Advice Please

Hi all.  I have been on and off this site over the past few years.  I have been struggling to get my insurance to cover the gastric bypass surgery.  After having me jump through hoops (some very expensive) over the last year and a half they have finally stated that it is a complete exclusion.

I have already had all of my intial consultations (sleep, nutrition & psychiatric) and have meet with Kathy from Dr. Roye's office.

Since receiving this bad news I have contacted Annette (Dr.  Roye's secretary) to get estimates to pay on my own.  The Lap Band surgery is affordable for me so I have decided to go that route instead. 

Now, here is my problem...  The next step is for me to make a payment of at least half to the office but I need to do it through their Office Manager (Helen, I think).  I have been calling frequently over the last 3 weeks and have not received a return phone call.  It is my understanding that another secretary in that office has left and she is covering but now I think it is ridiculous.  I am willing to hand over $5000 in cash to their office and no one can manager to call me back.

This is all so frustrating.  I keep doing everything I am told to do and now I am stuck because of poor customer service. 

Does anyone have any suggestions??  Please help!

Patty

Hi Patty,

I'm so sorry you're going through all of this!!! It's just terrible!

If it were me, I would go to the office in person. That's the only think I can think of, short of getting a new insurance company, that can possibly help you.

Please keep us informed, Good luck to you!

Jules

I agree that probably the best bet is going to the office in person if you are making that payment.  Sometimes notes get written down from voice mail and then the papers just "disappear" not saying that is what happened but in person is usually best anyway :).  Wishing you lots of luck with everything!

Terri

Hi Patty,

I feel your pain with Dr. Roye's office staff.  I had enough and just changed surgeons.  I'm sure Dr. Roye is a wonderful surgeon, but the office staff chased me away.  I' m very happy with my new surgeon and the office staff is polite and friendly.  I would definitely go to Dr. Roye's office and pay in person.  They can't ignore you then. Good Luck!!

Hello again.  Thank you all for your responses.  One thing I left out of my original post is that I did visit the office.  My dad's vascular surgeon is in the same office so when I brought him in July I stopped in to speak to Annette.

I do have good news though.  On Friday, I contacted my dad's surgeon's secretary (who is wonderful) and explained the difficulty I was having and if there was any way she could give me a direct # for the Office Manager.  Well, she went one step further and found her for me and she took my call right there and then.  It seems that the problem was not on her end but Annette's end.  I didn't even need to speak with her before Annette could set up my pre-op appointments.  Another 3 weeks wasted.

I am now waiting for my pre-op appointment information to be sent to me (snail mail).  Does anyone know how long it should take for me to get the info and how long to complete my pre-op testing?

Patty

Patty,

It look me just about three weeks to receive my packet from Annette.  She will schedule 2 appointments for you.  However, mine were scheduled for 4 weeks from the time I received the packet.  Unfortunately, the process is very slow!  If you have any other questions, you can e-mail me directly.

Jody