bad news

drs. office just called me saying they had bad news,,as of last thursday medicare had informed everyone nation wide they will not be paying for bariatric surgerys..im so hurt and disappointed..

I just happened to be poking around here, I usually hang out on the Ohio board but I saw this and thought I would clear the air... That is not true, in fact it was exactly the opposite - Medicare decided to cover bariatric surgery for all participants regardless of age, they just will only pay for it at a Center of Excellence. Dr. C

Thank you Dr.C I also investigated further..That is true I called the drs office back what they failed to tell me was true..Norton and norton suburban in louisville were not a center of excellence was why medicare would not accept them..Dont know why they didnt explain that to start with..And to tell me it was nationwide..I have contacted georgetown and they will take medicare..Thanks again for the info...Pam

Are they a "Center of Excellance". You need to find out before you go so you won't be disappointed again.

They have the preliminary clearance or whatever it is and have had their site visit from the centers of excellence people.

Hey Dr. Curry what are you doing in Kentucky?? lol I would have pounced on this myself,. I was just speaking to someone at one of the hospitals in Ky..we were discussing this same issue. I was given the same info. Brenda

re: what are you doing in Kentucky? I should ask you that--I live in Kentucky! Dr. C

LOL Ok Ok you got me, I do live in Ohio..but I spend most my time in KY..doesn't that count for something? to funny!!

Thanks for clearing this up. I am soooooooooooo proud of my hospital and surgeons group. St. Joseph East and the Center for Weight Loss Surgery. They were named a "Center of Excellance" for Bariatric Surgery just a couple of months ago. Three great docs and a great aftercare program. So if you guys are having trouble finding one, give them a call. They are wonderful It is my understanding that there are only a few that have this honor nationwide.

In the country, so far, there are only about 110 COE by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery or SRC and only 1 in KY in Lexington. The American College of Surgeons also will be providing a COE (Center of Excellence) certification that will be accepted by Medicare, but they have not assigned any so far. At Norton Hospitals in Louisville, the process has been started, just not completed. We have long awaited the Medicare announcement that came 2-21-06, and are happy that Medicare is expanding coverage to include the Lap-Band, but also their guidelines will be more in line with the NIH guidelines. What was a surprise, because it wasn't noted on any previous releases, was that Medicare would require COE certification. An even bigger surprise was that the policy that was released for the first time on 2-21-06 went into effect on 2-21-06. Therefore, all Medicare insured bariatric surgeries in the country will not be covered until each center meets the COE criteria. We are expecting to have this resolved in a few weeks. I hope this clears up the confusion. David Geller, MD