i NEED the gastric bypass but i have medicaid. what do i do?

i have medicaid and they said they will pay for it, but i cant find a dr who will accept it. i am sitting here about to cry realizing that maybe i wont be able to do it. i have diabetes and 2 kids. i have to be around for them and i have tried everything. my  mom and dad just died and they were both over weight. my mom weighed almost 400 lbs and i realized when it took 6 paramedics to lift her off the floor when she fell that i had to do something. both of my parents were 43 i have to do something. please please help ; ;

Are  you on disability, if you are when you are on it for two years you will get medicare and it will pay for it and you will be able to find a dr. to do it then as far as for medicaid there isn't anyone that I could find to do it in Louisiana. Just hang in there and make some good food choices until you can have the surgery it saved my life. I weighed 479 pounds in June of 06 now I am 258.

I have Medicaid too & I'mm on disability but,I can't find a Dr. in this area who excepts Medicaid. I guess I'll have to try to figure out some kinda way to pay the Dr. myself cause I feel like I despartly need this surgery. I have high blood pressure, Asthma, Type II Diabetes,Copd, Emphsema, & osteoporosis. I'm weighing in at 241!! I'm about 110 lbs overweight 7 this makes all the above conditions even worse

Hello Susan, I'm so sorry to hear of your frustration and mounting health problems. I've been on this board and making contacts around Louisiana for almost four years. Post-Katrina, we have only had two doctors in the state to accept Medicaid for bariatric surgery. One needed another form of insurance and the other has since stopped accepting it all together after first limiting patients to those in the St. Tammany and Tangi area. Many people mean well and suggest their doctors because they "think" they may accept Medicaid since they accept Medicare. Again, I'm sorry, but that is not the case.  If your weight rendered you disable and unable to work, you might stand a chance at approval. If your weight makes your health conditions worse, that's not the same as your weight being the primary disability. People in the 500-800 pound range have been found to  be unable to work because of their weight. I'm not writing just to discourage you. There are many folks who go "self-pay" or finance their surgeries. When you are self-pay, the rate is often much less than what insurance companies would pay. There are also finance programs that provide loans for medical procedures. One such program is called "Care Credit" and there are many Louisiana doctors working with that finance method. The conditions you mention are very serious and you are right in your desire to lose weight. If you can't find a way to get bariatric surgery, I hope you can consider a non-surgical weight loss program. Many of those are medical weight loss programs and since those doctors are internist or gastro specialists, it may be an approval Medicaid treatment. Talk to your PCP -- it's worth a try. All my best, Frances

Thank you so much for your help Frances. I'll certainly check into it. :)

wow how does it feel to lose that much weight... i bet you feel great! congrats

  I can't offer much help, but my aunt had GBS on medicaid in Dallas... you feel  like traveling?

Hi Sadsushi (cool name), this would be a great recommendation except each state's Medicaid program is separate and only for residents of that state. Unlike, Medicare, it's not a federal program where patients can choose providers in different states. The only way she can use a Medicaid provider in Texas is to move to Texas and apply for Medicaid there. That is sad, indeed.

 Ohh... I see 
 (and thanks!)

yay i got insurance that covers gastric bypass  i am so excited :)