socal

My problems had nothing to do w/ my insurance being unreasonable in giving approvals. It had everything to do with your staff not submitting the proper and full required paperwork, nor even bothering to follow up when then sent you a letter requiring the additional infomation that was neglected to be sent in orginally (i.e you didn't send them the psych eval, other requirements). My insurance gave your staff another 60 days to respond after that you still failed to do anything. It was only after months of failing to respond from your office and staff that my insurance declined the surgery. You have my certified letters along with all the documentation Dr. Feiz. Please just do what your office promised me over 8 months ago so I can get out of your hair. Thanks

Dr. Michael Feiz has nor his office has NOT lived up to one promise to me!! They've screwed up all my paperwork, would not communicate with me, I had to track down and make some of the pre op appointments myself, and now they/he are refusing to respond to me and make good on the unnecessary bills I have related to pre op procedures because they failed to submit my insurance paperwork in full, nor respond to my insurance demand for more information. Even though this is something I was told they would do in this very case, all prior to making the first pre op appointment. It's been 8 months now. I am not disputing his skills as a surgeon, but I would highly recommend NOT dealing with Dr. Feiz nor any doctor from Beverly Hills Physicians lest you get the same treatment I have, the stress, inconvenience and headaches are NOT worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I have a PPO ins that doesn't seem to require all the things that HMOs and other ins companies do; however, I would also suggest doing your research on a well-qualified lapband surgeon to enlist their help. My lapband doc, Dr Feiz reviews claims for Blue Cross, and is very familiar with the requirements for ins co. His office and assistants have helped me streamline the process. I've already had consults, endoscopy, and psych. Awaiting nutrionalist counsel...and then to my ins for approval? (hopefully) Pending approval, I will have medical clearance (lab, ekg, etc) within a week of surgery date. Crossing my fingers for all of us to obtain approval!

I had consult w/ Dr. Feiz, and have upper GI scheduled. I'm super confident in his abilities. He was patient with my questions and very thorough in explaining the process. He did a beautiful job on my friend Jitterbug. You literally cannot see the incision in her belly button the the couple of other scars are mere dots, and I'm sure will fade with time. My only complaint is I need to have patience for my insurance to approve, but I've been assured Dr Feiz is one of the best for insurance turnaround times. (I have Anthem Blue Cross-CA PPO). :tongue2:

I'm in CA too w/ a PPO insurance plan, and people everywhere, med clinics, lab techs, etc. keep telling me that PPOs are paying for many PS's after bariatric surgeries. I have my upper GI Wednesday for pre-op. First things first, I have make sure my ins covers the band first. I'll believe the PS coverage when I see it, but I sure won't turn it down if it turns out to be true. :-)

I prefer EAS advantage (advantage because its lower cals than regular EAS) - my fav flavor is choc fudge. I find Walmart has these for the cheapest I've found.

Ok, I was being an idiot. I re-read your instructions and finally the "BB code" stuck out, and then I found it and realized I pasted that code in the word pad, not the URL text box! Thanks for your help! :-)

Pete, Kelly congrats on your band! Pete, I've followed the edit signature instructions (several times) still unsuccessful. I feel like an idiot, because I'm fairly computer savvy. I've done the tickerfactory, but I cannot get it imbedded in my signature. I've tried pasting the link in the URL text box (after trying to save the signature, it says "invalid file"), and also saving the image from the ticker website and pasting the pic. Neither show up. Oh well, color me stupid. :biggrin:

Dr Feiz' office is supposed to contact me tomorrow to begin the arrangements for all of my pre-op requirements. Hopefully it will go smoothly, and then of course pending approval of my insurance. But I am very excited.

sorry for the dup post

Will I tell anybody about the surgery - not in a million years!! Other than my best friend (who already has her surgery date), and I have plans to tell my adult son, but not until post op. No one else though. I do agree that it's a personal decision, and I applaud people who are the "open-book" types; however, it's not for me. Let me share something from my past, not regarding surgery, but weight loss in general. Before my low-back injuries, I was able to run and do aggressive exercise. And about 7 years ago, I slowly evolved and became this fitness/diet fiend and became the leanest I've ever been since high school. I was so naive to the struggles in relationships w/ acquaintances, coworkers, loved ones, and family specifically regarding my weight loss. Many were supportive and complimentary, but even that made me uncomfortable when the questions went too far....so, exactly how much have you lost? how much do you weigh now?...etc etc But far worse are the ones who become absolute monsters because of your success. Most of these folks were close or family - some were average sized, and were obese. I don't want to relive that horrible negativity by giving all the details, but the bottom line is, I ended up having to cut the negative people out of my life (family included). Sad, isn't it?? Some of the average-size friends/loved ones are only comfortable with you as the "fat/chubby" friend (even ones to whom you are no threat to), and the obese ones were unhappy w/ my success, because they evidently felt it directly correlated to them. I was devastated by all of this, because it was my personal choice and something I pushed on no one but myself. I had many friends and family that were/are unconditional through thick and thin....however, not everyone in this world is. For me, my previous weight loss brought out the worst in some people in my life. So, definitely, other than you lapbanders, my BF, and my own strength, will be my only support system. Good luck to all, and have peace about your decision - if it's right for you -then that's all that matters! That is afterall, what this is all about, improvement for health and life for ourselves.

Thanks for your replies, very much appreciated. It's exciting to your progress - thanks for sharing that part of your journey. Yes, insurances do suck, don't they? I have a girlfriend who's BMI is 40, has high blood pressure, has never had a normal period...and she has to self pay! My specific policy does have a benefit(80%) for Bariactric provided it's done by Center of Expertise. I specifically chose a Drs' center in the network for that reason. I'm just worried because of all the horror stories I'm hearing about folks fighting w/ their insurance. Sounds weird, but I'm crossing my fingers that the sleep study proves my sleep apnea!

I'm so happy I've run across this site. Not only am I a newbie, but I am barely at the beginning of my journey. I have an appointment at the end of December to have a sit down and exam by the Drs/surgeon's center PA. At that time I will be assigned a pre-op consultant to help schedule additional testing and/or help w/ approval from my insurance. Here's my concern - my BMI is about 37.5, and I don't suffer from high blood pressure. I know this will probably make it difficult to get my Blue Cross PPO to approve since I don't meet the obvious criteria. I have never been diagnosed w/ sleep apnea, but believe I suffer from it (they told me they'll set up a sleep study). Also I was in a pretty bad car accident about 9 months ago, and have some bulging discs and low back injuries and pain. I've been in therapy/acupuncture/spinal decompression - you name it - but this has mostly been treated through my attorney lien, not my personal insurance. Because I cannot do any aggressive exercise and the pain/depression I've managed to gain about 30 more pounds since accident too. I know in my brain what makes sense, is for my insurance to pay for the band surgery versus the potential problems that I will have not only due to weight-related issues, but due to extra weight and back-related issues. Does anyone have any experience related to anything similar, or success stories in getting insurance companies to pay in my type of situation? Thanks to everyone brave enough to submit comments, and even the tickler that shows progress of where you've been and where you're at - great inspiration! Susan