Another Medicaid question

Does anyone know their requirements? Ive been trying to contact them but its almost impossible!!! Ive left messages and everything. Do they have any extra requirements besides the ones that are standard? Any info would be great, thanks!!!

Hi Angela, Dealing with medicaid can be frustrating, I know. You should try to contact your surgeon's office. They should be able to let you know. Usually the program goes along with the insurance requirements. If your surgeon's office is on top of things they should take care of everything and you shouldn't have to deal with medicaid at all. So far I haven't had to worry about a thing. The only thing I've had to do is go on a 6 month Dr. supervised diet, and my surgeon's office set up everything for me. Good luck with everything.

If you dont mind me asking, where are you having your surgery done? And do you have to go on the diet for insurance reasons? Im going to Dartmouth Hitch**** in Manchester... Im sorry if I am being nosey lol, Im just new to this.....

That's ok, that's what we're here for. They want to see that you have tried to lose weight in the past. If you have some past weight loss attempts that are documented, you probably wouldn't have to do the supervised diet. Like if you were on prescription medication for weight loss, or were in Weigh****chers for a while. Usually the surgeon will want you to lose like 15 -20 lbs before having surgery anyway. It kind of to prepare you for when you are post-op, and to see if you can follow a diet plan. I am going to Dr. Drinkwater in Nashua. He's with Southern NH Medical Center. I've heard nothing but good things about him and so far everything has gone really smoothly. They are really on top of things there.

Thanks again!! I do have some doncumented weight loss in the past (Weigh****chers) but I dont know where I would get that documentation? do you think they would still have that? I went I think like 5 times lol. I will probably try to call them and see. Do you have your date scheduled yet? Have you completed all your requirements, besides the 6 month diet? Im going to DHMC for my surgery, but dont know if thats going to be definate yet. I really want the Lap. surgery done, and right now they only do Open. (hes interning for the Lap. procedure) Not sure if I want a big scar and whatnot if I dont have to.

I might depend on how long ago it was. They must keep some kind of records. Try calling WW and see if they still have a record of you. If you only went a few times it might not be enough for an approval, but you should still try. Every little bit will help. If your surgeon is still interning for Lap surgery, I'd be hesitant to have it done by him, since he lacks experience in that area. I've heard that the office staff there isn't really that great. If you are still not definate about going there, you should check out Dr. Drinkwater in Nashua. He does both Lap and Open and he's got a great staff working for him. You wouldn't have to worry about finding a nutritionist, psychologist, or making the appointments yourself. They do it all for you. As for me, I still have a few more months of the supervised diet, but they say that by the time I'm done, everything else will be all set, and they will actually schedule me before the 6 months are up. The nutritionist said that I don't seem to have any major issues with food, mentally, so I don't have to see the psychologist right now. I'm scheduled for my sleep study Feb 28, to see if I have apnea. If I do, i'll have to be on a c-pap machine for a few months. If not, great! So far everything had been really easy.

I just wanted to let you know that I contacted Dr. Drinkwater's office today and the woman (very nice btw) in the office was really helpful and she is sending me out my info packet and stuff to fill out. Do they have their own Psych. dr's so you dont have to go out of their office and see one? If so I think thats great. I have really heard a ton of good things about his office. At Dartmouth its YOUR responsibility to contact your insurance and make sure of any extra requirements you may need to do and all of that. They have an open house in Nashua on March 30th, and she told me that if I get my info packet in to them in time she could schedule me for my visit with him by them as well. Anyways I just wanted to say thanks again!!!

You are welcome! They do have their own Psych on staff. You won't have to worry about making any appts. Jen, (probably the woman you spoke with) will make all your appointments for you. She is really nice and she really knows what she's doing. She'll always make time to answer any questions when you call, and you don't feel like she's trying to rush you off the phone. I'm glad you decided to check out Dr. Drinkwater. Hopefully everything will go a lot smoother and easier for you. If you have any questions about anything feel free to ask. His support group meetings are every 1st and 3rd wednesday night at 6:30-7:30. They are open to anyone. You could probably start going to them whenever you can make it. They really are a big help. Good luck with everything.

Did you already go to all of your required meetings? How many is required with them anyways? I was gonna say if you werent maybe we could catch up with one another at one of them.... I just wanted to say you have been a big help and I really appreciate it. I already feel a little more confident in knowing that things will go smoother with Dr. Drinkwater. Thanks again!

I'm glad I could help. They require that you attend 3 meetings, but they suggest that you go to as many as you can. It helps keep you motivated from getting discouraged. I've only been to 1 so far, but I have tried to make it to more. lol. something always comes up. Yeah, let me know when you are planning to go, and I'll keep an eye out for you. Gotta love those huge nametags. See ya then.