MEDICAID AND MEDICARE SURGEONS LIST!

Hello Members,

On a daily basis we get calls from members in desperate need of surgeons that will accept Medicaid and or Medicare for Bariatric surgery.  It breaks our hearts when we have to say "we don't know of any surgeons in your state we can refer you to". 

Can you please help us? If you know of any surgeons in your state that accepts Medicaid and or Medicare, will you list their:

Name

If they accept Medicare and or Medicaid

Phone number

Facility

Address

This list will remain here for our members to access and use.

Thank you so much!!!

ObesityHelp,

Member Services

I emailed my surgeons office (Dr. Gornichec) to ask them if they knew of anyone in the OKC area who takes Medicaid or Medicare and they said Dr. Keith is the only one at this time that does. Hope this helps! Tonja

Yes, Dr Keith takes Medicaid and Medicare...Also, WW Hasting hospital in Tahlequah (Indian Health Services Hospital) just started doing the band.  This is a service for those who are a member of a Federally recognized tribe.  They have to go through a class and try to lose weight on their own for a while, but it is another option, if you get questions from anyone who is Native and trying to get surgery in this area. 

 P.S.  Indian Health Services is a federal program.  There may be other facilities starting to do WLS. 

That is the first IHS facility I have heard of who does any WLS. I personally use Carl Albert if I am using IHS and they will not do it.

I think this may be a trial I am not sure I used to work for Cherokee nation as a nurse and there was talk of this then. I am not sure but it may be just for there Diabetic program.

Right now the HELP program is still in the trial phase for Hastings.  I work for CN and the last thing I heard is: The HELP program is for Diabetics only.  Diabetics *****ceive their health care from other Indian Clinics have to be referred, and Hastings is no longer accepting referral as of now.  This may change in the future but the inital response was so great they are out of available slots.  I was told the surgeons were trained by Dr. Gorspe (not sure if its true or not)  Hope this gives some help

Surgical Associates in Tulsa is a Center of Excellence which is necessary for Medicare.

For Center of Excellances in Oklahoma the following surgeons are approved: Dr. Ronnie Keith, Dr. Lana Nelson ie Norman Regional Hospital Norman Oklahoma.  ANd St Francis Hospital in Tulsa Oklahoma I can not remember that Surgeons name. People who are on Medicare can aslo go to the Medicare website and find Center of Excellance approved hospitals and surgeons in there area.

a little information about the  ronnie keith clinic is that you can not be a smoker and if you are you have to be completely smoke free for a minimum of 6 months.

Yes you do have to quit smoking for a minimum of 90days before surgery but many surgeons require this anymore. And yes they do a nicotine test to see if you are smoke free.  They will also help you on becoming smoke free. 

Quitting smoking helps you to better heal afterwards and you have to worry about pnuemonia already hence the reguired spirometer exercises so not having smokers issue shelps with that as well. I hope that helps explain why the requir eit.

Smoke free for 17 months now and loving it after smoking for 17 of my 33 years.