Lap Band Fills in Denver

Hi. I have a question for anyone who has recently had or will have the lap band. I was thinkng about doing it but then found out that the fills will not be covered under my insurance plan. Kaiser does not have thier own weight loss surgeon on staff, so they only cover the fills and surgeon's post-op care for up to 3 months after the surgery itself with their contracted surgeons. Dr Brown will do my surgery, but I hear his fill clinic visits are $200. Does anyone know how much that type of visit is for him or anyone else? I guess I just never thought that wouldn't be covered, but it's not so now I don't know if I can even do the Lap Band. Any thoughts on this? I have to decide between the RNYGB or Lap Band by my surgeon's visit on 3/15. Thanks. Sherry

Never mind. I got some clarification from the program about what I do. Thanks.

Wow I am sorry you are in such a time crunch to figure out which you want. That is so unfair for your insurance plan not to cover post-op procedures that are necessary. What if way later on you need something changed or operated on?? I've heard the lap band can shift inside of you...will the insurance cover fixing that? What if your lap band starts to be rejected will they pay to take it out and will they replace it? A rny-gb can have alot of issues to with sometimes gall bladder needing to be taken out later, or ulcer surgeries, or blockages being taken out...will your insurance pay for those? Having insurance cover these is a big deal...I am not trying to stress you out I am just thinking out loud so to speak. My surgery is military so everything is covered...but there should be a list out there of all of the questions you should ask your insurance for both the gastric and lap band to make sure you will be provided for post-op. Good luck with everything and I hope you can make a happy decision in time. ~Christal/dionysus_star

Yes, it is so much harder when you don't have a good insurance plan. I do have medicare since I am disabled (legally blind) and that coverage is better than most (surprisingly). I think a lot of people forget that there are millions of disabled people who have medicare and social security too - it's not just for the retired. Anyway, I have a $500 copay for the surgery (most people have to pay 30 percent which is $8000-$10000) and, it turns out, that I can get all of my care afterwards for the appropriate copay as well. It turns out now that sisits with the surgeon or for fills later on are a speciality copay of $30. I never meant to say that I wouldn't get any care afterwards - they just said that my "FILL" appointments would not be covered. They will pay for anything else that should go wrong or become an issue. I can be rehospitalized if needed but would have to pay the copay for the hospital again. Sometimes I think how expensive it is, but compared to my husband's plan from work it is a great deal. We pay almost $300 a month for coverage but still have a $4500 deductable to meet before we go to the copay level. We haven't reached that yet this year (July to July plan year) and not sure that we will. So we pay all this money every month for care but then still get bills from the providers sicne we have to pay full for visits until we meet the deductable. It sucks! Anyway, thanks for your concern and we're getting it figured out. I just hope your surgery comes soon as planned now. Sherry