Helpful Hints about out of province funding for surgery etc!

MCP, which is our Newfoundland Health Care Commission had no problem approving my surgert costs out of province. I wrote one of the head ajudicators and outlined my position, also gave him a copy of my doctors consult to Dr. B. Gastric bypass in an approved procedure in their books- but is not offerred in our province. The reasons why are complicated and I'm sure are mostly financial as well as political. We have surgeons in Newfoundland who are well trained in Bariatric Surgery- just no funding and provincial go-ahead to start a program. I know of 2 others who have gone to NB for Bariatric Surgery and had their costs covered by the newfoundland Health Care System. Newfoundland does not recognize the Lap Band Procedure in their "approved" list- so no funding for that. My advice to anyone who is running into brick walls trying to get seen and on a list for Bariatric Surgery comes in 4 parts. #1- Be sure and confident that you want this. There are lots of resources out there to help you educate yourself and make an informed decision. You need to be 100% sure that you want this. #2- Find out the facts- what is the Doc's name. Get a referral from your family Doctor. Find out if you need medic-aid approval- contact the RIGHT - person there- see what info they require, where you should send it, and make sure they get it. They also really need to know a bit about you, your health history, reasons for wanting bariatric surgery, your plans to keep healthy after. I know most of us don't want to tell complete strangers about our obesity and related issues- but the more they know and understand about you and your particular situation- the easier it is for then to make a decision. If the first decision is NO- don't give up- write again and give more reasons why you need this. Remember- by now you are 100% certain this is for you. If you aren't good at writing/typing letters or putting thoughts down on paper- get a friend or someone to help you. Keep track of when you send and receive correspondence. And always get the names of people you speak to, along with dates and times. Keep copies of all correspondence you send and receive. Contact your government representative to lobby on your behalf. Noise gets results! #3- If your health conditions worsen- make sure your surgeon knows. Be patient and be good to yourself while you are going through this. It seems a daunting task at times to get through all the red tape. But remember you are doing it for YOU> So keep writing, phoning, faxing -whatever it takes. #4- Looking back-I was almost 3 years from the time my Family Doctor here in NL sent the consult to the time of my surgery. It was a hard 3 years. It has cost me significant amounts of money for travel to and accommodations in Moncton over the years. Very small amounts were paid by my personal group insurance I have at work- I think 1 trip I got 280$ back. No way close to covering the airfare, 2 nights in hotel and taxis to and from airport and hospital . Coverage for this is limited to once per year. This year alone will have 4 trips up there. My NL public health coverage does have some provision for compensation of travel expenses- but I still haven't figured it all out yet. Knowing now that there are so many reputable private pay clinics starting up- I think that if I was just starting out now- I would go that route. The wait for provincially funded bariatric surgery is getting longer all the time. And a lot of us don't have that time to wait. Going private entails money up front- but you know what- it's an investment in YOU- what could be a better reason that that. Loans can and will be repaid- and life will go on- with you all the healthier. One word of caution- Research, Research, Research the facility and doctor you will be going to. Talk to former patients as much as you can and see what their opinions are and how they feel about their whole experience. PS-If you are on the list for provincially funded bariatric surgery and the wait time is extreme and you feel you will not be able to wait it out- go to your family doctor or whoever refferred you in the first place and ask him/her to write a letter for you and contact your provincial health plan asking that you be approved to have surgery somewhere else- ?another province- possibly the US- where the wait time is shorter. Do you homework here and find out where these places are. So- godd luck on your journeys- the services are out there- we HAVE to kick, bite, scratch, cry, write, run- do WHATEVER it takes to get where we want. DON"T GIVE UP!!!! Hope this is of some help to at least some of you!

Thanks for giving us the wisdom of your experience

Hi, I'm 27 years old I also live in Newfoundland and have been wanting this done for a number of years now.. would you be able to tell me the cost of this surgery if u do it privately.. I've checked on line to many diff sites and have gotten so many diff answers to that question, I've heard anywhere between $8,500.00 to $50,000..so that didn't help much.. I will try to get mcp to pay for this but I really don't want to wait years to do this.. I am very depressed and don't want to leave my home.. I also have PCOS, and its even harder for me to loss weight because of this problem.. My knees are starting to get real bad, and again I'm only 27.. I need help doing this, and I need as much info as possible... I know FOR SURE that I want to do this.. NOW!!!  I just don't have that kind of money, but am willing to do anything to get there.. it helps to know that someone else as been there and got past it, and came out on top.. I;m just hoping for the same.. so thanks for posting, it really did help..and if u have anymore info please post ..thanks