HELP

I spoke with a friend last night who is awaiting her psychiatric evaluation for surgery. She said the thing she is waiting on is the $700.00 it cost and insurance will not pay any toward it. Is this the norm, if so I might as well stop here and go get drunk. Anybody else with this dilemma or similar. I appreciate psychological exam, but I am not nuts and sure not rich enough to fork over that kind of money. HELP!! Jeffee

When I had my psych eval it only cost me the 20 co-pay with BCBS. Does her insurance not have mental health coverage???

Jeffee, I have BCBS of GA HMO, and they reimbursed me $300. for my $330. psych. eval. I did have to have pre-approval to go out of network after getting a referral from my regualr PCP. The hurdles are stinky!!! Becky

When I first started I thought I was gonna be running into this exact same problem, except the Dr I was using only charged $450. My insurance also has a mental health plan, and between my medical insurance and mental health plan they couldn't decide who was to pay for my psych eval. Medical kept saying it was mental health, and mental health kept saying this was medical because it was pre-op for surgery. I finally found someone at my insurance company who knew what they were talking about and found out that it would be covered by the mental health portion. All I had to pay was my $15 co-pay. Thankfully..... Susan Lap RNY 12-1-04 285-231-155 (-54)

Jeff, mine was $300 too but I have not gotten reimbursed by BCBS (even though my policy does cover mental health services!). $700 sounds really high. I saw Dr. Santavicca, in Atlanta. You might have to search around awhile. Good luck, Cheryl

Before I had my surgery, the $700.00 "eating disorder workshop" was a requirement. It was not covered by my insurance, so I, like most patients, self paid the fee. I was really upset at first, almost made me want to go to a different surgeon, but after the workshop, I did a complete 180. The workshop was the most beneficial aspect of the entire pre-op journey. I learned so many things that made me better able to cope with being a post-op WLS patient. Please take my advice and pay the $700.00, attend the workshop and never regret it. It is unbelievably helpful. Good Luck! Rick Browning FFG Consulting

You need to check with your Plan and see exactly what they require. Get all the requirements in writing. When they say they need a psychological evaluation, all they are looking for is a statement that you are of sound mind, that you don't have any psychiatric conditions that would prevent you from being compliant with the requirements to stay healthy post - op, and that you realize that WLS is not a magic pill, and that YOU will have to do the work to lose the weight. If you are already in counseling (like many of us are/were) a letter from your counselor/psychologist/psychiatrist will probably work. The practioners who want you to do testing like a MMPI, are going for overkill ( and possibly the money.)

Jeff, I live in Dawson, just outside of Albany, and I used Elaine Gurley in Albany. I liked her so much that I won't hesitate to call her if I have any issues in the future. The total cost, including the letter, was $130, and I had it in my hand in less than a week. I had previously called my Atlanta psychiatrist's office for an appointment, but was told "we don't do that sort of thing" by the front office. Really ticked me off, seeing as how I had been a good patient while living in Atlanta. The other posters are right, taking the MMP is definitely overkill! Good luck! Barb in S. GA