Beaumont weight loss clinic and blue care network

 I called my insurance just like the seminar at beaumont told me too and they cover only HALF of the surgery. After talking to the seminar lady she said they bill insurances  $25,000 for the surgery plus all copays, tests and follow up fees.  I am trying to save for this but am trying to be realistic.  Anyone have BCN and had this? I am planning to save 14,000 to cover the extras and surgery but am not sure where to look for answers. The people I keep talking to from beaumont and the insurance refuse to give me  a definate answer.

The only good thing is my weight/bmi qualify me to not have a waiting period to have it. Now to just get the cash.

Did they Pre authorize it? You know get in writing just how much is
covered.

For that much money I would expect that they would. Call and check.
You will get an EOB back from your insurance company. Explanation of
Benefits. Keep this paper safe. If after surgery they come back and dont
pay for somthing then you will have thier piece of paper saying they will.
Start documenting who you talk to and when and what was said. Be specific
in your notes! These will come in handy one day trust me.
I would not go into elective surgery like this without a preauthorization. You just
never know what is gonna come back to bite you in your butt.
If it is too hard dealing with Beaumont go see another surgery center. Some one
else might want to do a little more work for you.
I believe St. John has a center of excellance also Harper Hospital in
detroit.

Good luck

 Yes it is preautho. they said this was just the part the hospital bills them when the procedure is done. So it covers nothing else. I just hate the thought of keep going with the progress to be forced to stop because the bill keeps going up and I cant afford it. I was planning on not starting the pre surgery stuff until I made sure I had enough money in the bank but it seems unless I have 15,000 to cover the surgery and copays, and the other fees I should just keep waiting. 

Anyone know any places that help loan money for this? Like a medical loan company? I know they have ones for dental, eye, and plastic surgery but can not find a legit one for this.  Any help is greatly appreciated. 

Care Credit is a lender. Just google it. They helped for
my plastics


Dani

Couple ideas....

Call other Bariatric Hospitals from the BCN list and ask what their fee's are and if they require payment upfront or allow/help with payment plans. I've heard there is some difference in cost and believe Beaumont might be the most expensive. Worth checking into.

Call insurance back and ask them to print and mail you the section of your policy that deals with Bariatric surgery. Not the summary- the fineprint is what you want! You want to be sure they really only pay 50%. You also want to know what your deductible is and if you have an out of pocket cap on medical which might leave you actually paying less then you think. For example my insurance pays 80% of the surgery. My deductible is $300, my out of pocket max is $1500. So I actually will pay less then my 20% of the surgery.

 Do some digging and see if anything you find will help you when you talk to insurance. It took me 3 tries to get the correct information from my insurance and I think it was me reading them this info that made them dig a little harder on my behalf. Ask for clarification on everything several times and be sure to get the name of the person you talk to everytime. Here are some BCN/BCBSM links that helped me --

http://www.bcbsm.com/mprApp/MedicalPolicyDocument?fileId=2041888

http://www.bcbsm.com/newsletter/therecord/record_0112/record_0112g.shtml

http://ereferrals.bcbsm.com/bariatric_surgery.shtml


Good luck!

 Thanks for the help.  I have already checked into a few other places but really like a certain doctor and wanted him only. But the other ideas I never even thought of so thanks!!!!!!! I will start tomorrow :)

Just curious because I had my surgery Nov 16, 2012 at Beaumont Royal Oak with Dr. Krause....I'm so thankful.  They have taken good care of me from day one and I found many bariatric patients are just operated on and sent back into the world without any classes, Nutritionists, Exercise trainers etc;  Beaumont may be more expensive (don't know for sure) but they are well worth it.

Now as for BCN... my family doctor advised me to CHANGE insurance if I could.  New Year is coming up.  BCN is not known for their good payments plans.  In fact 3 of my Doctors stopped taking patients with BCN.    Blue Cross traditional pays 100% and Priority Health pays 100% except deductibles.   It is just a thought but do you have the option to change insurance companies?

When your life is on the line....I'd want the best hospital and a surgeon who has done thousands of these surgeries (not hundreds).

Best of luck to you.  Also I think Beaumont could help you find which insurance is best.  Or in other words which one picks up most of the tab.