Brick Wall

I have been on the phone for days tryiing to find help for myself. No one will take medicaid for anything. I even thought of just having my stomach operated on so I could exercise. My stomach is very large and hangs to my knees and it keeps me from walking. I think the word for it is penniculas or something like that. I feel so alone. Like I am just supposed to say oh well and just give up and die here in this room. I dont want that to happen. So if anyone knows of any other ideas please let me know. Thanks so much to everyone that has helped so far. I am at my witts end. Hugs, Legina

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as of January 2006, MS Vocational Rehab no longer covers Bariatric Surgery. Unfortunately, MS Medicaid will not cover either. The thing to do is to call your State Senator and State Representative. Legislation determines what Medicaid will pay. Get all of your friends and family to call, write, email, etc. Stay on them. Explain how surgery will change your life, how it will allow you to be more productive, to live a more fullfilling life, etc. We all need to push legislation to get MS Medicaid and BCBS MS to cover the procedures.

Keep calling and you will find something I almost gave up one day and now here I am almost 3 months post op. I was told by Voc-rehab that they quit paying and so therefore they didn't pay for mine after they said they would. Keep trying DONT YOU DARE GIVE UP ! ! ! Legina if you ever want to talk then click on the e-mail button at the bottom of this post and send me an e-mail and I will call ya. Hang in there Huggs, Joyce

Hi Legina, I wish I had some good advice for you but I dont. I just want you to know that I am thinking of you and praying that the door opens for you. Christine

Dear Legina, I can understand how frustrated you are. Do you have medicare and medicade? If you are disabled then you must have both. University Medical Center does this surgery and if you can get documentation letters from all of your doctors that your condition is life threatening, then I believe that you can get them to pay for surgery. It means that you will have to gather a lot of information to make your case, and you will have to go to the UMC in Jackson for tests and lots of stuff. But it is my understanding that your doctors can push thru surgery especially in cases where it means the difference between life and death. You are eligible for a number of things including nursing home care. You need to check all of the options out..... Let us know how you making progress. This surgery is a wonderful thing for most people and the start of a new life. I do not know why insurance companies and Medicare are not supporting it, it is a cost saving measure for them. For some of us, we cannot control our bodies, we need help. We All should bombard the state and insurance companies about this!!!! I had to pay for my own surgery also!!! Cheryl