Vent!!

Oooh I am sooo annoyed. I emailed Martha again last night and told her it was going on seven weeks since my paperwork was supposed to be sent off to Aenta. And I re-explained again that no one was even able to tell me if it was faxed or mailed. Well this morning I got an email from Martha. Who of course apologized and said she would check with the pre-cert dept again. And she also said that as far as she knew I had never asked about what format my info was sent in. This afternoon I received an email from Martha stating that my paperwork had been faxed to Aetna on April 26th. That's FOUR weeks after my appointment with Dr. Murr. Which means from that date it is another 4-6 weeks wait time. Which actually means approximately 10 weeks. I emailed Martha back and told her very nicely, that maybe someone should suggest to Dr. Murr to start quoting 10-12 weeks wait time. On a positive note, I did call Aetna and was able to tell them that my info was faxed on April 26th. And right away she was able to tell me that they have received it and it's in a pending status.

well hay... look on the bright side... its still pending and you ahevnt been denied yet

MAN! Why the heck does it take so long to send the file over to them?!?! 4 weeks is absolutely rediculous! I hope I don't have to go through that when I see Dr. Murr.

A couple of weeks ago Martha had emailed me and told that the pre-cert dept was just getting to the bariatric cases. I thought she meant for follow up. I never imagined that she meant that they were just then sending the initial info out.

Karee, Keep your head up! I don't think the medical staff in our surgeons offices understand what we go thru. Since they are not the "patient", I don't think they understand the "wait and agony" one goes thru waiting for an approval. On the bright side, It's finally sent off! Woo Hoo! Sending approval vibes your way! Michelle.

I'm also working on getting a WLS date/insurance approval, but can't seem to get my PCP's referral to the surgeon and Aetna HMO on the same page and already it's getting a bit trying. Now after reading your post, I remember what I tell my own patients every day! We live in a fast food society and this is not fast food. This is medicine and no one is bleeding, so there is no emergency. Unfortunately things take time but there's not really an actual rush to any of this because it's not life and death (at least not yet)! I, for one, have to remember my own words, because patience is not my strong suit! ~Jan

Maybe we should invite to read a few of these posts, that ought to speed things up... uh-hem. M

I think the two things that have aggravated me the most are: one I was told on April 12th that my paperwork was going to be sent out and two everytimg I've asked about it in the last 6 weeks, I was told "I understand". And honestly I don't think you do understand unless you've gone through the process. And I plan on calling again tomorrow to check the status with the insurance company. Always, Karee