Psych Evaluation.....

[SuNMooNStaRS816 423]

I have 4 more months in the 6 month supervised diet that my insurance requires. I get an email from the insurance coordinator at my surgeons office stating I can go ahead and get my psych eval done. I ask for a list of Doc's they use. And I call my insurance to verify which ones are network providers and what my payment to the doctor will be $15. That is what UHC says will be my full responsibility. No deductible or coinsurance. So, I proceed to call the psychologists in my network. I make an appt with one. i give them all of my info about insurance an all. Then I notify the insurance coordinator at the surgeons office. Ok I am thinking one more thing done....check that off my list. Well the day before my appt the psychologist office calls me to verify my appt and to tell me I will have to pay 465 before my appt......WTF!!! Ok that isnt a lot of money, but I purposefully coordinate all of my benefits so I can pay the least amount outta my pocket. My husband has been paying for this insurance 23+ years. Why shouldn't the insurance pay for it, right? Well I proceed to remind the lady from the psychologist office that we had discussed my insurance the the copayment when I made the appt. and I had verified with insurance what I should be paying. She tells me well your copayment doesn't cover everything. Your copayment is 15 then 350 for the evaluation an 100 for the report we send to the surgeon. I am thinking WTF.....then she tells me that if UHC pays them I will be credited part of the 350 for further visits. Well my brain isn't working well at this point or I would have told her to kiss my white A**. So instead I reschedule the appt because I was not prepared to pay almost 500 that day. All I can think is now I gotta wait longer to have this done. I have been trying to get everything done ahead of time so once the 6 months is over I can get down to business and have surgery soon as I am approved. After I calm down my mind starts working again. I call one of the other docs on the list and make an appt. I ask about they tell me copayment is $15 and they will take the whatever UHC pays. No deductible or copayment. Wonderful!!! We I go to the psych eval and try first thing the doc says is your not big enough for surgery.....ok thought he was supposed to judge my head not my body. The next this the doc stars fussing about how bad UHC. He states that UHC doesn't pay enough to the doctor. WTF!!!! We talk about the surgery about 10 minutes an the rest of the time (45-50) minutes about healthcare and insurance. On and one about how bad UHC is. They he tells me I have to answer 165 true or false questions. I do that in just a few minutes. Then the doc tells me he will submit it and send the report to my surgeon. He tells me good luck and that's it.

I feel I didn't get a dang thing from this visit. It was nonsense!!!! But at least I only paid $15 for it I guess.

[liteNsun 58]

How dismissive and rude that doc is. The up sides are, you don't need him for your mental health needs and YOU got what You wanted out of it by jumping through these hoops. KEEP JUMPING. You will land exactly in the place you want.

[abranewme 98]

I would look for another psychologist even after that bastard approves you. Why? Just to have someone in network you actually LIKE to talk to. I'm so sorry you had that experience. This weight loss experience is physically trying but the mental can be even more trying... You need support aside from this forum. Some folks are in it just for the money not for your well being. Keep on keeping on!

[NewAshes 232]

I would advise getting a different psychologist if you can. What he says can mess up your approval. I wouldn't have been comfortable with that.

[Pixie Dust 526]

It's friggen ridiculous what they charge! My psych eval cost $495, but luckily my co-pay was only $25. I had a student do the eval (so should have been charged less ~ lol), & then the "Doc" came in for 10 mins & told me I should seek counseling for something that happened to me over 20 years ago. Stupid me, I did list the trauma I suffered back then (nearly being kidnapped but got away & the other 8 victims that were kidnapped by this monster were all murdered) but I don't carry that around. I'm just very aware of my surroundings & while it was traumatic back then, I gained a lot of wisdom from it. I'm over it. I survived & know it wasn't my time to go. I just listed it because it asked for any traumatic experiences & I wanted to be truthful.

In the meantime, I had such a bad experience at the hospital I was going to go thru for my surgery that I decided to go thru another hospital afterall & I had to get a copy of my psych eval. I called her office EVERYDAY for one week to NO response. I left voice mail messages (all nice but thankfully she couldn't read my mind) as to why & what I needed. No return calls. Had to go thru the bariatric program director to get a copy of my eval. What a joke! Anyway, I'm not impressed with these psychologists!

I'm glad you at least didn't have to pay way more than you should have but if you're not satisfied with your meeting, you might want to consider seeking another psychologist. Of course, if you are sure you're ready for this surgery, just let it be. We'll all give you our opinions on things anyway! LOL! We'll be your psych support group!

I think being able to go thru all these hoops is proof enough we're ready for this life changing surgery! Good luck to you!

[muneca1029 117]

Woooow!! He's soo rude.. And geeez he charges toooo much. I paid 180 for two consultations and the report. That's insane! I think you should look for someone else.

[Vixynne 695]

My psych eval was incredibly positive, with a counselor who wanted to know more about me and my headspace, and my history with weight ups and downs. She works with bariatric patients and completely understands the proceess. Good psychologists are out there; sometimes you have to sort out the ones who are an awful match for you. I agree with the others in this thread who advised you to look for someone else--especially if you're footing a big chunk of the cost!

[abranewme 98]

Mine was great too and I am totally going back for tune ups through the process!