Dr. Baker's Patients now what do I do

I sent all of my insurance requirements in to Christy today.  She said she would get them out to my insurance company either today or in the morning.  I have BCBS Tx.  I attended the seminar in June, the support group and phone call in August.  As far as I know I have done everything I need to do.  Now I just sit and wait! 

I heard in the support group that Dr. Baker was booking into October.  Will I get a date as soon as my insurance approval comes in?  And then Dr. Baker will look at my profile and then I will go for an appointment?  Is that the correct steps?

I really hope my insurance company gives me an answer soon.  If Dr. Baker is scheudling into late October or early November I am probably going to have to put this off until the middle of December.  I am a children's photographer and November is my busiest make it or break it month.  I am hoping for the lap by pass. 

It sounds like you have all your ducks in a row.  Did you do your psych eval, too?  Have you had a sleep study, or are you already diagnosed with sleep apnea?  Those are the only things I can think of that might delay the process. 

Once I got my insurance approval (within 1 day with my company's BCBS policy -- handled through AR BCBS), things moved very fast.  Christy put me on the books right away, I picked up my shakes, and I did my lab work.  I went for my consult on 7/24 and had surgery on 7/28. 

I really don't think your insurance will take long to give you an answer.  Hang in there!!!

One of my insurance requirements was the psych eval, so that went into the insurance.  My insurance company did not require the sleep study but I have done that and was diagnosed with sleep apnea.  I have already gone in and slept with the CPAP, I have an appointment to see the doctor and will get my machine on Friday.  I understand Dr. Baker insists that you sleep with it for 3 weeks before the surgery.  I wanted to make sure I got on the CPAP as quickly as possible so that didn't hold me back.

So was the first time you saw Dr. Baker 4 days before your surgery? 

What surgery did you have? 

OK, good.  Make sure you use that CPAP every single night.  I can't tell you how many times that was stressed to me, not that I have any issue with compliance; I sleep so much better with the machine that I don't dream of not using it!

Yes, the first time I saw Dr. Baker was 4 days before my surgery.  I had the lap RNY done.  I may have been somewhat atypical though because my insurance was paying 100% minus a $150 copay, so there really was no reason to delay. 

I got my approval on 7/3 and went by the office that day to pick up my shakes, my hemoccult cards, and the form for my labwork.  By the time I had my consult on 7/24, I had all that done so I was ready to go.

Hope this helps!

I had Anthem National BCBS.  I had to SEE Dr. Baker for the consult before they sent everything to insurance. 

It took 2 weeks of me calling BCBS EVERY DAY to ask about my claim before it was processed.  (They are allowed 2 weeks according to their by-laws to approve/deny a claim.)  I got my date as soon as the approval came in. 

Have you had all your pre-op labs done?  He won't even see you for a consult until you do. 

No I haven't had any labs done.  I thought I was suppose to wait until I hear from the insurance company and get a surgery date.  Do you just call the regular number for your insurance and ask about the approval?

No, my BCBS had a case manager over all bariatric approvals.  Her business card was in the packet I asked for from my insurance company (that they mailed to me) whenever I started trying to start the process.

You have to have all the labs done and the results faxed to Dr. Baker's office before they will see you.  (Your PCP does the labs, but some of them have to be sent off and take a week or so to get back.  So you'll want to go ahead and get your labs done ASAP.  Make sure they fax the results to Dr. Baker's office.)

Ok Wendy thanks for the information on the labs.  I need to check and see if  I am going to need any extra labs.  I have had a blood disorder during my last two pregancies.  Although they were not pregnant related, it is kind of strange.  I am betting that Dr. Baker is going to want to see those results again before my surgery as they deal with blood clots.

These are the labs that Dr. Baker requires you have done before you even see him (so he can go over results, etc).  I don't think he'd mind me cutting/pasting this from the patient hub to here.  (Crossing fingers....)  I'm sure he'll also want to see the blood clot stuff from your pregnancies to see if he needs to take extra precautions with you post-op to prevent clots if you have had problems in the past. 
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Take This to your PCP and have him order this lab. This is list only, your physician must order it.   Please do the following lab testing on the following  Patient. Patient should be NPO after midnight and have lab drawn between 8-9 a.m. if possible.   NAME       TESTING ·        T4 ·        TSH ·        A.M. Serum Cortisol ·        HIV (86701) antigens only ·        HCV (86803) antibodies only ·        If HX of diabetes HgbA1c ·        Fasting Blood Sugar if patient is Medicare or Medicaid ·         Hemoccults   x3 no red meat or raw vegetables 3 days prior to sample’s from three separate stools. Off N’saids 10 days prior. If patient is 50 or older please order colonoscopy instead of hemoccults unless recent colonoscopy already done. ·          ·        Diagnosis    278.01    PLEASE FAX TO: 501-221-9672  
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Thanks Wendy, I will print that off my hub.