Bayview folks...long waits?

I finally got insurance approval, and now I am waiting for a date.  A couple of things have happened that have kind of annoyed me, and I am just curious if this is par for the course at Bayview or if it's the norm.

First thing: I had finished all of my requirements on August 10th.  That was the date of my final visit for the 6 mo nutrition requirement, and I had gone out of my way to make sure they had EVERYTHING they needed - psych consult, nutritionist reports, letter from PCP, bloodwork, EKG, etc.  They ended up not sending it to insurance until August 21 - 2 weeks later.  They claimed not to have one of the months of nutritionist reports.  I guess things get misplaced, faxes don't come through, etc, which is fine...but since the nutritionist was also at Bayview, doesn't seem to me like they needed two weeks to get that one last piece of paper.

Now, I am waiting for my date.  Insurance approval came through on 9/11.  So now it's been over two weeks, and I still don't have a date.  I called on 9/18, one week after the approval, and I was told that my file was with the medical director and I would probably get a call on Tuesday.  I did not.  So I called them on Thursday, and basically got the same answer - it's still being reviewed.

At this point we are talking over a month of crap getting held up.  Last I talked to Erica in the office, I was already looking at early December for a date.  I was aiming for October when I started my 6 month requirement, and I was told then that it was doable.  I am dissapointed and frustrated.

Hello PurpleKelly, I am so glad to hear that you've got your approval. OMG! i haven't seen you on here did you take spend some time away from the board in order to get all of your homework done.

I can't forget how nice you were to me when i came to Bayview to do my "mandatory" support group meeting b4 my surgery.  Thanks again.

It's so frustrating when you jump thru all of the hoops you gotta jump thru and then dr's office staff just take their freaking time completing the process for you.  What a bummer!
I hope you get your date as soon as possble and i hope you can get your surgery b4 December. By Christmas i hope you will already be enjoying your gift.  Stick around, it's nice to chat with you.  I look forward to reading your post about your surgery date soon!  Good Luck!

Hi Purplekelly......
   I also went thru Bayview, however I had Dr. Magnuson. Once I got my approval, my date was set within 3 days. Granted, I got my approval the middle of April & my surgery wasnt until June 26th! The office manager I dealt with was Valerie.....she is AMAZING! But I guess each doctor has their own person to do scheduling.......
Be persistant.....thats your right!
Good luck!

I've gone through the same thing. My 6 mo. nutrition classes were done on APRIL 15th! They had ALL of my paperwork that day. They claimed it went to insurance, I called the insurance company repeatedly because they said they never go the fax. So another couple of weeks went by until they finally got everything. I had some trouble getting approved, but finally did get approved near the end of July. They took a couple weeks to send me a date after that. I have Dr. Schweitzer who is pretty booked. My surgery is Oct. 20th. I was originally aiming for July! So you see how that worked out lol.

I so understand your frustration.  My final clearance was on September 10 and the paperwork was suppose to be submitted to my insurance company.  I called the insurance company on the the 23rd and they said they had not recieved it.  So I called Erica and she said that they had faxed it but will fax it again.  I am waiting to hear back from the insurance company to see if they actually got it.  I was told by Erica that my insurance company takes a long time to approved people sometimes up to 45 days so I would like the paperwork to get there as soon as possible. I understand that Dr. Steele is extremely busy because she just came back from maternity leave but it would be nice to get a date from her office staff.  Hopefully, things will get better with her office.  Dr. Steele is so wonderful!

She told me that about my insurance co too (Hopkins EHP) and it only took 2 weeks.

good to know I have EHP as well.  Good Luck!!!

We are "secure" account members because my DH actually works at EHP, so I have no idea if that made any difference in the speed of my approval.  But I was suprised by how fast it was, after what Erica had told me.

Oh by the way, I totally forgot to say CONGRATS on getting approved!!!! That's half the battle!