[NJ Gene]

LauraB, I wanted to mention a couple things that you might want to be aware of. First of all Skype offers an unlimited calling plan to Europe for $99.00 a year. If you sign up for it, you basically have a U.S. number that you dial from a select set of phone numbers (I have three, our home phone, my cell phone, and my wife's cell phone). Once you dial that number it prompts you to dial the full international phone number you are calling. I found this invaluable when trying to get in touch with European surgeons. I guarantee you that a telephone call will save you a lot of time in communicating with any of them.

Additionally, although your medical costs will be expensive, it will be tax deductible on Schedule A of your tax return to the extent it exceeds 10% of your adjusted gross income. The threshold used to be 7.5%, but for 2013 and going forward it is 10%. That means that all medical (and travel/lodging) costs will be tax deducible to the extent it exceeds 10%. Because your procedure will probably bring you above that threshold, you can deduct all out-of-pocket medical costs that you incur at home as well (i.e. doctor copays, prescription drug copays, mental health not covered by ins, acupuncture, massage, etc). If you file a joint return, all expenses by your spouse in this category count too. If you have children as dependents, their costs also count. Understand that this will be like Uncle Sam paying for 25% to 30% of your surgery in the form of tax breaks. Also know that you can never bring your income to down to a negative amount. If you can bring it down to zero, you will get a refund of all of your tax withholdings from your job as well as your spouse's next year when you file your return. If you have further questions on this, feel free to send me a PM or contact your personal accountant.

Gene