medical insurance

Hello, my name is Joshua and I am 29 years old. This is my first message that I am posting. I was wondering if anyone out there knows if medicare covers gastric bypass. Are there any out of pocket costs for this surgery. I heard that medicare only covers 80 percent, and the other 20 percent is payed by the patient. Thanks for any information.

Joshua, You have to find a surgeon who takes Medicare first. Find one that does NOT have a program fee (i.e. Dr. Fang, Dr. Jaurez, Dr. Blackstone). Medicare does not do a pre-authorization like the other insurances do and so surgeons take a big risk when they take medicare patients since paying is decided after the surgery. But, you still have criteria that has to be met by Medicare for them to pay and the surgeon's program staff wiill help you jump through those hoops. You will have a medically supervised diet (I think it's 6 months for Medicare)....psych eval, 5 years of medical records, letter of recommendation (medical necessity) from your primary care physician and a cardiac clerance if you are over the age of 50. Most Medicare folks have a secondary insurance that picks up the balance. You can call your rep to find out the actual percentages that would be up to you. Good luck! Joyce