Tricare Standard

I have decided to have the surgery after attending the Salem Hospital Information Seminar last week.  I called Tricare and meet the requirements, but when I talked to the Salem Hospital Bariatric Surgery Center, they said that the hospital would be covered, but the doctor would not.  He is with Salem Clinic and they do not accept Tricare in any form.  Has anyone else had this problem?  I need to find really good surgeons and a hospital that both use Tricare. 

Local WLS clinics in the Portland-Vancouver metro area:

OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University) Surgical Weight Reduction Program http://www.ohsu.edu/health/page.cfm?id=10085

Legacy Good Samaritan Obesity Institute aka: Oregon Weight Loss Surgery (OWLS) http://www.legacyhealth.org/body.cfm?id=681

Kaiser Permanente (if you have Kaiser coverage)

Southwest Washington Medical Center Southwest Weight Loss Surgery Center http://www.swmedicalcenter.com/body.cfm?id=1893

Each clinic requires attendance at their informational seminars before making initial appointments.

Medicare covers DS, RNY, and lapband at OHSU, Legacy Good Sam, and Sacred Heart in Eugene only.  The other facilities are not approved by Medicare and will not be covered either. I wonder if Tricare follows Medicare's guidelines? Hope this helps!

thanks for the info.  Tricare follows its own rules and I have never had any problems with finding a doctor until we moved to Oregon.  I am also interested in the Samaritan Bariatric program at Corvallis.  I noticed that you used Dr. Deveney - how was he?  Thanks again for taking the time to respond,

I am still pre-op and haven't had my initial consult with him yet.  That will occur after my packet is submitted for insurance authorization and then the surgery date scheduled.  I completed my last prerequisite for WLS just last Tuesday. Another clinic to consider that many Oregonians say is excellent is Bay Bariatrics in Coos Bay, if you're willing to travel that far.  Here is the link: http://www.baybariatrics.com/

I am going to attend the informational seminar tonight (if they call me back to confirm) or next week at OHSU.  I checked out the website for Bay Bariatrics, but because of the distance, I will wait to see what happens first at OHSU. I am very excited for the 1st time in a long time and I really hope that I can do this as soon as possible.  Thanks again for all your responses.  It sounds like you are almost there with the surgery.  How long was it from the time you went to the seminar to now?

For whatever reason I decided to check the Oregon board today (haven't checked in weeks). I had my surgery with Dr. Read at the Good Samaritain Bariatric Program. They have the BEST aftercare program going on. I moved to North Carolina in November (my husband is in the Army) so I'm not in Oregon anymore. But I absolutely love the Baratric Team there!  I have Tricare Prime and they paid for every penny (except Dr. Read's program fees which no insurance pays for) cause both the hospital and Dr. Read are in-network.. He is a great surgeon and very personable. The team, Susan, Bobbie, Denise are all wonderful! I'm not a very patient person and they never once got short with me with all my weird questions. hehe They have information meetings once a month (sometime during the third week I believe). There are two of them. One with Susan (the program coordinator); she goes over all the insurance stuff, program requirements, etc and then Dr. Read's info meeting is all about the surgery, its risks, benefits, he goes through a slide by slide how the surgery is done. The info meeting with him lasted over 3 hours because we all had so many questions. And he happily answered every one, never rushed. I was very impressed. My dad works at Good Sam (has worked there for 32 years now) and knows Dr. Read pretty well, so that helped me feel more comfortable about him doing my surgery.  He only does the RNY though. If that is the surgery you are going with, I'd definatly check him out! Good luck in your journey!! Andi

Thanks, Andi, I definitely want the RNY, so this is great.  What is the program that they do not pay for?  Is it the aftercare program?  I have been going frantic today wondering if I would be able to find both.  How long from the information seminar to your surgery was it?  I know that with Tricare you do not have a waiting period like some insurance companies. It is wonderful to hear from another military spouse, although husband is now retired from the Navy.  We were stationed in Williamsburg, VA and loved driving down to NC and the coast. Thanks again.

I went to my first info seminar the third week in April. And had surgery the first week in July.  Dr. Read only does surgery one week a month. He is the head surgeon for the hospital and so he allots a week a month for only bariatric surgeries. I could have had my surgery the first week of June but my psych doc didn't get the eval in quick enough. But it worked out for the best anyways. I blogged the whole process in my profile if you want to take a peek.  You're right, the program fees are for the aftercare program and the support groups. Insurance unfortunately doesn't cover any of that.  Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try to help ya out! Andi

Thanks Andi, you have been wonderful to give me all this information.  I called OHSU and Samaritan Bariatric and am registered for their information seminars.  It is so good to know you had a great experience with Dr. Read.  I have had such bad experiences with doctors in the past, that it took me a while to get up the courage to go to the seminar at Salem Hospital. My husband and I were amazed by your photos.  We love photography, so seeing the pictures the way you did them was great. Thanks again and I will let you if I have any other questions after the seminars.

I have Tricare and used Dr. Deveney. He was GREAT! Loved the whole experience. Let me know if you need any help. Tricare was great for me with this surgery. No hurdles at all!