Medicaid

Are there any other members here in WA state that have Medicaid that have been approved for RNY? What is the process for approval? Is a medically supervised diet required, if so, does medicaid also pay for that? How do you go about finding a surgeon that accepts medicaid patients? Are WA medicaid patients able to go into Portland Oregon for the surgery? How do you get the process started? I'm truly at wits end, as I don't know where to start. All I know is my health is failing more every day that I go without this surgery. I would greatly appreciate any help or words of wisdom from anyone that has been through the approval process through Medicaid..

I have WA state Medicaid and am currentley going thru the six month diet program. Its called stage 2. It I do everything I am supposed to do I should be approved for stage 3 in a few months. Stage 3 is the actual surgery. Its taken me 2 years to get this far. I was denied the first time. If you are just starting the process. Have your doctor document every single comorbidity you have. Mine included arthritus, sleep apnea, insulin resistance, polycysitic ovarian disease, depression, and more. If you have type one diabetes it is easy to get approved for the diet. But if not you really have to have other documented health issues which have a strong negative effect on your quality of life. Make sure you make an appointment for each issue. Going in for one and talking about them all while you are there wont cut it. Do visits for each thing individually. As far as where you can get surgery you have 3 options Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, University of Washinton in Seattle or OHSU in Portland, OR. It took me a month and a half just to get OHSU to figure out that they do take wa medicaid and get me an appointment. Mine is on wed.. They also have a wonderful dietician there that I am working with. Her name is Shannon. If you have more questions email me [email protected] my name is Holly

Sorry its taken me a while to reply. First you have to find a doctor that will agree with you that you need the surgery. And must have some, or all of the medical problems that Holly listed. Your doctor has to agree to follow your care after the surgery. You can go into the uw's web site to get the forms that you and your doctor must fill out and sent back to the uw. They will call you to let you know that they received your papers (this is if you choose to use the uw).You can do your 6 month diet plan with your doctor. I know that Medicaid does nothing to help you. But I'm not sure if they even know the answers. I hope this helps you some. Also go back in the old posts and you'll find other questions asked about Medicaid. I hope this helps some. BarbS