Frustrated Newbie - Help please!!!

Hello, I am very new to this whole thing. I have Tricare Prime Insurance and live in the very southern part of Maryland. I got a referral from my PCM but when I called that drs office, he doesn't perform the surgery. So back to square one and my question - Does anyone know of a surgeon who performs LapBand surgery and accepts Tricare Prime in the DC/Northern Virgina/Southern Maryland area?  Any comments or resources are greatly appreciated.

Hi.  I live in Southern Maryland also.  I'm sorry, I don't know if they accept Tricare, but my surgeon is Dr. Andrew Averbach with Singh & Averba*****atonsville/Baltimore.  I had LapBand with BC/BS and it was covered.  If you call the office, the staff is very helpful and should be able to tell you if they accept your insurance.  The number is (410)368-8725. Hope they can help you. Sonja

Thank you for the number. I will give them a call.

I just wanted to say hello and welcome I am from Lusby also.  Luckily, Tricare Prime is my secondary insurance and I was able to go to Baltimore for my surgery with BCBS.  I know there are others on here with Tricare (I belieive Robin Saxton) that may be able to give you a referral.  Best of Luck!! Stephanie

I can't help you with the Tricare thing but wanted to welcome another SoMDer tot he board.  I'm in Leonardtown.  I'm not sure if you know but there is a WLS support group meeting every 3rd Weds in White Plains, MD.  It's held at the SMECO bldg at 7 pm. --Eric 

Hi there,  I live at Fort Meade and have Tricare Prime-John Hopkins Family Health Plan. They have referrals to Dr. Scwietzer, and more at John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. They do Bypass and Lap band. Let me know if I can help you out in any way. Candie

Thank you for reply. I actually got the referral to John Hopkins today with Dr. Steele. I registered for an informational session on the 19th of March. I am hoping to have a LapBand. Do you know anything about the requirements at Johns Hopkins? How far along in the process are you? How has the center been helpful? Anything you can tell me is appreciated.

If you go to the websites of the surgeons in the area and click on insurance you can see who takes Tricare.  Many surgeons take it.  But It looks like you are all set to go to Johns Hopkins bayview's program.  They have several surgeons there and they do Lapband there as well as Roux en Y and Duodenal Switch.

Thank you. I appreciate the response and yes I have gotten in touch with John Hopkins. Hopefully everything will go smoothy from here. - Jennifer