Bariatric Center of Excellence

I came across this after reading Diana's post on the MB about Centers of Excellence being bariatric surgery mills and a product of a collaboration between insurance companies....

www.obesityaction.org/magazine/oacnews17/bscoe.php


You can read both and draw your own conclusions....

www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4380204/What-is-a-quotBariat ric-Center-of-Excellencequot/

I read through both.  I chose my doctor, and then went to the hospital where he does his surgeries.  It happened to be a BSCOE.  So far I have no complaints.

I also chose my Dr first.  He practiced out of 2 hospitals, and my insurance would only cover my surgery if I went to the hospital that was the BCOE.  

My Dr is no longer performing surgeries out of that specific hospital.

Both of my Bands were placed at a COE and they both failed, so personally I think the concept of COE are just plain old crap.

It is unfortunate that in some cases it seems like it is a meaningless distinction...that said, there are also many hospitals that do warrant the title and not all areas of the country have the proliferation of WLS mills like the SoCal area does.
In many cases, insurance will not pay for WLS unless it is done in a COE, so then how do you choose, even if you are self pay???

If I was self pay, and if I can't get my new ins to cover the sleeve. I will be traveling to Mexico, I am already researching two Mexican surgeons at this time.

I'm gonna make Sue come with me

I'm sure Sue will handle anything that comes up with her usual patience and understanding...

I know Sue in real life and she is a sweetheart.

When I was in the hospital ( a total of nine days broken up ) she was on the phone with me everyday encouraging me and advocating for me to get the help I needed.

There came a time that I was unable to talk on the phone to my ins company due to " The Brain Pain "
( spinal fluid leak = extreme pain from noise ) and Sue was on the phone with my ins company making sure that my authorizations were being approved in a expeditious manner.

She researched the hell outta my diagnosis when I was unable to,and kept myself and my husband informed of what testing we should be asking for. She researched my medications for me because I didn't want to take any narcotics. She was able to tell me how and why each medication worked.

She called and gave me OH updates daily just to keep me entertained while I had to lay on my back flat at home,first for three days and another round for four days. I was in pain and bored to death.

I adore that *****

I'm not sure what I did to **** her off on Diana's FDA post...Diana too.  Don't think I deserved that at all.

I think it was the " Lawyer comment " I already read your explanation, and I like you Steph, but it looked like it was intended as an insult. I know you said you meant it a different way, but that's the way it was taken.

You and I didn't agree when I said you were being PA, and I'm okay with agreeing to disagree. We're both outspoken and we will never agree with each other on everything, however that doesn't mean we can't like each other.

Hell I still get into rumbles with some of my closest friends here, yet we still manage to support each other, and we sincerely care about each other too.

Some people hate me here because of my potty mouth and others think I like to stir ****
I know shocking huh