If you are planning on having elective surgery around the winter holidays, it’s best to schedule now as this is the time of year doctors’ schedules tend to fill up quickly.
An elective surgery is a procedure that is planned in advance, rather than one that is done in an emergency situation. Common elective surgeries at Loring include colonoscopies, tonsillectomies, hernia repair, hysterectomy, and other surgeries that may not be deemed medically necessary. At Loring Hospital, general surgeries are the most common performed elective procedures, often done the last quarter of the year, once a patient has reached their deductible.
“We encourage our patients to schedule any elective procedures as soon as they have met their deductibles and before scheduling options decrease,” said Sally Mason, Loring Hospital’s outpatient center/surgery manager. “We look forward to seeing our patients in the upcoming weeks.”
Health plans increasingly have design features that are tied to a 12-month cycle, including annual deductibles, free yearly preventive checkups and flexible-spending accounts. Consumers who don't pay attention to the calendar risk wasting fully covered benefits and paying more than they have to for medical procedures delayed until next year. The amount of money at stake keeps getting bigger, as people with health coverage are forced to pick up a growing share of the cost of their care.
For years, insurance plans have been structured to encourage waiting until the end of the year to have elective procedures done, once the person has met his or her deductible. At Loring Hospital, we want to remind you to check your plan and schedule non-emergency elective surgeries, year-end check-ups, and screenings as appropriate for your plan.
Our trained, professional, caring surgical staff at Loring Hospital provide the following surgeries, but are not limited to:
· Abdominal hysterectomy
· Adenoidectomy
· Appendectomy
· Arthroscopic knee surgery
· Bowel resection
· Breast biopsy
· Carpal tunnel
· Chemotherapy ports
· Colonoscopy
· Ear tube insertion
· EGD
· Hemorrhoidectomy
· Laparoscopic supra-cervical hysterectomy
· Laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy
· Laparoscopic or non-laparoscopic hernia repair
· Laparoscopic gallbladder
· Laparoscopic tubal ligation
· Mastectomy
· Myringotomy
· Pain injections
· Uterine ablation
· Pilonidal cysts
· Skin lesions - benign or cancerous removal
· Tonsillectomy
· Vasectomy
· And many more, please ask before you drive to another facility!
For more information, visit www.loringhospital.org or call Loring Hospital’s Katie Youberg Outpatient Center at 712-662-6379.