Newbie,insurance question?

I have been looking into this since last year when my brother had it done.My question is we will have united health care waiting for cards.Do they have a tendacy to refuse?Also according to Dr.Georgens office in neenah i should go see my dr first to get a referra.What happens if my dr refusses too?I have tryed many many diets for years and all failed.High bp and cholestreal and dieabetes runs in my family i dont have any of that yet.I have had foot surgery and a complete hysterectomy.I know my foot has to do with my weight also back aches and heart skips a beat i feel.What happens if my dr won't?I really really want to have this surgery done.I now weigh 272 and i am 5 10.Need answers please.has anyones dr ever refused them?I am scheduled for a seminar on the 26th in neenah but need advice.Thanks.

Hey Sharon, My Name is Shawn Schultz and I live in Fond du Lac. I went to a seminar put on by Drs. Wasco and Georgan almost a year ago. Since then I have swithched doctors...did you know that Dr. Mikkleson in town here does the surgery? Anyway, my point is that the seminar you will be attending is not at all personal. You listen to a lecture about weight loss surgeries after having your BMI calculated. The hand outs are good in that you will after this meeting know all you need to know about the surgical options, but your referral from your physician is not needed at that time. As I said, I ended up not going with the docs at Theda Clark. My insurance would not cover them as there are other docs doing the surgery in my plan. That is when I spent time looking for others that might do the surgery. Dr. Mikklesonn has been doing general surgery for 30 or 40 years and started doing bariatric in Fond du Lac about a year ago. I hate St. Agnas, but I have seen this doc for other things and he is a great guy. I have an appointment to consult with him on the bariatric surgery Tuesday the 20th. I hear that the wait is nowhere near as long as in Neenah. Get back to me if you are interested in discussing it further. I am just a single mom trying to get my life in line. Good luck!~ Shawn

Hi Shawn, I live close to Madison Wi. and i have Physicians Plus Insurance and I have called and called asking them about coverage and they simply deny any coverage for lap band surgery or any other bariatric surgery. I will try an appeal with them but right now my surgery is set for June 3 and if they don't cover it, i will pay for this myself. It is expensive but it is necessary for a long life. Denise