Hi!! Thanks for replying. Did u have your surgery already? And dnt feel bad 59lbs is good dnt be discouraged. Keep pushin, and keep fighting. Do u believe in God? Ask him for strength. If your arent use to exercising it could be a challeng but u have to reframe, change your way of thinking. But you can do it!

Good morning,

How are you doing, and how long have you been on this journey, and are you having difficult times with what to eat that doesn't bother your stomach?

I haven't been here in a while, but I'm doing well, I have lost a total of 59lbs I believe, if my calculations are correct, but now I feel as if I'm at a stand still. I still don't go to any support group meetings, and I feel that is so important in winning this weight loss battle.

I will make an effort to come here daily just for the encouragement, and support....

thanks for responding to me, I look forward to a growing friendship with you.

 Amy Lou, Have you thought about straight Medicare/Medicaid?

Not sure if you would qualify or not (there might have to be some kind of disability), but perhaps you could talk to medicare about it. I know most, if not all, of those plans you cited are HMO's. I don't know if any of the insurance companies themselves would be able to give you a straight answer about exactly what they cover and what they don't - and probably most surgeon's offices can only give you an idea, because any kind of plastics procedure is highly scrutinized and can be tough to get covered, even if it is needed.

So, it sounds like you have a few issues to tease out: what kind of surgery you will need, what kind of medical problems must co-exist to get insurance coverage for that surgery, which surgeon to choose to do the surgery that will not only take your insurance but will work with them to get your surgery approved, and which insurance would consider covering you for that/those procedure(s) to begin with. That's a lot of balls in the air at one time!! The reason I wondered if straight MCR/MCD might work for you, is that there are a lot less hoops to jump through than with the HMOs. So, even if you go with a medicaid HMO to get you through in the interim, I'm wondering if you might have some better hope with medicare? Just a thought. 

And one final thought: find out which of the insurances that your PCP takes. If you like your current PCP and want to stay with them, this might be the most important question. Your PCP will an important advocate for you with both the surgeons and insurance companies. It's hard to find a PCP that gets "you" so once you get that, hang onto it! JMHO.

~D

I am going to have a scope done on tuesday by Dr H he is my new wls do to just moving to FL 5 months ago im down 152 pounds and he is wanting to make sure my pouch is the right size he seems to be a wonderful doctor with lots of TLC on WLS he made me feel like I've been seeing him for a long time can't wait to see what he has to say after he scopes me peace and hope to keep in touch with yall')

Fr. Jorge Zaidon is a plastic surgeon and he works out of Mercy Hospital located in Coconut Grove. He accepts Vista, Coventry Health Plan Of Florida.