Dr Milton of Costal Center for Obesity

Anyone use him and have tri-care or tri-west insurance?

I think you mean Dr. Milton Owens.

Coastal Center for Obesity in San Pedro has closed and folded into Chapman Center for Obesity, in City of Orange.

Dr. Owens is top notch but I don't know if he is on the tri-care or tri-west list.  I'm a Federal employee and, when I started with him, he was a PPO provider on GEHA but hasn't been for the last year.

I got a letter from tri-west and he is the doctor that they found, and on this site he has a bio thingy and there are two tri-west patients in the past year. my thing is there is a program fee and I am not sure how much it is.

I'd call and ask.

When I paid the program fee, it was about $350 and it had just gone up.  They charged me the old rate because it was their error in not previously billing me or otherwise requesting payment.

It's not that usual for bariatric surgeons to charge program fees but they can vary widely.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to factor in the distance between where you live and the surgeon's office, especially if you have Lap Band or would otherwise require fairly frequent appointments.  The transit can get old.

its showing 3500$, i live 30 minutes from his office. we are out there often because my baby is a diabetic and her doctor is at choc. camp pendleton doesnt have very many surgeons around here.

I doubt if the program fee went up 10 times was it was previously.  Ask what your share would be with your military coverage.  I could see it being maybe $1,000 at max.

it kinda sucks because the whole no one accepts triwest around here and the naval hospital reffured me out off base. grr