Help: Waiting on insurance to approve.

I think this thread got a bit out of control and your question wasn't answered... or I just didnt care to read all the responses! But so far I have only had to pay about $500 with co-pays for bloodwork, hospital stay and surgeon office co-pay and i am rounding up that fee. I also had to pay $475 for my pysch eval. I didn't have to put a deposit down for surgery, because my insurance covered it. I am assuming you are having insurance cover your WLS since you said you are waiting for the office staff to call. I am sure with the holiday it's really difficult. Hopefull you will hear something after the New Year. I can understand if a person pays cash the surgeon may want a deposit just in case you decide to cancel at the last minute, since there is alot of scheduling work and behind the scenes stuff for you to have surgery. What surgeon are you going thru? you may want to call and ask them. Good Luck to you! ~Nicole

So a toltal of approx. $500.00 out of pocket? I am on AHCCCS, I called and they said I can go to one of the two Dr's they use which are Dr. Fang and Dr. Newhoff. Do you know anything about them and is there anyone out there that has used AHCCCS? I will attend the seminar for Dr. Fang on 1/12/07 my appointment is on 1/29/07 I can't wait. I went to Dr.DeBarros and i was very disapointed because i went to the seminar and to the apointment, i was told everthing was fine, she had to call the insurance company again because of the Dr. not being in network. I called for days to find out what was the out come and finally she picked up the phone and said i would have to find another Dr. I was upset because i had to miss work and she told me before i left the office that the Dr. is in the network. Only to find out a week later he wasn't. I did ask before i went to the apointment. So if i had not called the office i would still be sitting there waiting for a answer. How long before you can go to a regular diet after having the lap band surgery ? Thank you and as you can hear i am full of questions. Thanks Again Catalina

I know nothing about AHCCCS and insurance coverage... you might want to check out the insurance part of the site and review what different insurances some members have and their experiences. I also do not know anything about Dr. Fang or Dr. Newhoff but I am sure other members on here do. As for the LapBand info, you might want to check out the LapBand forum for more specific questions regarding that. I had RNY so I can't help ya on the LapBand questions either. ~Nicole

Hi Catalina, I have not had surgery yet and am completing the 6 mo supervised diet required by my insurance company. I am planning on having an Lap RNY hopefully in April or May. I originally wanted to go with Scottsdale Bariatric (SBC) because I heard great things about Dr. Blackstone but I could not afford the out of pocket costs. I opted for Banner Bariatric that works with three doctors (Dr. Fang, Dr. Juarez, and Dr. Villares). I chose Dr. Villares because of some patient referrals but have heard good things about all three. I don't anticipate any out of pocket costs except for possibly the nutritional consult. I have already had the psych eval. and only paid a $10 co-pay with Dr. Cooper through Banner Bariatric. The website is www.bannerbariatric.com. They have a full day of orientation and testing prior to surgery that includes psychological, nutritional, and exercise guidance. Their support groups are free and open to anyone and rotate topics between emotional support, nutrition, and exercise physiology. I am attending the support groups now in preparation for surgery and also because it is a requirement of my insurance. I have found that Banner Bariatric is a comprehensive program that meets my needs. I have also found that by doing research, I have been able to have every step of the process (so far) covered by insurance. It is not always necessary to go with the doctor, nutritionist, or counselor that a particular program recommends. For instance, when I was initially planning to go with SBC they stated that they have an excellent doctor that does the 6 month supervised program. While I have heard great things about this doctor, she was not covered by insurance. I opted to go with Dr. Lucas who is my PCP. She has worked with a lot of patients from SBC and knows how to accurately record the visits so that I meet the insurance requirements. Some PCP's do not so it is good to find one that is bariatric friendly. Hope this info helps. Take care, Sandi