flew into Pittsburgh (~$200 round trip), took the bus to and from Bridgeport ($40 round trip), stayed at a hotel with a patient discount (~$90 / night x 2 nights -> $180 (this ended up being cheaper due to how flights worked out)), ate hotel breakfast (free), and ate at Sheetz (~$30). This all worked out to be under $500 plus medical expenses.
When I went in for the surgery, I flew into Pittsburgh with my +1 (~$225/person x 2 persons = $450 round trip for us), took the bus to and from ($40/person x 2 persons = $80 round trip), stayed at a hotel with a patient discount (~$110/night x 7 nights = $770), ate hotel breakfast (free), and primarily ate Sheetz (maybe $15/day/person x 7 days x 2 persons = $210) and microwave noodles (maybe $30 off InstaCart). We also took an Uber to and from Mountain State Brewing and had some great pizza (maybe around $60 for the night), which I highly recommend. I put the tally at $1,600 plus medical expenses.
So depending on your luck with air fare and hotel costs, and depending on your dietary preferences, the out of pocket expenses can work out to somewhere around $2,100. Yes, this is a lot of money for people who are very severely impaired by horrendous rib problems, but I hope it isn’t impossible.
I know that the hospital allows for payment plans (without interest) on the surgery and consultation. I paid around $150 a month in order to no longer be in crippling pain. Maybe your travel expenses can go on a credit card so you can actually thrive.
Anyways, good luck, and I hope you found something here useful.