Chicago WLS Clinic that will help with insurance?

Hey everyone!

I was wondering for those of you who have had WLS in Chicago and surrounding areas, if you have experience with a good clinic that helped with the insurance process. I want to find a place where my 92816671352198291 questions will be answered and they'll help me jump through the insurance hoops :/ Anyone have any suggestions in regards to a clinic/hospital I should check out? 

Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately I'm not any help recommending a doc in Chicago, but I wanted to let you know you may want to just call your insurance company directly. I had about the same number of questions as you and didn't want to keep bothering my doctor's office so I just called my insurance company and they were very helpful. Make sure you ask to speak to someone that specializes in the bariatric program because they will likely be more help than just a general customer service rep. Good luck!

Here's the thing putting that much trust in the surgeons staff:

There are no lists of "standard activities" that must be done for all patients.  Each policy (even with the same insurance co) is different.  They could make you do a 6 month diet that isn't even required (my surgeon's staff tried to make me do that), or even worse, they could "think" they have everything, but your insurance wanted another test, so they deny you and you're forced to go through the appeals process because they screwed up.  They like to think they know everything, but I assure you, they're not even close.

So....pull up your knickers and call your insurance company.  Ask them (a) Is wls a covered benefit, (b) what procedures are covered, and (c) what all needs to be accomplished before applying for pre-approval.  You can get their list started while you're waiting for an appt with the surgeon.   It's time to take care of things yourself.

My surgeon's staff "took care of everything" and answered all of my questions, but I was constantly checking with the insurance company and letting my surgeon's staff know when something was not answered correctly, was still needed or not done correctly.  This is a do-it-yourself project.  There are too many differences in plans and requirements to trust the surgeon's staff for that.

I would think they'd all help with insurance and answer questions.