Help! 4 months wasted!!??

I just went to my 4th month of my required 6 month diet visits, only to find out my insurance is changing at the end of August.  If I have this surgery done after 9/1/10, my deductible is $5,000 instead of $250.  Also -- now they are only requiring 3 months instead of 6 months. 

Q:  Is there any way I can get this done in August, and where would you recommend?  I live in the DFW area, but willing to do whatever it takes.  I am getting my psych eval. done in 6 days, and all I lack is the nutritionist eval.

Thanks,
Punk.

I had something similar, our end of year was coming up and we weren't sure Beast's company would change insurance or not. I talked to the Dr.s office and explained and they rushed me through the last of the testing and got me scheduled for surgery a week before the end date. We were lucky that nothing changed with the insurance but it could have.

So...talk to your Dr.s and his office and see what they can help you with...they don't want to lose the business either!

Check with Dr. Frank Veninga at North Texas Bariatric.  He was able to get me approved and surgery scheduled within a week of completing the requirements.  http://www.bariatricsurgerydallas.com/

I have been very happy with my experiences with his office and with Baylor Carrollton where I had the surgery done.

Best wishes!

@Deedles:  Thank you so much for your quick reply.  You'd *think* the doctor's office wouldn't want to lose my business, but their first reaction was, "Ohhhh nooo!  That's too bad, but there's no way  because we are sooo busy."  He then went on to blame President Obama.  LITERALLY.  I was sitting there with tears running down my face, and he's delivering a political speech.

I cried all the way home, then as I pulled up it occurred to me:  FIND ANOTHER SURGEON. 

I called Baylor Dallas, where I'd gone a couple of times before (and chickened out), and they were a little more encouraging.  They want me to have my records sent over for review.

@Supermomaz:  Thank you for a personal recommendation.  I'll call them in the morning.  Maybe a smaller Baylor (like Carrollton) can make this happen.

And oh by the way, my youngest leaves for college in 10 days.  (!!!)

Pray for me guys, and thanks again!
Punkin Bugg

you must have blue cross/blue shield or work for University of Texas.. my wife works for UTMB,and we were in the same situation as you.you can talk to whoever is in charge of doing insurance at your clinic/hospital ,wherever your doing your pre-op stuff and ask them about it.the lady at UT clinic told us if we had been to any type of weight loss stuff before(ex: weigh****chers,jenny craig,1-45 weight loss..etc)in the past 2 years and HAD documentation to back it up,that time you spent with those programs would count toward your remaing time and you would be able to beat the Sept 1st deadline.We were shocked also to learn about the $5000 deductable,and soo close at the end of our program. if you have any more questions,i'll be glad to help.you can email me at work at ([email protected]) i also have some videos on youtube if you want to check them out,just search for credregal

@credregal:  You hit the nail on the head.  Hubby works for UTSW, and their bariatric clinic is in chaos because of the change.  I have 4 months of verifiable wt loss visits, my psych is on Monday.  Does your phrase "beat the Sept. 1st deadline" mean have the surgery before that date, or will they honor the program I've been on all this time?  Thanks for your reply!! :)  Punk.

They told us(my wife and I are both having gastric bypass) at the UT clinic that we would have to have our surgery before Sept.1 2010,if we did it after,we would have to pay the $5000 deductible. If you want to give them a call their number is ...............
................................................................
University Of Texas Medical Branch
2240 Gulf Freeway Suite 2.402 E
League City, Texas
832-505-1500
[email protected]........................
you can ask for Jessica D. Wallace,she is in charge of the insurance there,she is real nice and straight to the point about stuff. You can tell her you were referred by another patient,me "Ruben Jimenez",they know my wife Diana and I pretty good.We have finished all our stuff,physical,phsyc test,etc,now we are just waiting for approval from the insurance.."WHICH THEY SUCK FOR CHANGING THE INSURANCE PLAN,AND POSSIBLY KILLING PEOPLES DREAMS"..Sorry,I had to get that out..lol..Who knows,maybe it would be worth the drive to League City if they are able to approve it faster than your clinic.Which by the way,its only about 20-30 mins south of Houston. Hope everything goes well,and if you need anymore help,just ask.