Assistant Surgeon is Off Network

[Ken B]

I was just informed that the assistant surgeon for my procedure will be off network and I could be responsible for a large portion of his bill. My initial googling on this indicates that this might be common but I was wondering if any one had that situation arise as well?

I have Anthem Blue Cross in CA and I'm not sure how they handle off network assistant surgeons but I'm hoping I'll get some good news when I call on Monday as this unexpected additional expense could be a big hit for me right now.

[oldsoccerplayer]

Do your homework and look into all alternatives. Talk to your insurance as well as the insurance dept. at the surgeon and assistant surgeon's practices.
 I don't know about this specific situation but we had something similar recently. My wife needed surgery and having it done by the same surgeon at one facility was out of network while the other facility across the street was in network (go figure). The difference in coverage was huge.