[Geewiz]

Many of the best hospitals won't accept Medicare's low reimbursement rate which is why a supplement is a good idea.

Even now, some of the best docs (the cutting edge surgeons) won't accept any insurance - the guy who did my gastric bypass and was one of the best in the country was cash only and - for a while - Midwest Orthopedics who replaced my hip using outpatient surgery was cash only)..BTW - I carry Blue Cross PPO which is sort of the gold standard of insurance. Once you investigate complications/death rates/success rates of more complex procedures, cost kinda takes a backseat...assuming you have the resources to draw on to pay the bill. Good luck!