So I’m Getting a Vasectomy but No One Will Give an Estimate!

So long and short of it I'm getting a vasectomy and used my insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield to do an estimate on the cost and find A) someone who is lower in cost according to the estimate tool and B) someone with a recent education. The tool states around 400$ for someone in my network. I ask a patient advocate and they say that these tools are not to be trusted so I do the following.

Make a call to the provider's office. They give me a billing code and say to contact my insurance agency to determine the cost Call the insurance agency, they say they can't run this, the office has to apply the bill first and to call the provider back Call the provider office they say, "Contact our billing department they can help." I contact the billing department, "We can't help you, we don't have that access now, you'll have to talk to the provider's office." Contact the provider's office. "Here's a different billing code that they would use with your insurance agency." Contact the insurance agency. "We can't help you with this the provider has to provide the bill in network."

What should I do in this situation? I have no idea how to actually get an estimate for a procedure I would like to get done because I know this will entail also a Consultation visit as well as a Procedure visit but I can't get an idea outside of a price estimate tool on Blue Cross Blue Shield that supposedly isn't correct.

Ideas? Does this tool actually work? Is it always massively wrong?

submitted by /u/Smart_Garlic
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