Group meeting at Duke

Hey Everyone,

Was wondering if anyone has the answer to this question. I have my pre-op at Duke on the 12th and I'm supposed to have this Group meeting on the 15th. I thought I read other posts in the past that said this group meeting cost $300.00 and it was not covered under NC State Employee health plan. And also, that the class was not very interesting. If it's not covered under the insurance, I can't go because I don't have the $300.00 for the class.Anybody have any information?

I was charged $130 after the fact for group meetings.  I don't attend those groups anymore, but I'm over 6 months post-op.  I would highly, highly suggest attending the pre-op group as well as the group 3 weeks after your surgery.  After that, you'll know how to eat, etc.  I also have the state employees health insurance.  I didn't have to pay a co-pay the day of group, but as I said, I did receive a bill for $130 a few weeks later.

Hope this helps,
Fran :)

Thanks a lot Fran, I appreciate the input.

Please contact Duke and talk to them about the meetings. I had my surgery their over 3 years ago and my husband had his almost 2 years ago. I can't speak to their current policies, but when we had ours, these 'meetings' were not 'optional.' They were a required part of the program. I had to prepay for mine and then at each appointment, I would get paperwork that I could submit to my insurance carrier for reimbursement for the psych portion of the visit. Each visit had several components; medical checkup, nutrition/dietary information for the next 'stage' and psych support. It was at these appointments that I was given the information that 'graduated' me from one dietary phase to the next. I honestly don't know that they will allow you to go through the surgery if you don't commit to going through the dietary and psych portions of the program. These portions of the program, among others, are a significant reason that they are able to be a Center of Excellence. Centers of Excellence need to provide a multi-faceted approach that provides counseling, nutritional guidance and on-going support because these things have been shown to significantly improve the outcome of weight loss surgeries. 

Again, I hope that you will contact Duke and let them know of your concerns and ask them to work with you if you need to find a way to pay for the classes out of pocket. I'd also let them know that you have heard that the 'classes' aren't very interesting and for that reason and the expense you are considering not coming. I'm sure that they will be able to let you know if the classes are optional and maybe letting them know that there is a perceived problem with the classes will help them consider either the content and/or presentation of the information and support.

Wishing you all the best,

Hi Barbara,

Thank you for the advise. I did call Duke and found out that the class does not cost $300.00, however, they are considered out of network. So, as Fran said, it's in the neighborhood of $100.00. I didn't ask if it was required to attend the class because even at $100.00 I decided to go because I'm newbie to all of this and figure I could probably learn something. I'm all about learning things that could help me out. I appreciate your advise, as usual you were on the money.

Sherry

Hi Sherry,

I'm glad that you called Duke and found out what your copay will be for the 'classes.' I think that you may find that you already 'know' some of the information that they give you, but I think you will find morsels of information that will also help you as you make your way. Also, it's a good place to clarify things that you have questions about. You will hear a number of different 'opinions' and experiences on OH and at any other support group because they are relative to the information gathered by each person. Honestly, some of the biggest differences from one program to another seems to be how they handle the dietary issues. Secondly, I think the differences may be how they approach, or don't approach, some of the psychological issues that will come your way. I think your decision to go attend the classes is a really good one. I also would urge you to attend their monthly support group meetings if you are able. I don't go to them very often anymore because, to be honest, they are really geared to those who are about to have surgery or in the weight loss process. They don't really address maintenance very much, so I don't go as often. Also they tend to run the same ones year after year, so I've heard most of them at least 2 or 3 times by now. That said, I think that they would be helpful to someone just starting out. 

Please know that you are also welcome to join my group in Raleigh. We have a monthly 'General' meeting on the 3rd Saturday of each month and I also hold a number of special interest groups that meet on a variety of weeknights throughout the month. You can get information about them at www.meetup.com/nc-wls.