Anyone have ChampVA insurance?

Dr. Hargroder's office just e-mailed me to say that they don't accept Champus/TriCare. I wrote back and told them that ChampVA is different. I haven't heard back yet. Is there a good surgeon in Baton Rouge who accepts ChampVA? Thanks.

Your insurance company should be able to give you a list of doctor's that take the insurance. Try them. Hope this helps. Tina

Unfortunately, CHAMPVA does not provide a list of providers.

Hy Yvonne. If ChampVA is Tricare (which I think it is, but may be wrong), we are in network. I believe that Dr. Chung is one of the only providers in our state providing both Gastric Bypass and Lap Band who is in network with Tricare. There are a few on the Army bases, but I am not sure of any others in the area. From the referrals we are getting, I have seen that the Primary Care MD simply faxes in a request for Bariatric Surgery evaluation with a referral to an in-network Bariatric Surgeon and they then direct the patient to us. We get 4 or 5 a week from Tricare. Good Luck. Sorry I couldn't be more sure, but I am not 100% positive that ChampVA and Tricare are one and the same.

Marcie, TriCare is the new name for Champus. CHAMPVA is different, but as good or better and gives an automatic approval for the obese patient. I read Dr. Chung's reviews and he sounds wonderful. However, I live in Baton Rouge and really want a doc here. I don't understand what their problem is with a company (actually it's the US Veterans Administration) that's willing and ready to pay. Thanks for the reply. I'm really getting frustrated!

Yvonne, It boils down to payments. Yes, they pay and they are very ready to approve the surgery if criteria is met, but the payment is about 1/4 of any private (non-government) policies. That is also why it is difficult to find a Surgeon that will accept Medicare and/or Medicaid. Before you get upset, though...it's not all about money. It's the fact that Bariatric Surgery is now in the same risk category with Neurosurgery as far as malpractice coverage. Thus, you can imagine how much their premiums are (almost 80K per year). Unfortunately, I think the docs are banding together to send a message to these insurers that they simply cannot afford to keep accepting subpar reimbursement for a very difficult and complicated procedure that has numerous possibilities of ruining their careers with the slightest of complication. We accept Tricare only because area physicians have begged us to, since there is no one else willing to do their EGD's, colonoscopies and other general surgery. Good Luck. I hope you find someone closer to your home. You have some great docs in Baton Rouge.