Did you have to go to PCP??

Thin4Anisha · March 8, 2008

I am wondering if I have to visit my PCP or if I can just go to the seminar and start the insurance hoops through them. What did you do? My PCP for the last 2 years quit and moved away, the facility he was in is still there but I have no relationship with the new doctor I have been hooked up with and wonder if she will agree to do a letter or referral? I have one iffy condition on my insurance policy, proving my morbid obesity for 5 years when it has only been morbid for 2 and sever for 2 before that.... Any input is greatly appreciated.

And I just want to give my shout out to this forum - I LOVE IT AND EVERYONE ON IT. It is a shame there isn't support like this everywhere.

Alexandra · March 8, 2008

At some point you will need to have a complete physical exam, so you will need a new PCP if the one you had has left. Whether you need a referral or not is a function of the kind of insurance plan you have, but just about ALL insurance plans will require a letter of recommendation for surgery from a primary care doctor in addition to your surgeon.

If your insurance plan doesn't require you to get referrals to see specialists, then you can start with the seminar at your selected surgeon's office. But fair warning: Your surgeon will VERY LIKELY want the results of a complete physical, as well as the evidence your insurance company needs of your history of obesity.

So it's a great idea to find a PCP you like, schedule a physical now, and go in prepared to be brutally honest with him/her about how much your excess weight is negatively impacting your life, how long you have been struggling with it, all the things you have tried over the years to lose weight, and how you are absolutely at the end of your rope. The idea is to get this doctor to support you in your search for bariatric surgery, and it's even better if the initial recommendation for this treatment comes from the PCP. Even if your own doctor has left, if the office is still there your records very likely are too. Those will be necessary to prove your medical history, so get copies of them as soon as you can.

Good luck!!