Just gotta vent!!!!

I have been diligently working on my 3 month multi-disciplinary program for Aetna and have been waiting for the last 2 weeks to get my psych evaluation. I called Presbyterian Bariatric (in Charlotte) today and yes, they had everything but no, they can't make the 3 month follow up apt. for me because Dr. Zweng no longer sees patients through them. So now I have to wait while everything is sent to Charlotte Surgical to get that final apt with the Dr. and hopefully get everything sent to Aetna. I've dealt with that office before and I know how busy they are. It can take weeks and weeks to just get an apt. And of course, I'm on a tight schedule because I have June and July off. (I'm a teacher!) Worst of all, I no longer have the magical Angela working to get my insurance approval. She truly has a gift for it and I have no idea who will handle it now. So now, I've spent a whole lot of time and $ and it's entirely possible that I won't be able to have this surgery until NEXT summer. :-l YIKES!!!

Christie, Keep the faith girl! I also went through Presby Bariatric Clinic (Bless their nasty,incompetent souls) and I know what you're going through. I finished my 3 month multi-discp approach for Aetna the beginning of March. That is when I found out that my Dr. had also left the practice. I called my Dr's new office and found out that Presby had lost most of my documentation plus my 5 year med history I provided. The evil witch I spoke with (thankfully I've forgotton her name - she was my Dr's nurse at the Presby Clinic) lied to me and said that Aetna changed their rules and now I had to do a 6 month diet. I freaked out and my wonderful hubby called my Dr's new office and found out the truth. After reassembling my medical records, my Dr's ins rep (who is wonderful) sent in my request and I was approved 15 days later. I am scheduled to have my surgery on 5/30/06. With regards to Aetna, once your doctor's ins rep tells you that they have sent in your packet, keep on Aetna's tail. I called the day after it was sent in to confirm that yes they received that packet. I called a week later to be told that it had not been worked yet. I called 2 days later to finally get an angel in the precert dept who told me that my request was still sitting in the fax que (sp?) and that it would not be reviewed until after it was put in the work que. Blessedly he put in the work que for me and it was approved the next day. My advise is to stick with Dr. Zweng and dump presby bariatric clinic. I'm glad I did and now I have my surgery date, had I stuck with Presby Clinic, I'd have another 4 mos of dieting before I found out they lost my records. Best wishes and keep positive thoughts, Cathy

Cathy, Thanks for the response! I also have a wonderful husband who got tired of my ranting and raving and called Char. Surgical directly. They said if I can get the paperwork from the bariatric center I can have a 10am apt TODAY! I took the apt and will go to the bariatric center first. Hopefully they will be able to put their hands on the paperwork and I can get the ball rolling today. Thanks for giving me a level-headed response and helping me to see the light! Peace, Christie

Hello Christie, I understand your pain with Presbyterian Bariatric Center, they SUCK !!!!!! I myself did everything to get answers from them with no luck, they charged me $470.00 at my first visit ( after I had already paid my $150.00 I was told that was the fee) , and they could not tell me what the money was for, all they said was, you must pay and like you in my desperate state , I paid it...... like you I called and I called,,, I finally went off the deep end , and my husband called... I got results.. Here is how we did it --- Talk to Mel at Charlotte Surgical she will help you. My doctor was Melkonian and I will say he was WONDERFUL , such a sweet man, he did my surgery on March 14th , and my experence with him has been top notch. And by the way he even gave me my $470 back in the form of a refund check. I am a self pay so as far as insurance goes I can't help you, but Mel will she is a Doll . Good Luck and let us all know how thing go. Allison 312 to 243 in nine weeks

Yep...I had issues w/ the Presby Bariatric Center too and dealing with them was the only negative part of my experience with the surgery. They also lost some of my paperwork which cost a 3 week delay...I was told they had it and then told they never got it. The only way to get help was to call Dr. Melkonian's office and not only did Mel handle it, she had my insurance packet sent off the next day and I was approved by BCBS one week later. I was not treated like a customer at the Bariatric Center, I was treated like a pain in their ___! I didn't bug them...I should have though...I only called them three times in three weeks....and that was after getting different stories from different people...the last straw was when the insurance person refused to speak with me on the phone. My firm belief is that you kill more bees with honey and dealing with them made that philosophy impossible. Dr. Melkonian and his staff at Charlotte Surgical are awesome with a capital A!!!!