Philly area

 I have been luring for a while. I have a few question Has anyone used Abington Hospital ?  How was your experience with them? Which Dr ?   Anyone have Aetna ? Did they give u a hard to with approval?How long  was the turn a round time from submission to approval Thanks in advance for any input!

Hi Jackie, I didn't use Abington I used Chestnut Hill, but I have a friend who has Aetna and she just found out that she has to have a three month doctor supervised diet.

I have been to the support groups at Abington, though and they are very large.  I believe the program ha been there for quite some time and there is a large support network in place.

Hope that helps.  Please stay in touch.  I am hoping to start a local support group in this area that would meet an additional time every month, maybe for cooking classes a la Liz, or long walks at the park, or something.

I am interested in any support group I do plan on attending the one at Abington on the 21st. I think they only me once per month so I would be will to attend any other meetings  to get as much info as possible. I work the 2nd Shift so it is hard to go to many meeting because they mostly happen in the evening. I am also interested in having a work out buddy
I am thinking about joining Bally's but feel a little intimidated because of my weight.

I know how you feel!  I am joining LA Fitness in Ft Wshington so I can do the aquatic classes there.  It is very close to my home.  I will not start working out in earnest until I am feeling much better.  Until then, I am doing laps around my driveway to keep active.  Have you started?

Hi Jackie!  Glad to hear from you.

I did not use Abington, but I do have Aetna.  My approval took a little more than 6 months.  I was required to complete a 6-month doctor-supervised diet (with documented visits every month), 3 - 5 months of visits with a nutritionist.  I had sleep apnea and high cholesterol as comorbidities.    I was told that there IS a 3-month track, which also includes a supervised exercise program (supervised by a  licensed exercise professional and/or doctor), but I haven't yet encountered anyone who seems to have qualified for that track.  

My advice for working with Aetna is:
* Keep track of EVERYTHING - dates of discussions, who you talked to, summary of what you discussed... especially anything regarding coverage and percentages
* Make sure your doc clearly documents at EVERY visit that you discussed diet, nutrition, and exercise.  If your doc's handwriting is at all unclear, make sure his office includes a typed (or printed) transcription of each visit's "contemporaneous notes" (i.e., not a letter summarizing the visits).    Same thing with the nutritionist and exercise professional.
* Aetna has no participating providers in this region for bariatric professionals.  I was told that because of "network deficiency" my surgery would be covered at in-network rates, no matter who I chose.  So far, that's been true, except for one set of "hospital incidentals" which I'm in the process of appealing.   BUT... I had to monitor it and make sure that things were submitted correctly in order to make that happen.

AND... if you're in this area and still thinking about which surgeon to choose, you might also want to look at Barix in Langhorne.  It's not that far and the surgeons (esp dr. pupkova)  and care is really awesome.  It's just off of Rt. 1 / I-95 by Oxford valley mall. 

I hope this helps!

Karen

Hi Jackie,

I used Abington and I have Aetna (approval on inital submission), but I had a VSG.  I have had nothing but gret experiences with Dr B and his staff. 

Have you gone to the information session (not supprt group)- that is the first step in the Abington process?  Yes, I did have to follow a 3 month supervised diet (through Dr B's office) but that is part of the Aenta approval process. The best advice that I can give you is to go to the information session and start the ball rolling and you will be on the loser's bench in no time.

PM me if you have any more question.
Good Luck!

HI Jackie,

I had my surgery at Abington and have Aetna.  It was approved within days of the paperwork being submitted.  Dr B was my surgeon and I have had nothing but great experiences with the entire staff.   As another poster said you will have to go through a supervised diet.  It is 6 months with your own physician or 3 months through Anne, the Nut in Dr B's office.

 Hi Jackie and welcome!!  I am another Dr.B patient and have nothing but praise for him and his staff.  I had keystone thought, and had my own set of headaches about that after my surgery.  But thankfully it all worked out in the end.  It is also great that Dr. B and his staff offer a wide range of surgery choices, I had the Duodenal Switch and could not be happier with that.  Did you go to the info session yet?  I wanted to make it out to group this month but not sure if I will, but will try to make it next month for sure.  

Good luck on your journey and feel free to pm me and ask any questions you might have!

I used Abington - Dr. B and his entire staff were great to me.  Only have high praise for all of them.

The hospital is WONDERFUL - and not only because I used to work there - it's just a great facility that I can't speak more highly of.  Great place.

I still plan on keeping Dr. B as my physician, as I'm 18+ months out, and only have to go on my yearly anniversary from now on - we moved three weeks ago to the North Pocono area.  My sister and best friend still live in the Abington vicinity - so my ties to there will never be broken.