any help with doc's to talk to in central illinois?

Hi all my name is jill i am new to the site and am currently trying to get names of several doc's in the area that i can check on to possibly set up consult appts. i also have bcbs of il. ppo and am not even sure that it will be paid for and i have called a place named cori and they took all my personal info and ins. info and are to call me back in a week. hopefully. if anyone can give me names and #'s of any doc's in this area that might be worthy of me checking with please forward. im in litchfield and would travel where needed. please email me at [email protected]

There are Two in springfield. I have BCBS PPO also (their requirements are pretty strict - I suggest calling to make sure it is not an exclusion on your policy first. If not, I can give you the explanation of benefits for what they require) First is SIU comp - they are in the bayless building at memorial. Their phone number is 217-545-2667 and Cindy is the cordinator. They will have you attend a class and see all thier specialists your first day. It is a very detailed program and very involved. Thier wait is about 12-18 months before you will get to see a surgeon, but BCBS requires 12 months of supervised visits before they will pay for it, so if you do not have that yet, you are going to have to wait that long anyway. They ONLY do open RYN. The other is Dr. Hammer at memorial. The cordinator there is Rebecca and the number is 866-205-7915. He does lap or open RYN. Much quicker to get into and get the ball rolling with, but not as great as a "support system". You are also not far from St. Louis either. I do not know of docs down thier, but I am sure there has to be some in that area worth investigating as well!! Good luck on your journey - if you need any more information let me know. Patty

Here are a few..... Name: Thomas R. Rossi, M.D. Phone: (309) 624-9810 Dr. Eagon at 314-454-8877. University of Chicago, Dr. Alverdy & Dr. Prachand, they definitely take medicaid. The number of the hospital is 773-702-1000, ask foir Dr. Alverdy, Dr. Matt Glass**** Cedar Falls, IA 319-268-3994 Dr. Shayani In maywood.... he only does the Lap Band and he requires you to go to one support group meeting then will schedule a consult he moves pretty fast. 708-327-2899 Dr. Maillefer Dekalb Clinic 217 Franklin Street Dekalb, Illinois 60115 815-758-8671 Dr. Oliphant in Urbana he moves slower you have to call his office for a packet fill it out send it back in and you'll hear from them for an appointment in a few months I think he's currently scheduling for January/February. 217-383-3240 RNY only The surgeons at the COMP clinic at SIU they require a $260 up front to cover things that medicaid wont ??? and then 10-20 for nutritionist appointments and support group costs too. (217) 545-COMP Open RNY only Dr. Frederick Tiesenga in River Forest. (708) 386-1078 He just started accepting public aid. To get into the consult with him you will have to go to an informational meeting and get a packet. In the packet will be papers for you to fill out. You will need an upper GI, Gallbladder U/S(If you still have it), Psych Eval, Sleep Study (IF NEEDED), nutritionist consult ($75 OOP) You also have to write an essay explaining how YOU think the surgery is and how it is going to go. You have to explain WHY you need the surgery. (This all gets sent to the insurance company) He is now doing only 2 IPA surgeries a month. There's a surgeon in Bloomington Indiana that just got Illinois Public Aid providership. His name is Dr. Bradley Ray 812-330-9962 LAP Band Only Cori Centers in Harvey IL 708-915-4005 Psyc Eval _ you have to apply for a grant to pay for it, grant is based on income. Georgeann Russell 708 763 2120 Hinsdale Hospital Dr. Dillon (the surgeon currently doing wls does not) but he takes Medicare Maybe one will take you and you can go to mapquest.com to check the distance and it also gives you a map to follow....G'luck

Try Dr. Frantzides at NWestern! He's the Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery and just an all-around fantastic guy!!!