Questions about Dr Blackstone & UHC

Hello All - Well, I just got some frustrating news, my employer is switching from Cigna to UHC starting with our new plan year on April 1st. As you know, Dr Blackstone will not be taking UHC as of June 1st. The office staff at SBC have been very helpful in trying to get me scheduled for surgery asap. However, unless there is a cancellation, I am scheduled for May 17th. That way my surgery will be done before the June 1st cutoff. However, I have some concerns. What happens if there are complications after June 1st and Dr Blackstone no longer takes my insurance? Does that mean I will have to find another doctor to do the procedure. I was hoping that someone that has UHC insurance has brought up these questions with SBC and may have the answers I'm looking for? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Now, I do have the option to include out-of-network coverage when we switch over to UHC. But of course, that will mean a lot more out of pocket costs for me to continue seeing Dr Blackstone. I'm beginning to wonder if I should just switch to a doctor that takes UHC and have him handle my surgery. That way there is none of this worrying about what is going to happen regarding insurance issues. I do have an appointment scheduled with Dr Juarez's office on Feb 8th for a seminar and my first appointment that I made after hearing about our change of insurance. Apparently, Dr Juarez takes Cigna & UHC, so I won't have a problem with the switch over. Since, I have already been approved by Cigna, I should be able to just switch doctors. Does anyone know how far out Dr Juarez's office is scheduling surgery? Whew, sorry this is so long! I am hoping that someone can answer my questions. Thanks, Michelle

That is cutting it close with the insurance coverage... so I would understand your concern of going to another doctor. Does Dr. Blackstone take Cigna? Or are Cigna and UHC the same now? As a Blackstone patient, I would say stick with her, you will be happy you did... you have gone this far. But if you want to make sure your out of pocket costs are low, I would go to another surgeon. Plus you might get a eariler surgery date since Dr. Blackstone is scheduling so far out (that shows that she is indeed good because she has such a far out schedule.) Only complication I had was a stricture and it was fixed by a different doctor... not Dr. Blackstone's office, so that might be covered with your Cigna. Good Luck with your decision!

HI Michelle: That is cutting it very close. Changing Dr's is not an easy decision. One reason Dr.Blackstone is so far out is because she currently is the only doctor in her office performing wls surgery and what her patients say very good. I do however understand she is looking for another doctor or two to join her staff which should help her scheduling. Dr. Juarez and Dr. Fang are both in the same office. A new wing is in the process of being built which I understand opens in April so they are expanding. My surgery was done by Dr. Juarez. I was approved on Nov. 1st and surgery was Dec.27th. No complications. Call there office and ask for Diana. She's the scheduler. But remember changing doctors is a huge decision. Check off the pros and cons. It is not an easy choice. You need to be very comfortable with you decision. I wish you the best Pam

Thanks for the information. It's not an easy decision because I truly love everyone at SBC and really want to have my surgery done there. But I don't know if it is wise for me to wait until May 17th, as my insurance carrier will be different then. Even though my employer assures me that the surgery will be covered under UHC, there's no guarantees! I will contact Diana at Dr Juanez's office on Monday to see how far out the scheduling is and if it's possible for me to get in by March 31st. This way I can totally avoid the whole insurance issue. I have read the feedback from his patients and he seems to be a great bariatric surgeon. I feel that other's personal experiences play a big part in the decision making process, along with your own impression of the doctor and staff. Thanks again, Michelle

Hi Michelle, I have the exact same problem, but the other way around! We went from UHC to Cigna in Jan. I called Cigna in October and asked about the change, and they said that they would just pick up where UHC left off. So, I made sure to have UHC certify me before the end of the year. Now, I get this call saying that Cigna wants me to do a 6 month diet..I made sure to ask about the diet thing, and Cigna said not to worry about it... So, now I have to hope that I get this worked out before my April 3rd surgery date. What hospital does Dr. Juarez operate out of? I would look into the hospital survey posts as well, just to make sure.

Here's what I found out from Terry at SBC - she had told me that Dr B was meeting w/UHC a few days ago (Fri, 1-5) to hopefully finalize whether or not they would be continuing w/UHC. So I sent Terry an email and asked the outcome of the meeting. Here is what she said: From Terry: Unfortunately the man from UHC cancelled the meeting at the last minute. Dr. Blackstone was there waiting. They are supposed to be scheduling another meeting in a couple weeks, but I don't know if that is set yet. We are still thinking they may come around but we will have to wait and see. I was all set to go for first consult, when heard this UHC news. Since surgery couldn't be scheduled till May, assuming all went swimmingly well w/approvals, tests, etc, I backed off the consult till the UHC matter was resolved. Now, w/Dr. B. having a family emergency, plus the UHC issues, I think I'll be looking elsewhere. Suggestions I've seen include Dr. Juarez, Dr. Fang and Dr. Simpson - pros/cons?? Thanks to all! Paula

Paula and all who are in turmoil over their possible Dr. Blackstone plight. ...... Consider another surgeon. ..... Honestly, if you ask anyone who the best surgeon in Arizona is; they will tell you that it's their surgeon! ..... That being said, I know that Dr. Blackstone is one of the best but if she is not able to meet the needs of many of you then shop around. You hear a lot of chatter from folks on this site who have had Dr. Blackstone. I'm not sure if that's because this site is on some of her literature or not but I know other suregon's have their own chat sites so we don't hear all there is to hear about how wonderful they are. Just be open minded. Maybe attend some other seminars. When I was plastic surgery shopping, I went to 8 different consults until I found one that not only matched my personal liking but matched my pricing as well. There are many things to consider in the shopping but insurance and price are certainly important. I know that Dr. Fang, Dr. Juarez and Dr. Simpson are at least 3 that take UHC insurance. Consider aftercare. Will you really ever even see your Bariatric surgeon again or will you see other office staffing? Is there a support system and nutritional guidance for life? Good luck to all of you! Make the choice that's right for YOU and YOUR body and finances and let your journey begin! Hugggzzz to all, Joyce