Regence through Boeing??

Hello,
I would like to know if anyone has had the surgery using Boeing triditional? I would also like to find a friend to walk through this with me. Anyone know of a support group in Puyallup?

I actually had bypass surgery using Boeing traditional in March 08. I know things have changed a little but I was covered 100%, I just had to pay 400.00 for the support groups. What Boeing do you work for? I work at the Auburn plant. I also want to find a support group since my bariatric unit shut down about 6 mths after my surgery.

Hi Christine,
My hubby works at the Renton plant. One thing I thought was interesting was fro the co-mobilities Sleep apnea was not one of them but hypothyroidism is.

Really, that is weird cause the sleep apnea was the most major thing for me as a co morbidity. I am sure things have changed though even after a couple of years. I just wanted to reply real quick and then I will share my story in just a little bit.

I had my lap-band surgery covered 100% by Regence Traditional, and my revision to RNY was 100% covered. I was approved on the first try with both surgeries. I had complications with my band, so maybe that helped.

I just got approval for my surgery 100% covered on first atempt.

Biggest hurdle is your friend will need 6 months of medically supervised weight loss with a nationally recogonized program (they allowed weigh****chers for me).  These can't be regular appointments where they disucss weight, the appointments must be for the purpose of weight loss only. 

Other than that, they will need a psycological eval to make sure they are ready for the surgery and they will need to have some co-morbid diseases like high blood pressure, sleep apnea etc. 

You can call Regence and they will send you the details of what is required.   They sent it to me and then I started my 6 months of weight loss with my dr and then had to call back and get it all again and they sent it to me again no problem.

Best wishes.

Hi Pam,
Wow two surgeries. How are you doing now? I am just staring so any advice you might have I would love!!

I'm doing great! I'm down 105 pounds since 5/26/09. Also, I had 3 surgeries, not 2. 4 months after getting my lap band, it slipped, and I had to have emergency surgery to correct it. Dr. Alperovich did my band when he was at Valley, and 3 weeks after my surgery, they closed their bariatric center. I was not happy with the way things were handled, seems they would have known this in advance. I don't blame Dr. Alperovich, it was a Valley Medical Center decision. I was told that with the economy and people losing their jobs, there were more people who did not have insurance and were self pay. Since it is an expensive surgery, fewer people could pay fro the surgery. In addition, there is a lot of competition out there, many surgeons to choose from. In summary, I guess they weren't making money on their bariatric center. It took Dr. Alperovich some time to get re-established, and I needed a surgeon for my fills. I found Dr. Lauter, and I think he is awesome. Even though he didn't put my band in, he did the emergency surgery when my band slipped.

The slipped band was very painful, and I was beginning to realize that it was not the right choice for me. I spoke with Dr. Lauter about a revision, and he told me that I would most likely have better weight loss with RNY. He was right, the RNY is way more effective. As someone who has experienced both, I can attest to that. I would never recommend the band to anyone. Just my opinion! Everyone has to make their own choice.

Dr. Lauter submitted the paperwork for a revision, and it was approved. So in a period of 10 months I had three surgeries: July 2008 - lapband, November 08 - emergency surgery, May 09 - revision to RNY. I'm thrilled with my RNY, it is the best decision I have every made. That being said, the recovery was a doozy. It wasn't painful, but I had trouble with fatigue, low energy, and no appetite. I had a hard time getting in my calories and water each day. It took me about 4 months to feel like my old self, and now, 7 months later, I feel like a million bucks! Those difficult early months were worth it, and seem like a distant memory.

Good Luck!

So not good you had to go through that. My visit with Dr Alperovich went very well and I liked him. Though it seems odd to me that they haven't called me to see how things are going or to see if I had any questions. Did they know what they were dong when they submitted your info to the Ins co?

Yes, Dr. Alperovich had a woman working for him who dealt directly with insurance. Anytime she needed anything from me, she would call me. I didn't know that I was approved, though, until I got the letter from Regence. When Dr. Lauter submitted my paperwork to insurance for the revision, I got a telephone call from them when the approval came through. I didn't have to wait for the letter from Regence.

Dr.Alperovich is a bit quiet, but I didn't have any negative experience with him. It is my understanding that he too was blindsided when Valley closed the bariatric clinic. I just happen to click with Dr. Lauter better.

Good luck on your approval!