AHCCCS for weight loss surgery

Hello everyone,

 I am currently unemployed and will be applying for AHCCCS soon. Before being a victim of a lay-off I was attempting to get weigh loss surgery (Duodenal Switch). I am wondering if anyone has successfully had weight loss surgery using AHCCCS? Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

Once you find out if you are AHCCCS eligible you would probably need to check with each of the AHCCCS plans to see what is or is not covered.

hi sondra, i had surgery on sep 2004 with dr. nehoff and i had ahcccs( mercy care) my  dr helped me alot she wrote letters to the insurance and i also got letters from the places i went to try  to lose weight from, so that they could see that i have tried to loose weight before and that this was not my first option. i worked really hard to get what the insurance needed. my sister had to try 6 times before she got approved but it was through her work.so good luck and dont give up!  dora  

Hi please understand, that I am almost 7 years out and have a different perspective than others may have.

I DO NOT mean to discourage you, but to INFORM....

thanks, Lisa

I live in Tucson and had Dr. Newhoff do my surgery in 2001.

I had regular ins. at the time.

I would DO it again in a heartbeat!  but this IS ME - talking about ME

I do know that some people do get approved via AHCCCS.
and right now I have medicare and AHCCCS - personal care plus basically through AP/IPA

I know that you will have regular AHCCCS but take a look at the insurance section of Obesity Help.com

There is A TON of info there

ALSO, to the best of my knowledge - I havent checked in quite a while Dr. Newhoff only does OPEN RNY - He is an EXCELLENT surgeon - NOT everyone likes HIM - nurses @ the hospitals included...because HE makes THEM work for HIS patients...

I had an open RNY w/ gallbladder removal and I couldnt be more pleased w/ him.

I had no complications

There are differing opinions on Obesityhelp.com about THE RNY

Time makes improvements in everything and THERE may be a superior surgery

BUT AHCCCS may not pay for the ONE that YOU want - You may NOT get to choose
WHICH WLS you can have IF they are paying.

I could have chosen another surgeon but I had other surgeries when I was a child and it was comforting to me to know that IF anything went wrong HE could handle it being that HE was a trauma surgeon.

I had neurosurgery as a child.

I am at 181 5'2"
YES I did get lower, to 162 but gained BY my own HAND so to speak
You need to follow the rule and MAKE a LIFE change FOR GOOD.

I am working on "starting to do things the RIGHT way" again and hope to see great results

Yes, you can gain the weight back and outeat the surgery
yes you STILL emotionally EAT unless YOU deal w/ WHY you used food in the first place.

No it doesnt make your life perfect but it is definetly a start

I would recommend readind meltingmamas blog not sure IF I spelled her name right

NOT to discourage you, but to see both sides of it and SEE if YOU really want the
surgery after all the research, etc.

Like I said, you may not get to choose WHICH one even if a doctor will do a DS on you.
I personally dont know what AHCCCS will pay for .

I do know that ONE person I used to be friends w/ went to the WISH center in Tempe and she had Medicare and AP/IPA and SHE still had to pay some $$$$$ to them
like $1800 for a lifetime support group fee or something like that....

that was a few years ago though....

I weigh less than when I graduated High School

My high was 296
day before surgery 284.5

I go by MY ALL TIME HIGH I have released over 112 pound of extra body fat and extra body weight
from my life forever

I have AHCCCS ( Mercy Care plan) and was just approved for sugery.  They only pay for RNY, no lap or DS.  It has taken a year to get approved with them and my surgeon's office has stopped taking Mercy care because they are the hardest to get approved with.  Neither APIA or Mercy Care have a WL surgeon contracted with them as of today.  They are both working on getting one asap.  I am having surgery with Dr. Fang (he is the doc no longer taking them) on the 14th of Aug.  

I almost forgot the most important thing, try to get the wls requirements in writing from the Ahcccs ins. plan.  Do not trust the surgeon's office, the ahcccs plan may have changed their requirements and not have told the surgeon's office yet.  This issue has caused me to have surgery a week before I go back to school for  fall semester.  I took the summer off ( no summer school) to have surgery in June and them recoup and return for  the fall semester.  Because my insurance changed their requirements last spring and my surgeon's office did not tell me, I now am having surgery one week before I have to be back at school.  I pray nothing else goes wrong, otherwise I may have to miss a whole semester.  Hope I answered your question.

Thanks,
melissa

i have Ahhcccs APIPA  i was approved first for the lap band and then i wanted the RNY so they paid for that! i'm 7months post op :) of course there is a nice requirement stuff so thats not fun