Don't know where to begin

Well I am new to this site and I wanted a place to vent my frustrations and concerns with others who may understand. I began looking into surgery about 3 years ago, at the time I had medicaid. I had a hard time finding a surgeon who would accept it and I had some doubts about actually having the surgery. Then I was blessed with a job with benefits and started looking seriously into surgery again at the end of 2003. To my surprise my company decided to change our insurance plan starting in 2004, if I didn't have the surgery before 2004 I would be out of luck. My company had a great plan to add a 5 year stipulation in order to get the surgery despite the fact that I have several comorbities. Bariatric surgery was no longer covered. My health was steadily diminishing and eventually cost me my job. I am still stuck with the same insurance and just saw a doctor that said I deperately need the surgery and I don't know where to begin my fight. I would appreciate any help, advice or encourgement. Mo

Monique, I don't have your answers, but I do want to welcome you. You have definitely come to the ight place as far as support is concerned. There are several folks that know of docs using medicaid. I have a question for you...I took a quick peek at your profile, and do I understand that you are a Geico employee in Macon? If so, I'm gonna check into something for you and then get back to you... Tami

I use to work at geico, my husband is still there though. That is why I have the same insurance. My employment ended due to my health in april, I was forced to resign. I am fighting for disability now.

Hi Mo.... I also work for Geico... I am in MW sales... at least for today... I am quitting and moving on... I know they wont pay unless you have worked there 5 years... I was insured under my ex wifes policy or I could not have had the surgery done. I wish I knew another way... I have heard of people getting the money through home loans etc....

If there is no other way, let me re-post this from a surgeon who posted on the main boards a few days ago: Hi all. One of my patients suggested that I "formally" introduce myself here, as there are a number of comments about me, and it would make sense for me to answer the questions myself rather than have others answer them for me. I have specialized in laparoscopic surgery since 1989, and have been doing bariatric surgery for the past 3 years. I do both LapBand and Lap Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. I've done about 130 of each procedure. I've always tried to be cost-effective, minimizing the use of expensive disposable instruments. After doing a number of procedures, I approached the administration at one of my hospitals and asked them to review my cases and come up with a package price for patients without insurance coverage who would be willing to pay cash up-front. Fortunately my complication rate is very low, and patients often are discharged from the hospital within a short time of their surgery. We are currently offering a package price for LapBand of $12500, and $11,000 for Lap RNY. This includes hospital, anesthesia, surgery, and 2 years of follow-up, including fills. I also do fills for patients who have had there surgery done elsewhere, as well as take care of issues such as slippage, erosion, and port problems. In addition, I do laparoscopic revisions of of unsuccessful LapBands to RNY gastric bypass. You may be asking, "What's the catch? Why is he so cheap?" Well, the fact is, my surgical fee is actually not cheap. I'm charging $5000 for the surgery and follow-up, which is actually somewhat more than most insurance companies pay. It is the hospital that is sacrificing their profit in exchange for increased surgical volume. Why am I willing to take care of patients of other surgeons? I just figure that it is good business. If you are happy with me, you will refer your friends or family. Please visit my website if you have further questions. I've put together a LapBand FAQ, and would welcome other questions so that I can make it more comprehensive. Sorry if this is long-winded. Mark Pleatman MD Bloomfield Hills, Michigan www.laparoscopy.com/pleatman 248-334-5444 Kia 284/203/155