Question:
How hard is it to get medicaid to pay for WLS?

How long does it take to get approved?    — rrhall67 (posted on July 23, 2009)

July 23, 2009
I live in Delaware, and it didn't take me long AT ALL to get approved. I just had to lose a percentage of my weight, which was only about 5-6 lbs. Once I lost that, they were fine with it. You just have to go through all the steps your surgeon wants you to. I had to see a psychologist, pulmonologist, cardiologist and made sure I went through with all of the testing each required. I had to spend two nights in a sleep lab, and go for chest xrays. I also had to attend two support groups and two nutrition classes. Once I completed all of my necessary steps, I had my surgery. My initial consult with my surgeon was October 27, 2008, and my surgery was January 8, 2009. It took me about 2 months to get it all done. I probably could have had it sooner, but I wanted it done after the holidays. Hope this helps. Good luck.
   — Lyndsay30

July 24, 2009
I have both Medicare and Medicaid in Missouri. But with my Medicaid I have a spin down amount I have to pay for before my Medicaid is active! Once I met that my month of the surgery then I had Medicare pay for 80% of the cost and Missouri Medicaid paid for the rest! It was not hard at all for me! Hope everything goes well for you and I know there is a lot of hoops we have to jump through before we get the surgery but it is very well worth it Take care and God Bless!
   — StlX

July 24, 2009
Hi, Iam in Florida and it was simple. I had to find a Bariatric Surg. Here I had to have a weightloss track with my primary DR for 1yr. Which I had already been doing..it was just a paper trail that was needed. The surg.gave me all the tests he wanted done, Sleep Apnea, cardiac, chest x-ray, see a nutritionist,and attend the Bariatric Surgs seminar, along with a Support group meeting. Did everything and the Surg. sent in the request for surg and got an approval the following week, set surg date and here I am a yr later! Lost 130 lbs so far! The surg you use can tell you what to expect every step of the way! My Dr's office was /IS the greatest! (not that others are not-just know how well Dr. Gordans office treats everyone!) If I can answer anything more for you..please feel free to contact me. Julie
   — tootsie52

July 24, 2009
hi my name is sandy i have both medicad and medicare and they are both hard to deal with but you have to keep on them if you realy want the surgery convince them that you need the surgery and that it is medically needed . i hope this helps donit give up your makeing a good choice .
   — sandy fairweather

July 25, 2009
Hi, I live in NC and I had no problem. Once I completed my 6 month program and test requirement, I was giving the ok after 1 week.
   — Chub-Rub