I'm approved but only for outpatient

I am so excited to be approved but a little nervous about the outpatient status.  Insurance is OK with outpatient and there is a possiblity of being denied if I go inpatient.  My dr does 4-5 outpatient sleeves each week, so it doesn't seem to be a problem.  I live about 6 hours away from the city I am having surgery in (las Vegas) and live out in the boonies.  My hubby and I will be staying in a hotel for several days before travelling home.  I am so looking forward to being on the loser's bench and so grateful for this forum and all the good info here.  Hope you are having as good a day as I am today!
Karen

I was inpatient but would have left the first day if they let me. I only stayed the first day and couldn't wait to be in my own bed. Congrats! I know your ecstatic!

The outpatient definition that the hospital uses is different than what you would think. As long as you are discharged within 23hr and 59min of being admitted, you are outpatient. For instance, I had my surgery at 8am and got to my hospital room around 11 (this is when I was admitted to the hopital) I was discharged the next day at 10:30 and it was considered outpatient. Also, many insurance carriers will initially approve the outpatient proceedure, but if there are any complications, I've never heard of anyone having difficulty staying in the hospital as long as needed.

mary

exactly. It's called "outpatient" and commonly referred to as "23 hour obs". I was still pretty nauseated at 24 hours after surgery, so they kept me in about 6 hours longer. The hospital will obtain a separate pre cert if this is needed. Unfortunately for me, as soon as I went "in patient", even for 6 hours, my extra $500 in patient deductible kicked in.

boo. hiss.

ahh well, this sleeve is still worth every freaking penny.

 YAY!!! Congrats Karen! :)

I have a friend who was OP with Dr. U... it will be fine. 

I also wanted to offer, if you or your hubby need anything while you are here in town, you are more than welcome to contact me. I know I am only 6 weeks out myself, but if I can help let me know!

Thanks for the offer.  I am just so excited I can hardly stand it.  I hope the next 4 weeks go by quickly.  I could have had the surgery on the 5th of April, but I have a daughter getting married in Salt Lake the weekend before and want to spend as much time with my family as I can.  Thanks again.
Karen

I was "outpatient" also. I had surgery at 3:30 pm on Tuesday and went home at 2pm on Wed. Everything was fine. If I had been having issues they would have just extended with the insurance because of medical need. =) Just meant I didn't have to deal with being woken up by nurses all hours of the night. =) Congrats!